View source for Triphthong

{{Short description|Vowel sound involving motion through 3 vowel qualities}}
{{Refimprove|date=April 2008}}

In [[phonetics]], a '''triphthong''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|ˈ|t|r|ɪ|f|θ|ɒ|ŋ|,_|ˈ|t|r|ɪ|p|θ|ɒ|ŋ}} {{respelling|TRIF|thong|,_|TRIP|thong}}, {{IPAc-en|US|-|θ|ɔː|ŋ}} {{respelling|-|thawng}}) (from [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|τρίφθογγος}} {{translit|grc|triphthongos}}, {{lit|with three sounds|with three tones}}) is a [[syllable|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 [[monophthong]]s, are said to have one target articulator position, [[diphthong]]s have two and triphthongs three.

Triphthongs are not to be confused with disyllabic sequences of a diphthong followed by a monophthong, as in German {{lang|de|Feuer}} {{IPA|de|ˈfɔʏ.ɐ|}} 'fire', where the final vowel is longer than those found in triphthongs.

==Examples==
Triphthongs that feature close elements typically analyzed as {{IPA|/j/}} and {{IPA|/w/}} in phonology are not listed. For instance, the [[Polish language|Polish]] word {{lang|pl|łój}} {{IPA|pl|wuj|}} 'tallow' is typically analyzed as {{IPA|/CVC/}} - 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 {{lang|pl|łojami}} {{IPA|pl|wɔˈjami|}} (instr. pl.), and also because {{IPA|/w/}} occurs word-finally after a consonant just like {{IPA|/l/}} does (compare {{lang|pl|przemysł}} {{IPA|pl|ˈpʂɛmɨsw|}} 'industry' with {{lang|pl|Przemyśl}} {{IPA|pl|ˈpʂɛmɨɕl|}} '[[Przemyśl]]'), which means that both of them behave more like consonants than vowels.

On the other hand, {{IPA|[ɪ̯, i̯, ʊ̯, u̯]}} are not treated as phonetic consonants when they arise from vocalization of {{IPA|/l/}}, {{IPA|/v/}} or {{IPA|/ɡ/}} as they do not share almost all of their [[Distinctive feature|features]] with those three.

===First segment is the nucleus===

====Bernese German====
[[Bernese German]] has the following triphthongs:
*{{IPA|[iə̯u̯]}} as in {{lang|gsw|Gieu}} 'boy'
*{{IPA|[yə̯u̯]}} as in {{lang|gsw|Gfüeu}} 'feeling'
*{{IPA|[uə̯u̯]}} as in {{lang|gsw|Schueu}} 'school'

They have arisen due to the vocalization of {{IPA|/l/}} in the syllable coda; compare the last two with Standard German {{lang|de|Gefühl}} {{IPA|de|ɡəˈfyːl|}} and {{lang|de|Schule}} {{IPA|de|ˈʃuːlə|}}, the last one with a schwa not present in the Bernese word.

====Danish====
[[Danish language|Danish]] has the following triphthongs:<ref>{{cite web |title=Vokale |url=https://udtale.de/vokale/ |access-date=8 Feb 2024 |website=udtale.de |language=de-DE}}</ref>
*{{IPA|[ɛɐ̯u̯]}} as in {{lang|da|færge}} 'ferry'
*{{IPA|[iɐ̯u̯]}} as in {{lang|da|hvirvle}} 'to whirl'
*{{IPA|[œ̞ɐ̯u̯]}} as in {{lang|da|Børge}}, a given name
*{{IPA|[uɐ̯u̯]}} as in {{lang|da|spurv}} 'sparrow'

====English====
In British [[Received Pronunciation]], and most other [[Rhoticity in English|non-rhotic (r-dropping)]] varieties of English, monosyllabic triphthongs with ''r'' are optionally distinguished from sequences with disyllabic realizations:
*{{IPA|[aʊ̯ə̯]}} as in: ''flour'' (compare with disyllabic "flower" {{IPA|[aʊ̯.ə]}})
*{{IPA|[aɪ̯ə̯]}} as in: ''hire'' (compare with disyllabic "higher" {{IPA|[aɪ̯.ə]}})
*{{IPA|[ɔɪ̯ə̯]}} as in: ''[[wiktionary:coir|coir]]'' (compare with disyllabic "coyer" {{IPA|[ɔɪ̯.ə]}}), ''[[wiktionary:loir|loir]]'' (compare with disyllabic "lawyer" {{IPA|[ɔɪ̯.ə]}})

{{IPA|[aʊ̯ə̯, aɪ̯ə̯, ɔɪ̯ə̯]}} are sometimes transcribed as {{angbr IPA|awə, ajə, ɔjə}}, or similarly.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

As {{IPA|[eɪ̯]}} and {{IPA|[əʊ̯]}} become {{IPA|[ɛə̯]}} and {{IPA|[ɔː]}} respectively before {{IPA|/r/}}, most instances of {{IPA|[eɪ̯.ə]}} and {{IPA|[əʊ̯.ə]}} 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 (disambiguation)|boa]]'', and ''[[choir]]''.

A unique aspect of [[English (language)|English]] triphthongs, as compared to other sequences of three [[vowel]]s, is their shared tendency to undergo reduction via a process known as [[triphthong smoothing|smoothing]].

===Second segment is the nucleus===
[[Spanish language|Spanish]]:
*{{IPA|[u̯ei̯]}} as in {{lang|es|buey}} {{IPA|es|ˈbu̯ei̯|generic=yes|}} 'ox'
*{{IPA|[u̯ai̯]}} as in {{lang|es|Uruguay}} {{IPA|es|uɾuˈɣu̯ai̯|generic=yes|}} 'Uruguay'
*{{IPA|[i̯ai̯]}} as in {{lang|es|cambiáis}} {{IPA|es|kamˈbi̯ai̯s|generic=yes|}} 'you [informal plural] change'
*{{IPA|[i̯ei̯]}} as in {{lang|es|cambiéis|}} {{IPA|es|kamˈbi̯ei̯s|generic=yes|}} 'that you [informal plural] may change'

The last two are mostly restricted to European Spanish. In [[Latin American Spanish]] (which has no distinct {{lang|es|vosotros}} form), the corresponding words are {{lang|es|cambian}} {{IPA|es|ˈkambi̯an|generic=yes|}} and {{lang|es|cambien}} {{IPA|es|ˈkambi̯en|generic=yes|}}, with a rising-opening diphthong followed by a nasal stop and initial, rather than final stress. In phonology, {{IPA|[u̯ei̯, u̯ai̯, i̯ai̯, i̯ei̯]}} are analyzed as a monosyllabic sequence of three vowels: {{IPA|/uei, uai, iai, iei/}}. In [[Help:IPA/Spanish]], those triphthongs are transcribed {{angbr IPA|wej, waj, jaj, jej}}: {{IPA|es|ˈbwej|}}, {{IPA|es|uɾuˈɣwaj|}}, {{IPA|es|kamˈbjajs|}}, {{IPA|es|kamˈbjejs|}}

==See also==
*[[Hiatus (linguistics)|Hiatus]]
*[[Index of phonetics articles]]
*[[List of vowels]]
*[[List of phonetics topics]]
*[[Semivowel]]
*[[Vowel breaking]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation | last=Gütter | first=Adolf | year=1971 | title=Nordbairischer Sprachatlas | place=Munich | publisher=R. Lerche}}
*{{Accents of English|hide1=y|hide3=y|mode=cs2}}

{{refend}}

{{wiktionary|triphthong}}

[[Category: Vowels]]
[[Category:Phonetics]]