Monophthongal

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a vowel sound produced with a single, unchanging tone throughout its articulation without any glide or shift in quality
2. Pertaining to speech sounds characterized by a steady vocalic element without the transitional movement typical of diphthongs
3. Referring to phonetic elements in language where the vowel retains a consistent sound quality from beginning to end without modulation or combination of two different vowel sounds

Etymology: "Monophthongal" is a plain English formation: the adjective "monophthongal" is built from "monophthong" with the adjectival suffix "-al" added. The two parts do the work of the whole. "Monophthong" joins Greek "monos", meaning "single" or "alone", with "phthongos", meaning "sound" or "voice", so a monophthong is a single sound. The contrast is with diphthongs, where the tongue moves during the vowel, as in the vowel of "boy" or "ride". The suffix "-al" marks the word as describing a quality, so "monophthongal" means having the qualities of a monophthong. A vowel sound that holds one steady quality from start to finish is therefore monophthongal, whether or not the speaker is thinking about it.

Synonyms: single-vowel, pure vowel, simple vowel

Antonyms: diphthongal, complex vowel