Diphthongs

A diphthong from the  Cloze (1): JXUwMDFmJXUwMDM1JXUwMDE3JXUwMDAwJXUwMDBl word δίφθογγος, diphthongos (literally meaning "two sounds" or "two tones"), also known as a gliding Cloze (2): JXUwMDJlJXUwMDE5JXUwMDE4JXUwMDEyJXUwMDA5 , is a combination of two adjacent  Cloze (3): JXUwMDJlJXUwMDE5JXUwMDE4JXUwMDEyJXUwMDA5 sounds within the same  Cloze (4): JXUwMDJiJXUwMDBhJXUwMDE1JXUwMDAwJXUwMDBkJXUwMDAzJXUwMDBlJXUwMDA5 . Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the Cloze (5): JXUwMDJjJXUwMDFiJXUwMDAxJXUwMDA5JXUwMDEyJXUwMDEw (and/or other parts of the speech apparatus) moves during the pronunciation of the vowel. In most dialects of English, the phrase no highway cowboys /ˌnoʊ ˈhaɪweɪ ˈkaʊbɔɪz/ has five distinct diphthongs, one in every syllable.

Diphthongs contrast with monophthongs, where the tongue or other speech organs do not move and the syllable contains only a Cloze (6): JXUwMDJiJXUwMDFhJXUwMDA3JXUwMDA5JXUwMDBiJXUwMDA5 vowel sound. For instance, in English, the word ah is spoken as a monophthong /ɑː/, while the word ow is spoken as a diphthong /aʊ/. Where two adjacent vowel sounds occur in different syllables—for example, in the English word re-elect—the result is described as hiatus, not as a Cloze (7): JXUwMDNjJXUwMDBkJXUwMDE5JXUwMDE4JXUwMDFjJXUwMDFjJXUwMDA3JXUwMDAxJXUwMDA5 .

Diphthongs often form when Cloze (8): JXUwMDJiJXUwMDE2JXUwMDE1JXUwMDExJXUwMDEzJXUwMDEzJXUwMDE1JXUwMDEx vowels are run together in rapid speech during a conversation. However, there are also unitary diphthongs, as in the English examples above, which are heard by listeners as single-vowel sounds (phonemes).