Learn diphthong notation
A diphthong changes vowel quality within one syllable, so its transcription often uses two vowel symbols. Learn to read the movement while treating the chart's English examples as accent-specific reference choices rather than one universal inventory.
VIDEO TUTORIAL
Compare English diphthongs
Explore diphthong examples, compare vowel sequences, and save the symbols for your lesson.
English narration Captions: English
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What you’ll learn
- Explain why two vowel symbols can describe one syllable.
- Distinguish a diphthong from a sequence across a syllable boundary.
- Use the chart's British- and American-oriented examples with an explicit accent convention.
A few symbols, a clearer picture
Changing vowel quality
A conventional representation of movement from an open starting region toward a closer front region.
Another movement
A conventional representation toward a closer back rounded region.
An accent comparison
Alternative broad GOAT-vowel conventions associated with different English accent descriptions; not interchangeable claims about every speaker.
An explicit syllable boundary
The dot specifies two syllables here, unlike a single-syllable interpretation of aɪ.
Read the whole vowel event
Two symbols can describe a single changing nucleus.
Read the explanation
A monophthong is represented as having a relatively stable vowel quality; a diphthong involves a noticeable change during the vowel. The symbols in aɪ indicate the starting and later quality of that event. They do not instruct you to produce two isolated, equally long vowels with a pause. The exact starting point, endpoint and timing can differ among speakers, even when a broad transcription uses the same two letters.
Count syllables from the analysis of the spoken material, not from the number of printed characters. Two adjacent vowel symbols alone do not settle every question about syllabification. If the intended description has two separate syllables, a syllable-break dot can make that explicit. A non-syllabic diacritic is another tool in more detailed conventions, but it should be explained rather than added as decoration.
Schematic one-syllable vowel movement.
Schematic two-syllable sequence explicitly separated by a dot.
Read the country groups as teaching conventions
The chart provides selected English sequences, not national pronunciation rules.
Read the explanation
The United Kingdom group includes forms such as əʊ for the vowel illustrated by load, while the USA group includes oʊ for goat. These are familiar broad teaching conventions for some accents. Neither country has one uniform pronunciation. Some speakers have more monophthongal realizations, different vowel starting points, or mergers that make older teaching inventories a poor match for their speech.
The chart also includes centring and rhotic sequences. Items such as ɪɚ and aɪɚ package useful symbol strings, but they are not proof that every example is a simple two-part diphthong or a single syllable. Rhoticity, smoothing and syllable count depend on the speaker and analysis. In particular, examples associated with poor or cure vary substantially; do not infer an entire accent inventory from those word labels.
Accent-dependent broad GOAT-vowel conventions, not two obligatory pronunciations for all English speakers.
Literal chart sequences containing rhotic ə; their grouping does not prescribe syllable count.
Choose a scope before comparing transcriptions
A useful comparison states whose pronunciation and whose notation are being used.
Read the explanation
Slashes mark phonological categories in a stated analysis; square brackets mark phonetic representations. A dictionary may use /eɪ/ for a word class while a detailed recording study chooses a different starting symbol or adds diacritics. Different levels of detail can be legitimate. First ask whether two transcriptions describe different speakers, different conventions or genuinely different observations.
The Diphthongs chart has 22 buttons across its two groups, including repeated sequences and longer combinations. Selecting one inserts the complete symbol string at the caret. It does not convert an English word into IPA or decide whether the word has one or two syllables. Use the external university explanation for the concept, then compare actual speech and an accent-appropriate pronunciation reference.
Schematic keyboard practice combining available sequences; not a complete accent inventory.
Insert and compare three chart sequences
Start a separate practice line
Open the Diphthongs chart and place the caret on an empty practice line. Preserve existing work before clearing anything; turn off Smart IPA suggestions for this literal insertion exercise.
Use two UK-group buttons
In the United Kingdom group, select eɪ, type a space and select aɪ. Each click inserts the full two-symbol sequence.
Compare the American convention
Type another space and select oʊ from the USA group. Check the tooltip and example word to confirm which button you selected.
Review and save
Compare your practice line with the sample. Use Copy text or Download text to keep the editor contents, and label any later word transcription with its accent and convention.
Check your understanding
Try each question, then compare your reasoning with the explanation. These exercises stay on this page and do not change your editor text.
Document the accent and analysis
State the accent model and your rhoticity and syllable conventions. A different dialect's consistent pronunciation is not inherently a transcription failure.
Separate a broad category from observed vowel movement. Acoustic analysis can capture detail omitted by a compact transcription.
Listen to the IPA’s recorded chartListening opens the International Phonetic Association website. Exercises here practice notation and interpretation; they do not assess pronunciation.