English Literature - Phonetics and Linguistics

English Literature
English Literature - Phonetics and Linguistics

Which of the following is the correct number of monophthongs and diphthongs in English respectively ?


Options:

  1. 5, 8
  2. 16, 4
  3. 8, 6
  4. 12, 8

Right Answer: 12, 8

Received Pronunciation is usually described as having twenty vowel sounds, made up of twelve pure vowels or monophthongs and eight diphthongs. A monophthong keeps a single steady quality throughout, as in the vowels of ‘sit’, ‘cat’ or ‘book’. A diphthong is a glide within one syllable from one vowel quality towards another, as in the vowels of ‘day’, ‘boy’ or ‘house’. The eight diphthongs are conventionally grouped into three closing to /ɪ/, two closing to /ʊ/ and three centring towards /ə/. Together with twenty-four consonants they give the forty-four phonemes of English.

This question is part of English Literature - Phonetics and Linguistics, which has 4 practice questions with answers.

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