Steady-state vowels and diphthongs

Apuntes

Steady-state vowels and diphthongs If the positions of the tongue and lips are held steady in the production of a vowel sound, we term it a steady- state vowel. In other books you may encounter the terms ‘ pure vowel ’ or ‘ monophthong ’ / ˈ m ɒ n ə f θ ɒ ŋ / (Greek for ‘ single sound ’ ; note the spelling with phth ). If there is an obvious  ange in the tongue shape (and sometimes also the lip shape), we term the vowel a diphthong (meaning ‘ double sound ’ in Greek, pronounced / ˈ d ɪ f θ ɒ ŋ /; note again the spelling with phth ). For a sound to be considered a diphthong, the  ange – termed a glide – must be accomplished in one movement within a single syllable without the possibility of a break. Apart from steady- state vowels, most languages also have a number of diphthongs; this goes for English and for other European languages, e.g. Dut  , Danish, German, Spanish and Italian. Fren  is the best known example of a language whi  is usually analysed as having only steady- state vowels. Figure A7.12 Additional vowels Figure A7.13 Vowel diagram representing English /a ɪ / as in PRICE.  e cross- section shows the raising of the fron...