Re: triphtong

Hi!

Joe <joe@...> writes:
> # 1 wrote:
>
> > In my dictionnary (a French dictionnary), at the word "triphtong"
> > (triphtongue) it says the normal stuff: a vowel that changes two
> > times but they give as example the english word "fire"
> >
> > Does fire contain a triphong? probably something like /6i@/?
> >
> > Before reading this, I thought that fire were /f6j@`/ and that
> > English didn't contain triphtongs
> >
> > But it is a French dictionnary from France so I can't be sure about
> > their English knowledge
> >
> > Might someone tell me?
>
>
> It's a triphthong in my British dialect.  [fAi@].  In American
> English, I believe it's more like [fAjr=].  Also, see 'hour' [aU@],
> IME.
Doesn't it need to be one syllable to be a triphthong?  I never
thought Japanese 'blue/green' = 'aoi' was a triphthong, but it fact
three monophthongs.  I'd say that 'fire' and 'hour' should be two
syllables, no?  I perceive them as:

    hour   [aU@]  /aU).@/   not /a_U_@/   (no CXS for a triphthong...)
    fire   [fAi@] /fAi).@/  not /fA_i_@/

I only know very few instances of three vowels in one syllable.  One
local Low German dialect has one in 'küörn' - 'to speak/talk'.  It's
only one syllable [ky96n] and is a falling triphthong ([y] is the
nucleus).

**Henrik

Reply