While watching the spelling bee, we are arguing what a diphthong is.

[rug]

I say it's a vowel combination.

She says I'm a peckerhead.

Please resolve this.

[miss_american_pie]

1. I believe

it's technically the sound of the vowel combination.

Does that help?

[rug]

3. Yes, thank you.

I was sure I wasn't a peckerhead.

[miss_american_pie]

8. Is that mutually exclusive?

;)

[xmas74]

2. At least someone else is watching it

besides me and my daughter.

[rug]

4. I'm watching with my kids.

They're laughing at the last word, "Bobism".

[xmas74]

6. She's only five.

She's sitting in awe. She asked me if she would be able to spell that well someday too.

[Oeditpus Rex]

5. diph·thong

n. 1. a complex speech sound or glide that begins with one vowel and gradually changes to another vowel within the same syllable, as (oi) in boil or () in fine.

2. a peckerhead.

[rug]

11. .

:smoke:

[yewberry]

7. It's an unsegmentable speech sound

that consists of a "glide" from one sound to another, but is still considered to be a phoneme, like "oi."

There're also monophthongs, which is really, really fun to say.

[Oeditpus Rex]

13. Phoneme?

Didn't Blondie do that? :shrug:

[ZombieNixon]

9. You are not a peckerhead.

A diphthong is a comibination of two vowel sounds that is considered to be single phoneme within a given language.

In English, "oi" is a diphthong, but "iu" is not.

[rug]

12. Thank you, my learned colleague.

[newcriminal]

10. He is a peckerhead!

No matter what diphthong means.

[mykpart]

14. How's this for a dip-thong?