Diphthong Sound / aɪ / as in 'like' – American English Pronunciation

UNESCO declared January 2018 the month of diphthongs. We're just messing with you, they didn't! However, here's our video on the diphthong /aɪ/, as in the word "like." In this video, you'll find out how to make the /aɪ/ diphthong and how to avoid pronunciation mistakes.
You'll practice this sound with a pronunciation exercise recorded by a professional speech therapist.

Quick links:
• Diphthong /aɪ/, as in "like:" 00:00
• Difference b/w a diphthong and a monophthong: 00:39
• Diphthong definition: 01:46
• How to make the /aɪ/: 02:20
• Typical pronunciation mistakes: 03:56
• Pronunciation exercise: 04:43
• Are /eɪ/ and /oʊ/ diphthongs? 08:21

Related videos:
#AmericanPronunciation #VowelSounds #Diphthongs

[THIS VIDEO HAS ENGLISH, JAPANESE, CHINESE, VIETNAMESE, PORTUGUESE, AND KOREAN SUBTITLES]
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TRANSCRIPT

Hello there! This is the "Sounds American" channel.
In this video, we're going to talk about the American vowel sound /aɪ/, as in the word "like." You can also hear this sound in words like "child," "hi," "sky," or "height."
We'll be using special phonetic symbols — /aɪ/ — for this sound.

Let's start with a small experiment :).
Take a look at these two words: "spa" and "spy"
They differ by their vowel sounds: the /ɑ/ in "spa" and the /aɪ/ in "spy."
Now, watch and compare what happens when you pronounce these vowels: /ɑ/ - /aɪ/
Do you see the difference in how your tongue and jaw move?

When you pronounce the /ɑ/ sound, your tongue and jaw move into one position only.
However, when you pronounce the /aɪ/ vowel, they move from one position to another.
Why does it happen?
The /ɑ/ is what is called a "monophthong," which means "a single sound." So, you pronounce only one sound.
The /aɪ/, however, is a "diphthong." It means that it's made by merging two single sounds into one.
That's why your jaw and tongue change their positions as you make the first sound and then connect it to the second.
There are three diphthongs in American English, the /aɪ/, the /ɔɪ/ and the /aʊ/, as in the words "by," "boy," and "bow."
We'll cover the /ɔɪ/ and the /aʊ/ in our future videos.
As for the /aɪ/, let's find out how to pronounce this sound.
To make the /aɪ/ diphthong correctly, you need to pronounce two sounds and make a smooth connection between them.
This is how you do that.
Start with making the /ɑ/ sound.
Open your mouth as wide as possible. Relax your lips and allow them to rest in a neutral position.
Flatten your tongue and place it very low in your mouth. The tip of your tongue should be touching the back of your bottom front teeth.
Next, connect the /ɑ/ to the /ɪ/ sound.
Smoothly move your jaw up, until your mouth is almost closed and push your tongue forward, raising it high in your mouth.
The first sound in a diphthong is typically longer and louder. So, make sure that you pronounce a nice and full /ɑ/ and then connect it to the /ɪ/.
Now, let's glide from the /ɑ/ to the /ɪ/ and blend the two sounds together: /aɪ/, /aɪ/, /aɪ/.

When you pronounce words with the /aɪ/ sound, try to avoid the most common pronunciation mistake. Many non-native speakers reduce the /ɪ/ sound in the /aɪ/.
As a result, the whole sound gets distorted, and it may lead to misunderstandings.
Compare:
• /n*t/ - /naɪt/
• /s*n/- /saɪn/
• /f*nd/ - /faɪnd/
Remember, even though the /ɪ/ is more relaxed and the shorter part of the diphthong, you need to pronounce it completely.
Now, let's practice the /aɪ/ sound in some words.
Let's begin.

[Pronunciation exercise]
• eye
• ice
• idea
• iron
• item
• ivy
• arrive
• assign
• kind
• kite
• knife
• life
• light
• might
• mind
• nice
• nine
• pilot
• polite
• prize
• quiet
• remind
• style
• buy
• cry
• dry
• fly
• fry
• guy
• high
• July
• pie
• reply
• shy
• sigh
• sky
• spy
• tie
• try
• why
You're done! Congratulations!

There's a debate among linguists about whether these sounds are "monophthongs" or "diphthongs."
Here's what we think.
The vowels in diphthongs are connected with a long, gliding movement.
On the one hand, the /eɪ/ and the /oʊ/ sounds are pronounced with similar gliding movements. So, they are kind of like diphthongs and we even represent them with two symbols each.

On the other hand, this movement with the /eɪ/ and the /oʊ/ is not as noticeable as with the other diphthongs. So, they are somewhere in between.

We admit, they can be diphthong-ish, but it'd be more logical to consider them as single vowels.

[АлександрКоваль-ре]

I’ve been with you guys for almost one half a year! Thanks a lot for your efforts! Nobody can compete with you guys in terms of making videos about pronunciation. Trust me😄 I tried many corses, yours are the best. P.S I’ll not stop!😅😉

[marlonbrenno]

What about spelling? Is It often represented by the letter <i> most cases? And a few cases the the letter <y> and other spellings?

[terryguire]

Glad you explained your reasoning regarding the 2 phonemes that are considered somewhere between monothongs and dipthongs.

[luismanuelg.b]

Thanks bro! this videos is pretty helpful for people who want to learn the American English! God bless you and God bless America!

[armandolo]

Hey dude this channel is awesome. Im an intermediate english student and this is exactly what I needed.

[antoniomendescardoso-xnni]

Hello there!

It's have been an amazing experience study pronunciation with wise channel. I hope you keep doing it...

[AllanEduardo]

Good job again! I think your videos are great! ;)
Do you know what would be awesome? A graphic of the most common spelling for this sound! <3

[mohmeegaik]

Thank you. Just subscribed. Very good videos.

[drayyoutube]

I’ve noticed that many people in America pronounce the /aɪ/ sound as /ʌɪ/ when a voiceless consonant comes afterward. Instead of saying the word “light” as /laɪt/ for example, they’ll say it as /lʌɪt/. I’m guessing it’s because the /ʌ/ sound takes less effort to say than the /a/ sound since it’s a less open vowel and words that end in voiceless consonants are shorter.

[demil]

Now here is a question that might or might not be related to the general sound of vowels:

Why do many Americans, especially those from the US (not heard it to be so common with Canadians...) have a voice that sounds like „Mikey Mouse“ or under helium?

It’s hard to describe, but there seems to be a particular sound to some US-American’s voices that is very particular and differs from other English speakers.
Where does this come from? Is it conscious or acquired?

[ramzy-]

i still watch this video, amazing video.

[dieuliennguyen]

It's such a helpful video. Thanks a lot.

[CleoAlves]

This is the best channel about pronunciation classes I have found here. Congrats .Thank you for helping me with these videos !!

[taherelsayed]

Your videos are so much helpful to me. Thanks.

[tierrarsk]

Excuse me.
Kathy reserved a table for four people. Does the pronunciation of the word 'for' change?

[eidaalsaidi]

hi, I get really confused how many single vowels and diphthongs are there in standard American accent, can I have one chart with all of them together ???

[JoseRojas-mwhy]

Thank you so much, I try to learn English. 👍✌

[StupidPurpleDoodle]

Hey sounds American, What about the ju sound? As in the word “Few” (fju) also is the ‘ju’ sound a monophthong or a diphthong?

[danielsosa]

Excellent video. All these videos have helped me a lot to improve my pronunciation. I guess in this video you missed the percentage of words pronounced like this sound. Congrats!

[yoniyonatan-mk]

what about the ei & ou sound in British English, are they considered as diphthongs or monophthong