Pronunciation of 'oy' and 'oi'.

Question

Is the pronunciation of 'oy' in the word 'joy' is the same as in 'oi' in the word 'oil'.

XS · Accepted Answer

Yes, both words joy and oil produce the same sound which is /oi/

Anonymous · Answer

XSYes, both words joy and oil produce the same sound which is /oi/

Below is the definition of diphthong:
Diphthongs occur when an unstressed "i", "u", or "y-ending" appears next to another vowel in the same syllable. Their vowel sounds do not change, but they blend together to form a single syllable.
Therefore, one will expect 'oy' to be pronununced as /oj/ and 'oi' as /oi/.

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousTherefore, one will expect 'oy' to be pronununced as /oj/ and 'oi' as /oi/.

No. It's just that final "oi" is not a native English spelling. The final 'i' is changed to 'y'. The spelling change doesn't affect the pronunciation.

boi is spelled boy; annoi is spelled annoy; and so on.
____

The same happens for other combinations of final vowels. thei is spelled they; bai is spelled bay; and so on.
____

Final 'u' after another vowel becomes 'w', again without any change in pronunciation. nou is spelled now; feu is spelled few; and so on.
____

The spelling of English does not always reflect the pronunciation very accurately.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

CalifJimThe spelling of English does not always reflect the pronunciation very accuratel

So are you saying that 'oy' in the word 'joy' and 'oi' in the word 'oil' are both pronuanced as /oj/.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

AnonymousSo are you saying that 'oy' in the word 'joy' and 'oi' in the word 'oil' are both pronounced as /oj/.

The pronunciation of "oil" can vary regionally. In northern Texas and Arkansas, I hear "oil" as "awl."

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousSo are you saying that 'oy' in the word 'joy' and 'oi' in the word 'oil' are both pronuanced as /oj/.

Transcriptions of sounds vary. You might find any of these suggestions in a book on pronunciation:

[o?] [??] [oj] [?j] (phones, allophones)

The representation of the phoneme associated with those allophones that I learned was /??/, but I accept that there are others. The allophones with [j] don't seem plausible to me, but /oj/ seems like a possible representation of the phoneme.

Sometimes people learn one way of transcribing the sound when they are younger, then read many more books on the subject and discover that there are other ways of transcribing the same sound.

If it is a matter of learning to pronounce English, it is better to listen to the actual sound than to try to determine which transcription of the sound into the IPA is closest to the sound you think you hear.

Further, as Alphecca Stars has already mentioned, the allophones (variants) of the same phoneme can vary considerably from region to region.

CJ

CalifJim · Answer

AlpheccaStarsIn northern Texas and Arkansas, I hear "oil" as "awl."

I've heard "erl" in South Carolina.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Please see below the difference in pronunciation between 'oi' and 'oy'.

Anonymous · Answer

AnonymousPlease see below the difference in pronunciation between 'oi' and 'oy'.[video]

I have listened to the video but i do not hear any difference in the pronunciation of 'oy' and 'oi', both seems to be pronunced with /oi/ or is it just my perception?

Anonymous · Answer

CalifJimTranscriptions of sounds vary. You might find any of these suggestions in a book on pronunciation:[o?] [??] [oj] [?j] (phones, allophones). The representation of the phoneme associated with those allophones that I learned was /??/, but I accept that there are others. The allophones with [j] don't seem plausible to me, but /oj/ seems like a possible representation of the phoneme.

When we were learning English as a second language, our teacher taught us to pronunce the second vowels of the diphthongs /??/, /a?/ and /e?/ with /j/ sound rather than /?/ sound. Was he simply wrong or are there parts of English speaking world where it is pronunced like that.

Pronunciation of 'oy' and 'oi'.

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