Back, closing and narrow.
The glide of RP /əʊ/ moves from a centralised, between half-open and half-close position towards that of RP /ʊ/. There is a slight closing movement of the lower jaw, and the lips are neutral for the first element but tend to round on the second element. The starting point may have a tongue position similar to RP /ɜ:/. With no Spanish counterpart, English /əʊ/ is similar to the Galician glide in e.g. cousa (Gal 'thing'), the first element being more central and open, and the second more relaxed in English.
| <o> | cold /kəʊld/ , won't /wəʊnt/ | ||||||
| <oe> | doe /dəʊ/ , woe /wəʊ/ | ||||||
| <ou , ough, ow> | shoulder /ˈʃəʊldə/ , poultry /ˈpəʊltri/ , sparrow /ˈspærəʊ/ | ||||||
| <oa> | load /ləʊd/ , oatmeal /ˈəʊtmi:l/ | ||||||
| French loanwords with the following spellings |
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| Rare cases: |
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| so /səʊ/ |
| foe /fəʊ/ |
| grows /ɡrəʊz/ |
| gross /ɡrəʊs/ |
| brooch /brəʊtʃ/ |
| reproach /rɪˈprəʊtʃ/ |
| soldier /ˈsəʊldʒə/ |
| neurosis /njʊəˈrəʊsɪs/ |
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Although you offered Joe Jones a soup bowl
full of chocolate scones, he's joking he'll make a snowball and will throw it at your nose.
/ɔ:lˈðəʊ ju ˈɒfəd ˈdʒəʊ ˈʤəʊnz ə ˈsu:p ˈbəʊl ˈfʊl əv ˈtʃɒklət ˈskəʊnz | hiz ˈdʒəʊkɪŋ hil ˈmeɪk ə ˈsnəʊbɑ:l ənd wɪl ˈθrəʊ ɪt ət jə ˈnəʊz/ |
|
Hello, Joan, do you know that you can see the vocal folds with this microscope?
/həˈləʊ | ˈdʒəʊn | də ju ˈnəʊ ðət ju kən ˈsi: ðə ˈvəʊkl̩ ˈfəʊldz wɪð ðɪs ˈmaɪkrəskəʊp/ |
|
Oh! Moses supposes his toeses are roses, but Moses supposes erroneously.
/ˈəʊ || ˈməʊzɪz səˈpəʊzɪz ɪz ˈtəʊzɪz ə ˈrəʊzɪz | bət ˈməʊzɪz səˈpəʊzɪz ɪˈrəʊnɪəsli/ |
|
The two-toed tree toad tried to tread where the three-toed tree toad trod.
/ðə ˌtu:təʊd tri: ˈtəʊd ˈtraɪd tə ˈtred weə ðə ˌθri:təʊd tri: ˈtəʊd ˈtrɒd/ |
The tongue moves upwards from an centralised between half-open and half-close position to a half-close back position. The lips change from neutral to slightly rounded. 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 half open position to a close position. To pronounce the second element, the semivowel [w], the tongue is close to the palate, in the same way as when we pronounce /u/. The vocal folds vibrate during the production of this sound.
| <eu> |
| Europa |
| terapéutico |
| eufórico |
| Eugenio firmó con un seudónimo. |
The first sound is a vowel and the second element is a semivowel. The articulators move from an half open position to a close position. The vocal folds vibrate during the production of this sound.
Falling diphthong
The first sound in this diphthong is a vowel and the second element is a semivowel. The articulators move from a half open position to a close position. To pronounce the second element, the semivowel [w], the tongue is close to the palate, in the same way as when we pronounce /u/. The vocal folds vibrate during the production of this sound.
| <ou> |
| Lo urdió |
| Lo utilizó |
| bou |
| María lo usó mal. |
The first sound is a vowel and the second element is a semivowel. The articulators move from a half open position to a close position. The vocal folds vibrate during the production of this sound.