English Phonetics: Diphthongs and Consonants

Diphthongs

Described as vowel glides, since in their production the tongue begins in one place and moves to another. This movement of the tongue, however smooth, results in a change of vowel quality, which is why diphthongs are sometimes looked upon as 'combinations of 2 vowels'.

Diphthongs are usually classified according to whether they are:

• Falling or rising
• Wide or narrow
• Front or back
• Closing or centering

The diphthongs of RP are all stressed on the first element, described as falling. Those stressed on the finishing point (rising), can also be wide or narrow, according to the movement of the tongue from the first to the second target. Those in which the position of the tongue body changes quite noticeably are described as 'wide diphthongs'. Those in which the position of the tongue changes very slightly are termed 'narrow diphthongs'.

Diphthongs can be front or back depending on the quality of the starting point. /seɪ/ front diphthong. /ɡeʊ/ back diphthong. They can be closing or centering depending on the quality of the endpoint. If the endpoint is a mid-high vowel /iː/ /uː/ the diphthong is closing, on the contrary, if the glided vowel moves towards /ə/ the diphthong is centering. /aɪ/ /aʊ/ are closing, while /ɪə/ /eə/ /ʊə/ are centering.

Centering Diphthongs and the Relationship with /r/

The relationship between spelling and pronunciation of the centering diphthongs of RP, can't be understood without bearing in mind that the /ə/ element historically derives from /r/. In non-rhotic accents like RP, this /r/ was lost finally and before a consonant, but was retained before a vowel. The letter 'r' may be regarded as an orthographic representation of /ə/. However, when it's followed by a vowel, it actually corresponds to the phoneme /r/ + closing diphthong (e.g., /ɪə/, /eə/, /ʊə/). The movement of the tongue is sometimes so rapid that they become indistinguishable from diphthongs or long monophthongs. This difficulty is particularly noticeable in words like "near" /nɪə/ "square" /skweə/ "cure" /kjʊə/ which often have the second element left out completely.

Consonants

A consonant is a speech sound. The airstream from the lungs is obstructed (completely or partially) or the mouth passage is so narrow.

Consonants are classified by:

1. State of the Glottis

Whether the vocal cords vibrate or not in the production of the sound. If the vocal cords vibrate, the sound is considered 'voiced'.

2. Place of Articulation

The place in the mouth where the airstream is obstructed in the production of the sound. The places are:

1. Bilabial: Produced by both lips.
2. Labiodental: Lower lip and upper teeth.
3. Dental: Tongue tip behind the upper front teeth.
4. Alveolar: Placing the blade of the tongue against the alveolar ridge.
5. Post-alveolar: Blade or the tip of the tongue at the rear part of the alveolar ridge.
6. Palatal: Raising the front of the tongue towards the hard palate.
7. Velar: Back of the tongue against the soft palate.
8. Glottal: At the glottis.

3. Manner of Articulation

The way in which the sound is articulated, the type of obstruction involved in the production.

1. Plosive: Produced with complete closure of the articulations, so the airstream is blocked and then released suddenly.
2. Fricative: Produced with close approximation of two articulations, creating friction as the air passes through.
3. Affricates: Combining a plosive and a fricative, starting with a blocking of the airstream from the lungs and releasing it with friction.
4. Nasal: Produced with complete closure of the articulations in the mouth, but with the air escaping through the nose.
5. Approximant: Produced with one articulator close to another but not close enough to cause friction.