What is a diphthong? According to Crystal's Encyclopedic
Dictionary of Language and Languages, it's "a
vowel with a perceptible change of quality during a
single syllable." Remember, a syllable can only
have one vowel. If the vowel changes during that syllable,
it's a diphthong. English uses them quite a lot. Say
the word day. Do you hear how the vowel changes?
It ends in a y-sound called a jod. If you put
your hand under your chin when you say the word, you
van feel your chin move upward as you finish the vowel.
This quality allows us to make a bunch of bilingual
puns (you have to read them out loud for them to work):
Q. Why do the French think Easter is such a good idea?
A.
Because
it's a bunny day.
Q. Why are there no floods in France?
A.
Because
the water is always low.
Unfortunately, they only work as puns if you speak
with a strong American accent. The French don't
diphthonguize their vowels; that is, the quality of
the vowel doesn't change in a syllable.
In these modules, we'll only be working with words that
have the [e], [o], and [u] sounds in open syllables.
