Examples of Triphthongs
Many are examples of triphthongs, a combination of monosyllabic vowels that involve a rapid movement of the quality articulator from one vowel to another that passes over a third.
A triphthong must be the succession of three vowels in a single syllable, two closed vowels, and one open vowel, so by nature, they are a bit more difficult to pronounce
Open vowels are ‘a’, ‘e’, and ‘o’, since you need to open your mouth to pronounce them. On the other hand, the closed vowels are the ‘i’ and the ‘u’ because the movement of the mouth when pronouncing them is closed.
• A triphthong is a glide from one vowel to another and then to a third, all produced rapidly and without interruption. For example, a careful pronunciation of the word ‘hour’ begins with a vowel quality similar to ‘ɑ:’, goes on to ‘ʊ’ then ends in ‘ə’.
• It says /aʊə/
• Triphthong: 5 closing diphthongs with ‘ə’ added on the end.
– eɪ + ə = eɪə . as in layer, player
– aɪ + ə = aɪə. as in lire, fire
– ɔɪ + ə = ɔɪə, as in loyal, royal
– əʊ + ə = əuə, as in lower, mower
– aʊ + ə = auə, as in power, hour.
What is a triphthong?
A triphthong is a glide from one vowel to another and then to a third, all produced rapidly and without interruption. For example, a careful pronunciation of the word ‘hour’ begins with a vowel quality similar to ‘ɑ:’, goes on to ‘ʊ’ then ends in ‘ə’. It’s called /aʊə/.
English triphthongs are composed of five closing diphthongs with ‘ə’ added on the end as discussed below:
- The sound /eɪə/:which is composed of the closing diphthong /eɪ/ and the schwa /ə/; thus, /eɪ/ + /ə/ = /eɪə/ as in the following words: layer = /leɪə/, player = /pleɪə/, sayer = /seɪə/.
- The sound /aɪə/:composed of the closing diphthong /aɪ/ and the schwa sound /ə/; thus, /aɪ/ + /ə/ = /aɪə/ as in the following words: liar = /laɪə/, admire = /ədmaɪə/, buyer = /baɪə/, tire = /taɪə/, tier = /taɪə/, tire = /taɪə/, flier = /flaɪə/.
- The sound /ɔɪə/:composed of the closing diphthong /ɔɪ/ and the schwa sound /ə/; thus, /ɔɪ/ + /ə/ = /ɔɪə/ as in the following words: employer = /ɪmplɔɪə/, destroyer = /dɪstrɔɪə/, enjoyable = /ɪndʒɔɪəbl/, buoyant = /bɔɪənt/.
- The sound /əʊə /: is composed of the closing diphthong /əʊ/ and the schwa sound /ə/; thus, /əʊ/ + /ə/ = /əʊə/ as in the following words: goer = /gəʊə/, borrower = /bɒrəʊə/, lower = /ləʊə/, thrower = /θrəʊə/, mower = /məʊə/.
- The sound /aʊə /: is composed of the closing diphthong /aʊ/ and the schwa sound /ə/; thus, /aʊ/ + /ə/ = /aʊə/ as in the following words: hour = /aʊə/, flour = /flaʊə/, flower = /flaʊə/, power = /paʊə/.
Occurrence
A combination of three vowel sounds in a single syllable forming a simple or compound sound: also, a union of three vowel characters representing together a single sound: a trigraph: as eye-lieu in adieu. Eau in beau, are examples of triphthongs.
Transcription of Triphthongs
Triphthong Word Phonetic Transcription
/eɪə/ player /peɪə/
/aɪə/ fire /faɪə/
/ɔɪə/ royal /rɔɪəl/
/əuə/ mower /məuə/
/auə/ hour /hauə/
List of examples of words with triphthongs
Here is the quick reference list of words that are being considered triphthongs.
- Hour
- Fire
- Cure
- Player
- Our
- Lower
- Year
- Buyer
- Flyer
- Higher
- Fewer
- Power
- Oasis
- Inchoate
- Croatia
- Slower
- Mower
- Shower
- Stereo
- Romeo’s Examples of Triphthongs to Understand the Concept
- Radio
- Rodeo
