Diphthong facts for kids

A diphthong (pronounced "DIF-thong" or "DIP-thong") is a special kind of vowel sound. When you say a diphthong, your mouth moves from one position to another, creating two different vowel sounds that blend together smoothly. Think of it as a single sound that starts one way and ends another.

What is a Diphthong?

A diphthong is a vowel sound where your tongue and lips change position during the sound. This makes it sound like two vowel sounds joined together. Even though it's made of two parts, it's still considered one single sound in a word.

For example, in the word "house," the "ou" sound is a diphthong. Your mouth starts in one position and then moves to another as you say it. Other words with diphthongs include:

• waist (the "ai" sound)
• die (the "ie" sound)
• noise (the "oi" sound)
• road (the "oa" sound)
• fierce (the "ie" sound)
• bear (the "ea" sound)
• sure (the "ure" sound)

Each of these examples shows how your mouth changes shape to make the full sound.

Diphthongs vs. Monophthongs

To understand diphthongs better, let's look at monophthongs. A monophthong is a simple vowel sound. When you say a monophthong, your mouth stays in one position. You don't move your tongue or lips much.

An example of a monophthong is the "oo" sound in the word "book." Your mouth stays still while you make that sound.

A diphthong is like combining two different monophthongs very quickly. For instance, with the "oi" sound in "oil," you start with your mouth in the "o" position. Then, you quickly move it to make an "ee" sound. The two sounds blend into one smooth diphthong.

Another example is the "ou" sound in "house." You start with a sound like the "a" in "flat." Then, you move your mouth to make a sound like the "oo" in "caboose." This quick movement creates the diphthong.

How Accents Change Diphthongs

Just like other parts of language, the exact way we say diphthongs can be different. This depends on your accent. People from different places or countries might pronounce the same diphthong slightly differently. This is a normal part of how languages work.

Where Does the Word "Diphthong" Come From?

The word diphthong comes from ancient Greek.

• The part di- means "two" or "double."
• The part -phthong means "sound" or "tone." It comes from the Greek word phthalein, which means "to speak" or "to create sound with the voice."

So, "diphthong" literally means "double sound." This makes sense because it's a single vowel sound made of two parts.

Diphthongs and Syllables

Sometimes, a diphthong can be a whole lexeme (a word or part of a word). Even though it has two vowel qualities, a diphthong usually counts as only one syllable. For example, the word "boy" has one syllable, and the "oy" sound is a diphthong.

See also

In Spanish: Diptongo para niños

Images for kids

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  A friendly robot thinking about sounds.