Which term refers to a one-syllable sound that is made up of two vowels, and there are eight of these in Received Pronunciation English?

Which term refers to a one-syllable sound that is made up of two vowels, and there are eight of these in Received Pronunciation English?

• A. Dipthong
• B. Discourse management
• C. Text as a Vehicle for Information
• D. Text as a Stimulus for Production

Answer: (A)

A diphthong is a single syllable vowel sound that glides from one vowel quality to another. In Received Pronunciation English there are eight common diphthongs. You can hear them in examples like face (/eɪ/), price (/aɪ/), choice (/ɔɪ/), mouth (/aʊ/), goat (/əʊ/), near (/ɪə/), square (/eə/), and cure (/ʊə/). The key idea is the tongue moves during articulation, creating a dynamic sound within one syllable rather than a fixed vowel. The other terms describe discourse or text-focused concepts, not phonetic vowel sounds, so they don’t fit this definition.

A diphthong is a single syllable vowel sound that glides from one vowel quality to another. In Received Pronunciation English there are eight common diphthongs. You can hear them in examples like face (/eɪ/), price (/aɪ/), choice (/ɔɪ/), mouth (/aʊ/), goat (/əʊ/), near (/ɪə/), square (/eə/), and cure (/ʊə/). The key idea is the tongue moves during articulation, creating a dynamic sound within one syllable rather than a fixed vowel. The other terms describe discourse or text-focused concepts, not phonetic vowel sounds, so they don’t fit this definition.