Aɪ - LOWER CASE A + SMALL UPPER CASE I
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Front, closing and wide. For the articulation of RP/aɪ/, the glide begins at a point slight1y behind the front open position [ä], approaching RP /ɑ/, and moves in the direction of RP/ɪ/ nearer to a centralised half-close position [ё˕]. The closing movement of the lower jaw is obvious and the lips change from a neutral to a loosely spread position. Before [ɫ], the second segment tends to be absorbed into [ə] or [ʊ] glide (e.g. tile [taːəɫ]). Similar to the diphthong found in the Spanish word aire (Span 'air'), the starting point of RP /aɪ/ is close to any of the variants of the Spanish glide, but the end-point is more relaxed than in Spanish. Spelling
ExamplesI /aɪ/
PronunciationThe tongue begins back and low in the oral chamber and moves upwards towards a centralised close front position with a very noticeable closing movement of the lower jaw. The lips change from a neutral to a spread position. The soft palate is raised (unless followed by a nasal). |
Falling diphthong The first sound in this diphthong is a vowel and the second element is a semivowel. The articulators move from an open position to a close position. The vocal folds vibrate during the production of this sound. Spelling<ai, ay> Examplesaire PronunciationThe articulators move from an open position to a close position. The vocal folds vibrate during the production of this sound. |