English triphthongs and rhymes

Learn English triphthongs with audios

Whenever I teach my students the English triphthongs, which are rarely considered in English as one of the key ingredients to achieve better pronunciation and to sound like a Native speaker, I ensure I leave them with the reasons of learning the English triphthongs:

1. to avoid saying ya in loyal, player, layer, flyer, higher, buyer, liar, fire, lawyer etc;

2. to avoid saying wa in lower, power, hour, sower, sour, flower, flour, tower, etc; and

3. to avoid saying yo in mayor ( the vowel in mayor /meə/is a diphthong, though), prior, conveyor, etc

Basically, there are FIVE triphthongs in English: /eɪə/, /aɪə/, /əʊə/, /ɔɪə/, /aʊə/. All of the triphthongs end in schwa /ə/.

A triphthong is a combination of two diphthongs or glides and a weak schwa sound at the end of each of them. This means there is a glide from one vowel to the second vowel and then to the third. In the same vein, the more one glides from a vowel to the others, the less prominent the other vowels become.

Let’s practice some of the common words that contain each of these triphthongs:

• eɪə as in player, layer, slayer, betrayal, conveyor, etc

• aɪə as in higher, flyer, liar, fire, buyer, etc

• əʊə as in lower, sower, etc

• ɔɪə as in royal, loyal, lawyer etc

• aʊə as in power, sour, flower, tower, etc

It’s also important to note that one’s knowledge of triphthongs enhances one’s knowledge of rhymes. Mastering the correct pronunciation of triphthongs and avoiding saying ya, wa, and yo, whenever we pronounce them is highly important for us to sound more like English native speakers.

I’m signing out here. I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter and listening to the audios as much as I enjoy writing and recording and sending it to you. Till I write to you again, please stay safe and enjoy every day of your life to the fullest.

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With love and everything English,

Francis