Triphthongs

PRONOUNCIATION

“TRIPHTHONGS”

Compiled By :

Name            : Mariadi

NIM              : 13250048

Lecturer : Budi Setiawan, S.S., M.A.

ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

FACULTY OF TARBIYAH

IAIN RADEN FATAH PALEMBANG

TRIPHTHONGS

            The most complex English sounds of the vowel type are the triphthongs. They can be rather difficult to pronounce, and very difficult to recognise. A triphthong is a glide from one vowel to another and then to a third, all produced rapidly and without interruption.

Definition of Triphthong

v  a union of three vowels (letters or sounds) pronounced in one syllable (as in fire). Contrasted with diphthong, monophthong.

v  three written vowel characters representing the sound of a single vowel (as in beau).

v  The triphthongs lists are eɪə, aɪə, ɔɪə, əʊə, aʊə (example words layer, player; liar, fire; loyal, royal; lower, mower; power, hour).

The principal cause of difficulty for the foreign learner is that in present-day English the extent of the vowel movement is very small, except in very careful pronunciation. Because of this, the middle of the three vowel qualities of the triphthong (i.e. the ɪ or ʊ part) can hardly be heard and the resulting sound is difficult to distinguish from some of the diphthongs and long vowels. To add to the difficulty, there is also the problem of whether a triphthong is felt to contain one or two syllables. Words such as ‘fire’ or ‘hour’ are probably felt by most English speakers to consist of only one syllable, whereas ‘player’ pleɪə or ‘slower’ sləʊə are more likely to be heard as two syllables.

The Triphthongs of RP (Received Pronunciation)

The table above shows the triphthongs of RP (Received Pronunciation). The arrows show the direction of the glides between three vowels. The most significant differences between British and American English are explained in the notes below.

Examples
 

/eɪə/	layer1, bayonet	/əʊə/2	mower1, lower
/aɪə/	fire1, higher	/aʊə/	hour1, shower
/ɔɪə/	lawyer1, royal

Notes:

1. In RP and many varieties of British English the final r of all triphthongs is not pronounced, but in GA and most American Varieties of English, the final r is typically pronounced with an r-coloured vowel: /ɚ/, e.g.
   ‘layer’ /leɪɚ/,
   ‘fire’ /faɪɚ/,
   ‘lawyer’ /lɔɪɚ/,
   ‘lower’ /loʊɚ/,
   ‘hour’ /aʊɚ/.
   These can also be written ‘layer’ /ˈlejər/, ‘fire’ /ˈfajər/, ‘lawyer’ /ˈlɔjər/ or /ˈlɑjər/, ‘lower’ /ˈlowər/, ‘hour’ /ˈawər/ in phonemic transcription. In many descriptions these are not listed as triphthongs in American English.

2.      In American English the quality of the first vowel is different; it is a back mid vowel: /o/, as in ‘lower’ /loʊɚ/.