monophthong
- noun
- /ˈmɒnəfθɔŋ/
- Specialized
- In English, the vowel sound in 'cat' is classified as a monophthong because it has a single, stable quality.
Examples
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Method: The authors analyzed formant values of 8 monophthong vowels produced by 12 talkers from the region where the research took place and compared them with standardized vowels.
Academic text (2012) -
Third, on the basis of our review of regional vowel studies across dialect regions of North America, these pairs represent sets for which monophthongs can be identified.
Academic text (2012) -
* Diphthong reduction: the reduction of a diphthong to a monophthong, for example, fcko instead of fwcko for fire.
Academic text (2012) -
Many language learners struggle to distinguish between monophthongs and diphthongs in pronunciation exercises involving words like 'beat' and 'bait'.
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The term monophthong refers to a simple vowel sound that remains constant during its pronunciation, unlike diphthongs that glide from one vowel sound to another.
Antonyms
How Diphthongal
- Specialized
3
8.4
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
monophthong = phthong (semi-transparent) = mono + phthong
The word is built with the familiar Greek combining form mono- plus a technical element meaning 'sound', but the second element is not a familiar standalone word for most learners.
Etymology
Monophthong breaks into mono- 'one' and phthong 'sound', like in phone. It means a vowel that stays as a single, unchanging sound, so a monophthong is a vowel you say with one steady sound the whole time.