Unit 7: Diphthongs /eɪ/, /aɪ/ & /ɔɪ/
Three glide vowels that move from one position to another.
Leçons
Unit 7 Guide: Closing Diphthongs
A diphthong is a single vowel sound that glides from one position to another inside the same syllable. Your tongue, jaw, and lips start in one place and smoothly move to a second target. In this unit, all three diphthongs end with a glide toward /ɪ/ (a high front position), so we call them closing diphthongs.
The three sounds:
- /eɪ/ as in face, day, eight — starts mid-front, glides up.
- /aɪ/ as in price, high, eye — starts open, glides up.
- /ɔɪ/ as in choice, boy, toy — starts rounded back, glides forward and up.
Golden rule: don't flatten a diphthong into a single short vowel. The movement is what makes it sound natural. Keep the first part slightly longer and let the glide be smooth, not two separate syllables.