difthongen

Difthongen is a term that occasionally appears as a variant spelling of the linguistic concept diphthong. There is no widely recognized separate object in major linguistic references under the name “difthongen”; most sources use diphthong. When the term is encountered, it typically refers to the same phenomenon: a vowel sound formed by the movement from one vowel quality to another within a single syllable.

A diphthong consists of a nucleus and a glide toward a second vowel quality. The articulation begins at one point in the vocal tract and glides to another, producing a perceptual shift within the same syllable. Examples in English include the sounds in bite (as in aɪ), now (aʊ), coin (ɔɪ), and go (oʊ).

In phonological analysis, diphthongs are contrasted with monophthongs, which are vowels kept steady throughout their duration. Some languages also have triphthongs, and analyses differ on how to segment the glide from the nucleus. The exact classification of a sound as a diphthong can depend on the language and the phonological framework used.

Across languages, diphthongs vary in number and prominence. English has a relatively large inventory of diphthongs; Dutch likewise features a well-documented set. Other languages may treat certain vowel sequences as two separate vowels rather than true diphthongs. Phonetically, the glide often has a shorter duration than the main vowel, but this can vary by dialect and speaker.

Etymology: diphthong comes from Greek diphthongos, meaning two sounds or voices. If “difthongen” is encountered, it is usually a misspelling or less common anglicization of that term.