10 Diphthongs C

10. Phonics: Diphthongs C -- / əʊ / & / aʊ / The letter clusters “o, o-e, ow, oa, ol, ou” may have / əʊ / as in the words like “no, clothes, cope, scope, hope, rope, know, low, slow, boat, coat, road, old, cold, bold, soul, dough,…” Letter “o” in most cases may have the / ɒ / speech sound as in the words like “pot, hot, mop, sop, sob,…”. The letter “o” has the diphthong / əʊ / speech sound as in the words like “no, clothes,…” But there are very few in number. The letter cluster “ow” may have the diphthongs / əʊ / & / aʊ / speech sounds. The language experience or exposure perhaps is the best way to know what speech sound is attached to the word. The letter clusters “o-e”, oa, ol” exclusively have the diphthong / əʊ / speech sound. The letter cluster “ou” may have the diphthong / əʊ / speech sound as in the words like “soul, dough,…” and there are few in number. The letter cluster “ou” usually the diphthong / aʊ / speech sound as in the words like “bound, count, ground, around, cloud, loud,…” The letter clusters “ou” may have / ʌ / speech sounds as in the words like “country, enough, rough, courage, money,…”. All in all, it is the language exposure that helps learner remember the speech sounds of the words. The knowledge of phonics is the additional help to enable learners to check the correct pronunciation of the words just in case that s/he is in doubt.