Diphthongizes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To alter a vowel sound by combining two adjacent vowel qualities within the same syllable into a single gliding sound ; to cause a vowel to shift in pronunciation producing a complex tone that moves from one vowel position to another ; to modify phonetic articulation by blending two vowel sounds into a continuous vocal glide in speech
2. To transform a pure vowel into a two-part vowel sound that begins with one position and glides to another within the same syllable ; to change the vocal articulation making a single vowel sound into a shifting diphthong ; to produce a phonological process where a monophthong is turned into a diphthong during speech
3. To convert a simple vowel into a sound characterized by movement between two different vowel positions within one spoken syllable ; to engage in the process of merging vowel qualities so the sound glides rather than remains fixed ; to effect changes in speech sounds where a solitary vowel becomes a compound diphthong sound through blending

Etymology: "Diphthongizes" is the third-person singular form of "diphthongize," so it describes what happens when a single vowel sound shifts into a blend of two. The verb is built from "diphthong," which is itself a Greek-derived word: "diphthongos" combined "di-" (two) with "phthongos" (sound, voice), literally a "two-sound" vowel. The suffix "-ize," from Greek "-izein" through Latin "-izare," turns the noun into a verb meaning to make or treat in a certain way, so "diphthongize" means to turn a vowel into a diphthong. The verb is a straightforward formation on an existing noun, and it is used mostly by linguists describing sound change. English speakers often do it without noticing: the vowel in "price" or "mouth" is a diphthong, and when a dialect or language turns a plain vowel into one of these blends over time, that is the process the verb names.

Synonyms: diphthongates, vocalizes, pronounces, articulates, enunciates

Antonyms: monophthongizes, simplifies, reduces