Diphthong question

Question

Hi Everyone,Is the word 'veil' a diphthong?ThanksCup Cake

LouiseBostockEnglishExpert · Accepted Answer

A dipthong is a sound formed from two vowels that run together. In this case the dipthong is created by running together the 'e' and the 'i'. /e/-/i/.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Cup cakeIs the word 'veil' a diphthong?

The vowel sound in the word "veil" is a diphthong.
"Veil" is a single-syllable word.

Anonymous · Answer

strictly speaking VEIL is a digraph -- that is the e and i are pronounced as one syllable or sound.  A diphthong is the pronouncing of what is really a one vowel sound as two vowel sounds. Think of Liza Doolittle in My Fair Lady before she learns to speak 'proper'.  English speakers tend to turn single vowel sounds into diphthongs, even 'I' becomes two sounds whereas foreign speakers learning English would mostly pronounce it as a pure i sound which might sound short or clipped but does not waver -- it stays on pitch as it were.  Elisa exceeds diphthongs producing three and even more syllables from the one vowel.

CalifJim · Answer

Anonymousstrictly speaking VEIL is a digraph

A digraph consists of two letters in succession pronounced as a single sound. Some examples are "oo", "th", "au", and "sh". The original question was about a diphthong, not about a digraph.

CJ

Fivejedjon · Answer

Anonymousstrictly speaking VEIL is a digraph -- that is the e and i are pronounced as one syllable or sound.

Strictlu speaking, the ei of 'veil' is not a digraph for most speakers of English. Digraphs are two letters appearing together that are pronounced as a single sound, for example the ph of phone and the ea of bread.

The ei of veil is normally a diphthong, that is a glide from one vowel sound to another. Diphthongs are generally accepted as one syllable and one phoneme, but they are not single sounds. Incidentally, eye and I are diphthongs for most native speakers, not just Elizaa.

CalifJim · Answer

fivejedjonStrictlu speaking

Loosely speaking, many learners are taught five 'long' vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and that each of these is a single sound—the name of the letter. In such systems, the "ie" of "lie" has 'one sound', so it's not a diphthong.
(I know.)

So our answer depends on what system the OP is using, I suppose.

CJ

Cup cake · Answer

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Anonymous · Answer

Any two letters that represent a single sound, vowel or consonant are a digraph. However, if (in the case of a vowel sound) that sound has a glide vowel (also considered an impure vowel) then that vowel sound is a diphthong. Compare 'vale' and 'veil' which are pronounced exactly the same. In 'vale' the a is pronounced as a diphthong; the 'ei' of veil is also a diphthong but bedause two letters are used to represent the same sound it is also a digraph.
Incidentally, 'lie', also a digraph, is pronounced as a diphthong --vowel plus glide. 'Bread' is indeed a monophone (single vowel sound, no glide) as is 'book' but 'room' is pronounced variably as either a monophone or diphthong but either way the -oo- is a digraph.

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousAny two (successive) letters that represent a single sound, vowel or consonant are a digraph.

Good post! But to tighten up that definition, I'd add "successive" to rule out the possibility that someone might say the "a" and "e" of "vale" is a digraph (two letters that represent a single sound).

CJ

Cup cake · Answer

Yes, great post for sure. Thanks Anonymous! and CJ.

Diphthong question

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