Triphthong
Template:Short description Template:Refimprove
In phonetics, a triphthong (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respelling, Template:IPAc-en Template:Respelling) (from Greek Template:Lang Template:Translit, Template:Lit) is a monosyllabic vowel 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 monophthongs, are said to have one target articulator position, diphthongs have two and triphthongs three.
Triphthongs are not to be confused with disyllabic sequences of a diphthong followed by a monophthong, as in German Template:Lang Template:IPA 'fire', where the final vowel is longer than those found in triphthongs.
Examples
Triphthongs that feature close elements typically analyzed as Template:IPA and Template:IPA in phonology are not listed. For instance, the Polish word Template:Lang Template:IPA 'tallow' is typically analyzed as Template:IPA - a sequence of a consonant followed by a vowel and another consonant. This is because the palatal approximant is resyllabified in some inflected forms, such as Template:Lang Template:IPA (instr. pl.), and also because Template:IPA occurs word-finally after a consonant just like Template:IPA does (compare Template:Lang Template:IPA 'industry' with Template:Lang Template:IPA 'Przemyśl'), which means that both of them behave more like consonants than vowels.
On the other hand, Template:IPA are not treated as phonetic consonants when they arise from vocalization of Template:IPA, Template:IPA or Template:IPA as they do not share almost all of their features with those three.
First segment is the nucleus
Bernese German
Bernese German has the following triphthongs:
- Template:IPA as in Template:Lang 'boy'
- Template:IPA as in Template:Lang 'feeling'
- Template:IPA as in Template:Lang 'school'
They have arisen due to the vocalization of Template:IPA in the syllable coda; compare the last two with Standard German Template:Lang Template:IPA and Template:Lang Template:IPA, the last one with a schwa not present in the Bernese word.
Danish
Danish has the following triphthongs:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Template:IPA as in Template:Lang 'ferry'
- Template:IPA as in Template:Lang 'to whirl'
- Template:IPA as in Template:Lang, a given name
- Template:IPA as in Template:Lang 'sparrow'
English
In British Received Pronunciation, and most other non-rhotic (r-dropping) varieties of English, monosyllabic triphthongs with r are optionally distinguished from sequences with disyllabic realizations:
- Template:IPA as in: flour (compare with disyllabic "flower" Template:IPA)
- Template:IPA as in: hire (compare with disyllabic "higher" Template:IPA)
- Template:IPA as in: coir (compare with disyllabic "coyer" Template:IPA), loir (compare with disyllabic "lawyer" Template:IPA)
Template:IPA are sometimes transcribed as Template:Angbr IPA, or similarly.Template:Citation needed
As Template:IPA and Template:IPA become Template:IPA and Template:IPA respectively before Template:IPA, most instances of Template:IPA and Template:IPA are words with the suffix "-er", such as player and slower. Less commonly, triphthongs appear as an inseparable part of a word, as in iron, society, or sour. Other instances are from loanwords or words derived from foreign sources, such as aorist, boa, and choir.
A unique aspect of English triphthongs, as compared to other sequences of three vowels, is their shared tendency to undergo reduction via a process known as smoothing.
Second segment is the nucleus
- Template:IPA as in Template:Lang Template:IPA 'ox'
- Template:IPA as in Template:Lang Template:IPA 'Uruguay'
- Template:IPA as in Template:Lang Template:IPA 'you [informal plural] change'
- Template:IPA as in Template:Lang Template:IPA 'that you [informal plural] may change'
The last two are mostly restricted to European Spanish. In Latin American Spanish (which has no distinct Template:Lang form), the corresponding words are Template:Lang Template:IPA and Template:Lang Template:IPA, with a rising-opening diphthong followed by a nasal stop and initial, rather than final stress. In phonology, Template:IPA are analyzed as a monosyllabic sequence of three vowels: Template:IPA. In Help:IPA/Spanish, those triphthongs are transcribed Template:Angbr IPA: Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA, Template:IPA