British English Sounds · Part 4 of 7
Centring Diphthongs
Practise diphthongs that traditionally move towards schwa in non-rhotic British English.Übe Diphthonge, die im nicht-rhotischen britischen Englisch traditionell in Richtung Schwa gleiten.
Listen, notice, position and practise.Hören, wahrnehmen, positionieren und üben.
Select a sound. Study the mouth position, spelling patterns and examples, then complete the quiz.
Wähle einen Laut. Studiere Mundposition, Schreibweisen und Beispiele und bearbeite anschließend das Quiz./ɪə/
NEAR diphthongNEAR-Diphthong
How to make it
Begin near /ɪ/ and glide towards schwa; many modern speakers use a long monophthong in some words.Beginne nahe /ɪ/ und gleite zum Schwa; viele moderne Sprecher verwenden in manchen Wörtern einen langen Monophthong.
Begin near /ɪ/ and glide towards schwa; many modern speakers use a long monophthong in some words.Beginne nahe /ɪ/ und gleite zum Schwa; viele moderne Sprecher verwenden in manchen Wörtern einen langen Monophthong.
Common spellings
ear, eer, ere
ear, eer, ere
Examples
near · career · serious
near · career · serious
Watch out
Written r is pronounced when a following word begins with a vowel.
Written r is pronounced when a following word begins with a vowel.
/eə/
SQUARE diphthongSQUARE-Diphthong
How to make it
Begin around /e/ and move towards schwa; contemporary pronunciation may be more monophthongal.Beginne ungefähr bei /e/ und bewege dich zum Schwa; die moderne Aussprache kann monophthongischer sein.
Begin around /e/ and move towards schwa; contemporary pronunciation may be more monophthongal.Beginne ungefähr bei /e/ und bewege dich zum Schwa; die moderne Aussprache kann monophthongischer sein.
Common spellings
air, are, ear
air, are, ear
Examples
share · prepare · chair
share · prepare · chair
Watch out
Avoid inserting a strong German r at the end.
Avoid inserting a strong German r at the end.
/ʊə/
CURE diphthongCURE-Diphthong
How to make it
Traditionally begins near /ʊ/ and moves towards schwa; this sound is increasingly merged with /ɔː/ in many words.Traditionell beginnt der Laut nahe /ʊ/ und gleitet zum Schwa; in vielen Wörtern verschmilzt er zunehmend mit /ɔː/.
Traditionally begins near /ʊ/ and moves towards schwa; this sound is increasingly merged with /ɔː/ in many words.Traditionell beginnt der Laut nahe /ʊ/ und gleitet zum Schwa; in vielen Wörtern verschmilzt er zunehmend mit /ɔː/.
Common spellings
ure, our
ure, our
Examples
cure · secure · tour
cure · secure · tour
Watch out
Accept natural modern variation; not every speaker keeps /ʊə/ distinct.
Accept natural modern variation; not every speaker keeps /ʊə/ distinct.
Centring Diphthongs QuizQuiz: Zentrierende Diphthonge
1. Which word traditionally contains /ɪə/?
Career ✓
2. Which word contains the SQUARE vowel /eə/?
Share ✓
3. Which word may contain traditional /ʊə/?
Tour ✓
4. What does “non-rhotic” mean?
R is normally pronounced only before a vowel ✓
5. Which statement is accurate?
Centring diphthongs show modern variation ✓
Accent note: This sequence describes contemporary Standard British English. Natural regional, social and individual variation is normal.Hinweis zum Akzent: Diese Reihe beschreibt modernes britisches Standardenglisch. Natürliche regionale, soziale und individuelle Unterschiede sind normal.