English Language Writing Skills

By Danso Kwasi Nti Samuel (DAS). Study the complete course source, examine every model and practise alongside Professor Jarvis.

Course printed page 13 PDF page 19 of 505

For tables, matching columns, IPA and original formatting, open the course PDF above.

Group Collaborative Study Dialogue on Producing Diphthongs in Context

Yaw: Hi everyone! Today, we’re diving into diphthongs, which are vowel sounds that glide

from one vowel to another within the same syllable. We have two main types to look at:

centring diphthongs and closing diphthongs. Let’s start with centring diphthongs. Ama, can

you explain what centring diphthongs are and give us some examples?

Ama: Sure! Centring diphthongs glide towards the /ə/ sound, which is a central vowel in the

mouth. Some examples include /ɪə/ as in the words "here," "cheer," and "peer," /eə/ as in

"tear," "wear," and "scare," and /ʊə/ as in "sure," "mature," and "tour."

Kwasi: So, with centring diphthongs, we start with one vowel and move towards the /ə/

sound. Like in "here," where the sound starts with /ɪ/ and glides to /ə/, right?

Ama: Exactly! And the same goes for "tear," where it starts with /e/ and moves to /ə/. It’s

a smooth transition towards the central sound.

Yaa: How do we recognize these in sentences? Could you give an example?

Yaw: Of course! We could use sentences like "The deer is near the pier," which focuses on

the /ɪə/ sound, or "They care about their rare plant," which highlights the /eə/ sound.

Kwasi: That makes sense. So, whenever we hear that glide towards /ə/ in words, we know

we’re dealing with a centring diphthong. Now, what about closing diphthongs?

Yaa: Closing diphthongs are different because they glide towards either the /ɪ/ or /ʊ/

sounds. Some examples are /eɪ/ as in "cake," "late," and "face," /aɪ/ as in "light," "tie," and

"cry," /ɔɪ/ as in "coin," "foil," and "joy," /aʊ/ as in "cloud," "out," and "shout," and /oʊ/ as in

"go," "no," and "show."

Ama: So, in words like "cake" and "cloud," the sound starts with one vowel and moves

towards either /ɪ/ or /ʊ/ at the end. Is that correct?