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Centring diphthongs
Centring diphthongs glide from a front or back position towards a more central position. The two front diphthongs start with spread lips, the back diphthong starts with loosely rounded lips. All end with spread or neutral lip position. The back centring diphthong seems to be getting out of fashion and is being replaced by by young people. In SBE there are three centring diphthong phonemes. To refer to the diphthong charts, click here.
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as in |
From the position of a front, slightly open /i/ the tongue moves in the direction of a lax central position. The lips are spread, and open loosely for the second element. Fortis/lenis contrast is noticeable. |
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as in |
From the position of a front half-open /e/ the tongue moves in the direction of a lax central position. The lips are spread, and open loosely for the second element. Fortis/lenis contrast is considerable. |
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as in |
From the back half close position of /u/ the tongue moves in the direction of a lax central position. The lips change from loosely rounded to neutral. Fortis/lenis contrast is noticeable. |
