Examples of Triphthongs Words in English

In the English language, vowels play a vital role. They are used to make different sounds and it will be helpful in improving the pronunciation of the words.

After Diphthongs and monophthongs, we will be studying about the triphthong. They are considered to be the notable and common features of spoken English. Sometimes it becomes to produce the right pronunciation. It is also beneficial for beginners to learn proper enunciation and articulacy.

What are Triphthongs?

When three vowels glide together to produce a sound we call it a Triphthong. Basically, there are three triphthongs that can are generally used in the English language.

/a??/ (“ah-oo-uh”)
/a??/ (“ah-ih-uh”)
/j??/ (“ee-oo-uh”)

Note: If you are not able to understand the notations then refer to the pronunciations in the bracket.

You would notice that these vowels would always come before the R sound in a particular word. In this session, we would be considering all the possible types of triphthongs which have single and double syllables.

1. /a??/ (“ah-oo-uh”)

This vowel sound occurs when the digraph “OU” is followed by an “R.”

Example Words	Triphthong (Single syllable)	No triphthong (Two syllables)
our, hour, flour, sour	/a??r//a??r/ (H is silent)/fla??r//sa??r/	/?a?.?r//?a?.?r//?fla?.?r//?sa?.?r/

2. /a??/ (“ah-ih-uh”)

This triphthong is pronounced with the letter combination “IRE.”

Example Words	Triphthong (One syllable)	No triphthong (Two syllables)
fire, dire, inspire, Ireland	/fa??r//da??r//?n?spa??r//?a??r.l?nd/	/?fa?.?r//?da?.?r//?n?spa?.?r//?a?.?r.l?nd/

Moreover, you can refer to the “IRE” words which will be applicable to the other instances and examples where the pronunciation can occur.

pyre
choir

3. /j??/ (“ee-oo-uh”)

Now, this one is the third triphthong which sometimes occurs when the digraph “UR” occurs after the hard consonant value and it is followed by E, Y, I. so rather than breaking up the different sounds into two syllables, you can round it up to schwa altogether.

Example Words	Triphthong (schwa included)	No triphthong (schwa omitted)
cure, pure, fury, curious	/kj??r//pj??r//?fj??r.i//?kj??r.i?s/	/kj?r//pj?r//?fj?r.i//?kj?r.i?s/