017 AY as in Say
3: The 13 Compound Vowels: 8 Diphthongs, 5 Triphthongs
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4m 30s
The next sound is AY as in “say” which is “E” as in “Glen” plus “I” as in “hit”. Some accents can substitute “I” as in “eye” for this sound - Eliza Doolittle, for example!
Up Next in 3: The 13 Compound Vowels: 8 Diphthongs, 5 Triphthongs
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018 I as in Eye Spy
Again, take care when an “L” follows this sound or else “smile” can become “smy-ul”. Some accents can push EYE towards OY giving us “Oy spoy…”
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019 AIR as in Fair
The next lip diphthong is
19 AIR as in “fair”
Which we make by combining “e” as in “Glen” with the neutral vowel “uh” as in “actor”. E-uh AIR.
This sound is very frequently just cut clean in half. Instead of “The air there is fair.” We hear “The e the…”. Many students can find this sound very...
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020 OOR as in Poor
The final lip diphthong is:
20 OOR as in “poor”.
This is the short monophthong “oo” as in “book” followed by the neutral vowel “uh” as in “actor”. For my U.K. students, I call this sound the “Carry On” vowel because so many characters in those old comedy movies could be frequently heard to ex...
