Complex Vowels Summary
Complex vowels summary: diphthongs
The main diphthongs used in General American (GA) and Standard Southern British English (SSBE) are summarized in Table 2. They are categorized by closing position and diphthongs used exclusively by SSBE are shown in red.
| no. | closing position | IPA | example words |
| 1 | closing with /ɪ/ | eɪ | name, they, day |
| 2 | aɪ | eye, time, buy | |
| 3 | ɔɪ | noise, boy, void | |
| 4 | closing with /ʊ/ | aʊ | now, count, bough |
| 5a | oʊ | know, toe, soap | |
| 5b | əʊ | know, toe, soap | |
| 6 | closing with /ə/ (i.e. centering) |
ɪə | fear, here, near |
| 7 | ɛə | square, there, stair | |
| 8 | ʊə | lure, sewer, doer |
Table 2. GA and SSBE diphthongs.
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