In
phoneticsPhonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds , and their physiological production, auditory perception, and neurophysiological status.Phonetics was studied as early as 2500 years ago in...
, a
triphthong (from
GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
τρίφθογγος, "triphthongos", literally "with three sounds," or "with three tones") is a
monosyllabicA syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
vowelIn phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
combination involving a quick but smooth movement of the articulator from one vowel quality to another that passes over a third. While "pure" vowels, or
monophthongA monophthong is a "pure" vowel sound, one whose articulation at both beginning and end is relatively fixed, and which does not glide up or down towards a new position of articulation; compare diphthong....
s, are said to have one target articulator position,
diphthongIn phonetics, a diphthong, or , is a contour vowel—that is, a unitary vowel that changes quality during its pronunciation, or "glides", with a smooth movement of the tongue from one articulation to another, as in the English words eye, boy, and cow...
s have two, and triphthongs three.
In
phoneticsPhonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds , and their physiological production, auditory perception, and neurophysiological status.Phonetics was studied as early as 2500 years ago in...
, a
triphthong (from
GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
τρίφθογγος, "triphthongos", literally "with three sounds," or "with three tones") is a
monosyllabicA syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
vowelIn phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
combination involving a quick but smooth movement of the articulator from one vowel quality to another that passes over a third. While "pure" vowels, or
monophthongA monophthong is a "pure" vowel sound, one whose articulation at both beginning and end is relatively fixed, and which does not glide up or down towards a new position of articulation; compare diphthong....
s, are said to have one target articulator position,
diphthongIn phonetics, a diphthong, or , is a contour vowel—that is, a unitary vowel that changes quality during its pronunciation, or "glides", with a smooth movement of the tongue from one articulation to another, as in the English words eye, boy, and cow...
s have two, and triphthongs three.
Stress on the first element
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
in British
Received PronunciationReceived Pronunciation , also called the Queen's English and BBC English, is the accent of Standard English in England, with a relationship to regional dialects similar to that of other European languages...
(these can be also analyzed as disyllabic sequences of a diphthong and a monophthong): as in
hour as in
fire as in
player as in
loyal, royal as in
lower
Bernese GermanBernese German is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Swiss plateau part of the canton of Bern and in some neighbouring regions.- Varieties :There is a lot of regional variation within the Bernese German Dialects...
(a
Swiss GermanSwiss German is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy...
dialect): as in
Gieu 'boy' as in
Gfüeu 'feeling' as in
Schueu 'school' as in
Müej 'trouble'
LatvianLatvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language...
: as in
tie 'they' as in
ko 'what'
Stress on the second element
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
: as in
buey 'ox' as in
Uruguay as in
cambiáis ('you [plural]change') as in
cambiéis ('that you may change')
MandarinStandard Mandarin, or Standard Chinese, known by various names to native speakers, is the official modern Chinese spoken language used in mainland China and Taiwan, and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
: as in 崖
yái 'cliff' as in 票
piào 'ticket' as in 六
liù 'six' as in 快
kuài 'fast' as in 回
huí 'return'
RomanianThis article discusses the phonology of the Romanian language. For other details on this language the reader is referred to that article....
: as in
iau 'I take' as in
rîdeau 'they were laughing'
VietnameseVietnamese , formerly known under French colonization as Annamese , is the national and official language of Vietnam...
: as in
tươi 'fresh' as in
rượu 'alcohol' as in
tiêu 'pepper' as in
nuôi 'to nourish' as in
khuỵu 'to fall on one's knees'
Stress on the third element
RomanianThis article discusses the phonology of the Romanian language. For other details on this language the reader is referred to that article....
(semivocalic phonemes marked with reversed circumflex accents): as in
pleoape 'eyelids' as in
creioane 'pencils'