In phonetics

Phonetics

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...

, a triphthong ˈtrɪfθɒŋ (from Greek

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...

 τρίφθογγος, "triphthongos", literally "with three sounds," or "with three tones") is a monosyllabic

Syllable

A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...

 vowel

Vowel

In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...

 combination involving a quick but smooth movement of the articulator from one vowel quality to another that passes over a third. While "pure" vowels, or monophthong

Monophthong

A monophthong is a pure vowel sound, one whose articulation at both beginning and end is relatively fixed, and which does not glide up or down towards a new position of articulation....

s, are said to have one target articulator position, diphthong

Diphthong

A diphthong , also known as a gliding vowel, refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: That is, the tongue moves during the pronunciation of the vowel...

s have two, and triphthongs three.

First segment is the nucleus

English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 in British Received Pronunciation

Received Pronunciation

Received Pronunciation , also called the Queen's English, Oxford English or BBC English, is the accent of Standard English in England, with a relationship to regional accents similar to the relationship in other European languages between their standard varieties and their regional forms...

 (monosyllabic triphthongs with R are optionally distinguished from sequences with disyllabic realizations) as in hour (compare with disyllabic "plougher" [aʊ̯.ə]) as in fire (compare with disyllabic "higher" [aɪ̯.ə]) as in "loir" (compare with final disyllabic sequence in "employer" [ɔɪ̯.ə])

As [eɪ̯] and [əʊ̯] become [ɛə̯] and [ɔː] respectively before //r//, all instances of [eɪ̯.ə] and [əʊ̯.ə] are words with the suffix "-er".

Bernese German

Bernese German

Bernese German is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Swiss plateau part of the canton of Bern and in some neighbouring regions.- Varieties :There is a lot of regional variation within Bernese German dialects...

 (a Swiss German

Swiss German

Swiss German is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy. Occasionally, the Alemannic dialects spoken in other countries are grouped together with Swiss German as well, especially the dialects of Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg...

 dialect): as in Gieu 'boy' as in Gfüeu 'feeling' as in Schueu 'school' as in Müej 'trouble'

Latvian

Latvian language

Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language...

: as in tie [ˈtie̯a̯] 'they' as in ko [ˈkuo̯a̯] 'what'

Northern Austro-Bavarian

Northern Austro-Bavarian

Northern Bavarian is a dialect of the Bavarian language, together with Central Bavarian and Southern Bavarian. The language is mostly spoken in the Upper Palatinate, although not in Regensburg, which is a primarily Central Bavarian–speaking area, according to a linguistic survey done in the late...

: as in /hɔu̯ɐ̯/ (MHG hâr) 'hair', or as in /ɔu̯ɐ̯/ (mhd. ôr) 'ear' as in /mɛi̯ə̯/ (MHG mêr) 'more' as in /ʃnou̯ɐ̯/ (MHG snuor) 'cord' as in /fei̯ə̯/ (MHG vier) 'four', or as in /ʃnei̯ə̯l/ (MHG snüerelîn) 'small cord'

The Northern Austro-Bavarian triphthongs have evolved from combinations of former long vowels or diphthongs from the Middle High German

Middle High German

Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...

 (MHG) period and vocalized r.

Second segment is the nucleus

Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

: as in buey 'ox' as in Uruguay as in cambiáis ('you [plural]change') as in cambiéis ('that you may change')

Romanian

Romanian phonology

This article discusses the phonology of the Romanian language. For other details on this language the reader is referred to that article....

: as in iau 'I take' as in rîdeau 'they were laughing'

Vietnamese

Vietnamese language

Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...

: as in tươi 'fresh' as in rượu 'alcohol' as in tiêu 'pepper' as in nuôi 'to nourish' as in khuỵu 'to fall on one's knees'

Third segment is the nucleus

Romanian

Romanian phonology

This article discusses the phonology of the Romanian language. For other details on this language the reader is referred to that article....

 (semivocalic phonemes marked with reversed circumflex accents): as in pleoape 'eyelids' as in creioane 'pencils'

See also

• Diphthong
  Diphthong
  A diphthong , also known as a gliding vowel, refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: That is, the tongue moves during the pronunciation of the vowel...
  
  
• Hiatus
  Hiatus (linguistics)
  In phonology, hiatus or diaeresis refers to two vowel sounds occurring in adjacent syllables, with no intervening consonant. When two adjacent vowel sounds occur in the same syllable, the result is instead described as a diphthong....
  
  
• Index of phonetics articles
• List of vowels
• List of phonetics topics
• Monophthong
  Monophthong
  A monophthong is a pure vowel sound, one whose articulation at both beginning and end is relatively fixed, and which does not glide up or down towards a new position of articulation....
  
  
• Semivowel
  Semivowel
  In phonetics and phonology, a semivowel is a sound, such as English or , that is phonetically similar to a vowel sound but functions as the syllable boundary rather than as the nucleus of a syllable.-Classification:...
  
  
• Vowel
  Vowel
  In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
  
  
• Vowel cluster
• Vowel breaking