Learn the American Accent: How to Pronounce the AI /aɪ/ Diphthong

[@ramzy-6566]

Thank you so much for /aɪ/ diphthong video.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

You're welcome, Ramzy! :)

[@shaileshwaniya2581]

Good explanation thanks

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi Shailesh - You're very welcome! I'm glad you liked the video :)

[@zulkiflijamil4033]

Hello Julie. Your lesson on diphthong vowel aı is so so good. Thanks very much for showing me the way to pronounce the words. 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Glad you liked the video, Zulkifli! :)

[@ramzy-6566]

great video for AI /aɪ/ Diphthong.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Thanks Ramzy! Glad you like the video :)

[@ramzy-6566]

@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent i like Diphthongs.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

@@ramzy-6566 That's great! Diphthongs are an important part of the American accent :)

[@MsMRkv]

Is the "a" sound in the beginning of the "ai" diphthong the same as the "a" sound of the"au" diphthong?

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi Fernando - Thanks for your question :) Yes, this is the same beginning sound. I hope this helps!

[@MsMRkv]

@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent thanks!

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

@@MsMRkv You're welcome!

[@ramzy-6566]

are you pronounced the T in cat and outside ( glottal stop)?

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Yes - I used a glottal stop /ʔ/ (also called a stop T) for both of the Ts in "cat" and "outside". Good ears! :)

[@ramzy-6566]

@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent I love American English.

[@ramzy-6566]

please, in words start with ( tr ) as in try 3:53 is your tongue touche your lower teeth.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi! My tongue tip doesn't touch my lower teeth with the "tr" cluster - my tongue tip goes up to the alveolar ridge, just behind my upper front teeth. However, the "tr" cluster sometimes sounds like the CH + R /tʃr/ sound instead of a clear "tr", so the word "try" /traɪ/ can sometimes sound like /ʧraɪ/. This happens when Americans are speaking quickly. But either way, "tr" or CH + R, the tongue tip goes up to the alveolar ridge. I would recommend using the true pronunciation of the "tr" cluster, /tr/, in most situations. But if you speak quickly, you might discover that you are really saying something that sounds like CH + R /tʃr/. I hope this helps!

[@ramzy-6566]

@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent Thank you for reply, but i pronounce /tʃr/ first for /tʃ/, the front of my tongue not the tip just behind the hard ridge ( postalveolar ) i think the same place for /ʃ/ sound . then ( R sound )

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

​@@ramzy-6566 Try to place your tongue tip more forward in the mouth and see if that gives you a clearer /tʃ/ sound. If the tongue tip is pulled too far back, the /tʃ/ will sound a little distorted because the airflow is being held back by the tongue. :)

[@ramzy-6566]

i also like /aɪ/ Diphthong.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Thanks! :)

[@ramzy-6566]

Hello, Thank you so much for this video i watched a lot. 3:06 you said (picture /ˈpɪktʃər/) but i heard like /ˈpɪkʃər/ without t sound, am i right?. is that as well in a word (question /ˈkwɛstʃən/) can i pronounce without T sound. thank you.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi! I'm happy that you liked the video! Yes, you are correct - I pronounced "picture" with the SH /ʃ/ sound instead of the CH /tʃ/, like in "chair", sound. And I think this is how I always pronounce "picture", with the SH /ʃ/ sound: /ˈpɪk.ʃər/. I researched the pronunciation of "picture" on the website youglish.com (type in any word or phrase and click "US" for American English, and youglish will give you thousands of KZbin videos of Americans saying that word or phrase in a conversation). And in the first 10 videos I watched, all of the Americans also said "picture" like /ˈpɪk.ʃər/! Regarding the word "question": I almost always pronounce it like this: /ˈkwɛʃ.ʧən/, using the SH /ʃ/ sound instead of the S /s/ sound, like in /ˈkwɛs.tʃən/. But I do pronounce the "t", as the "t" is part of the CH /ʧ/ sound. My pronunciation is a little bit different than the standard pronunciation you might see in a dictionary because I almost always use the SH /ʃ/ sound, and most dictionaries will use the S /s/, like in /ˈkwes.tʃən/. You should also pronounce "question" using the CH /ʧ/ sound - this is how most Americans will pronounce it. The only time I might not say the "t" sound (and I'd also drop the S /s/ sound, too, and pronounce "question" like /ˈkwɛ.ʃən/) is when I'm speaking in an informal situation (maybe with friends or people who know me well) or I'm speaking very quickly. It is better to use the CH /ʧ/ sound because this sounds much more clear than the SH /ʃ/ sound. I researched how Americans pronounce "question" on youglish.com, and about 50% of the time they said it with the SH /ʃ/, like /ˈkwɛʃ.ʧən/, and the other 50% of the time they said it with the S /s/, like /ˈkwɛs.ʧən/. But all of them pronounced it with the CH /ʧ/ sound, and this has the "t" sound in it. Great question! Thank you for asking!

[@ramzy-6566]

@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent Thank you, i'm using youglish.com but youglish not all of them Americans original Americans , I'm listening american English from Americans, special from California. Thank you for picture and question and for ( chair ) /tʃɛr/ i prefer speak with /t/ because will become like share /ʃɛr/.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

@@ramzy-6566 You're welcome! :) And I agree with "chair" as /tʃɛr/ - you definitely need the "t" sound in this word!

[@ramzy-6566]

@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent Thank you

[@AwakenCompassion]

Thank you for the wonderful video. However, I hear slight difference between ai in Time vs Tie and goes with all ai in front of n and m...just curious.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi! Thanks for your question :) The difference you may be hearing is the nasalization that occurs when vowels come before nasal consonants. Vowels sound more nasal when they come before a nasal consonant. This happens because the mouth anticipates that a nasal consonant is coming next, so the muscles actually change their position early, during the vowel, as they prepare for the nasal consonant. That is great if you can hear the difference in the nasality of the vowels in "time" and "tie"! (Good ears!) AI in "time" is nasalized, but AI in "tie" isn't. Sometimes the effect of nasalization is very noticeable, but other times you can't really hear that much of a difference. Here's a video I made about how nasal consonants influence vowels - it might help! kzbin.info/www/bejne/paOkY3ugd5yjlZI

[@guitardude3394]

I always thought that the A in AI diphthong was the AA sound as in the word "bat".

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Thanks for your comment! In my research, the AI /aɪ/ diphthong uses the /a/ sound, not the AA /æ/ sound, and this is what is used in the General American English accent. But it's possible there is a regional accent within the US that does use /æ/ - there are so many regional accents, and I don't know all of them! :)

[@guitardude3394]

@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent That's probably true because I hang out with a lot of Southerners. I probably pick up some of their accent.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

@@guitardude3394 Oh, that's interesting! Yes, that could be why you hear a different vowel in that diphthong! :)

[@murms_]

Hi) So, when you begin to pronounce this sound the mouth are slightly go to the sides, sort of little smile?

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi GG666 - Thanks for your question :) The answer is too difficult to describe in writing, and it would be much easier for me to answer your question in real-time during one of my live English classes called Julie's Conversation Club (courses.sandiegovoiceandaccent.com/courses/julies-conversation-club). If you join the class, I can answer your question there and demonstrate the pronunciation for you. I hope to see you at the next class! :)

[@gjrl9512]

Hi! AMAZING video!!!!! I’m trying not to stress too much on this because I understand that everyone pronounces differently but I have a question. In unstressed, the AY sounds more like short i. Can I pronounce it like that when unstressed? Like “ah-ih” instead of “ah-ee”? (Stressed) am I correct?

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi GJR L - Thanks so much for your comment! Yes, in unstressed syllables, the AI /aɪ/ diphthong can be reduced to something that sounds like “ah-ih” or even just /a/. It all depends on the context of the conversation :) I hope this helps!

[@ramzy-6566]

please for the sound /a/ in /aɪ/ and /aʊ/ are open your mouth more the sound /æ/ .

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi Ramzy - It's difficult to answer this question. I think most of the time, my mouth is more open for æ/. But it also depends on the stress; if any of those vowels you mentioned are in a stressed syllable, I may naturally open my mouth more in order to stress them. I hope this helps :)

[@vineoo5622]

Hi! do i have to keep the sides my tongue wide and the back of my tongue lowered down like the /ɑ/ vowel for the beginning position? or can i just relax it?

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Thanks for your question! When I pronounce this diphthong, I feel my tongue is wide and down, at least a little bit - there's a little bit of depression of the back of my tongue. I'd have to hear your pronunciation to know for sure if your tongue placement produces an accurate vowel :) I hope this helps!

[@janildesilva7847]

Sometimes i heard the ɪ in the diphithong ɑɪ more like long i or y but sometimes i heard like short i, could you answer me which one is correct?

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Thank you for your question :) The length of the /ɪ/ portion in the AY /aɪ/ diphthong depends on the word. Generally speaking, all diphthongs are "long" because they contain two sounds, but when a diphthong (or any vowel) comes before a voiceless consonant, the vowel is said for a slightly shorter duration than when it comes before a voiced consonant or when the word ends in the vowel. Here's an example: tight /taɪt/ = the AY /aɪ/ diphthong is a little shorter than when it comes before a voiced consonant or at the end of a word. tide /taɪd/ = the AY /aɪ/ diphthong is longer tie /taɪ/ = the AY /aɪ/ diphthong is said for the longest duration So depending on the word, you might hear the AY /aɪ/ diphthong as a little shorter in duration, which means the /ɪ/ portion might be cut short. Or you may have been listening to someone who speaks a different US accent. In the southern US accents, the AY /aɪ/ diphthong is cut short and pronounced like a long /a/ vowel; maybe this is what you heard? I hope this was helpful! :)

[@BlueSky-nj7zd]

Hi ! Does this sound pronounce slightly different when it’s followed by a voiced sound? Cuz I found out this sound will become a little longer(open the mouth bigger)and nasal when it’s followed by a voiced sound (eg: tight tide knife knives) could you help me out this? Thanks a million!

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi! Thank you for your question! Yes, this is exactly what happens to this vowel, and other vowels, when they are followed by a voiced consonant. The vowel is said a little bit longer when it comes before a voiced consonant versus a voiceless consonant. And it makes sense that you would feel your mouth open more for this vowel because it is a diphthong, and the mouth opens as you make this sound anyway. I talked about this in a little more detail in my videos on the EE /i/ vowel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3PQopl7bZ5nY7c, and the IH /ɪ/ vowel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIbbaZiFiNZkmdk. The nasality you might be hearing could be an influence of the nasal consonant N /n/ that comes before the vowel in the words "knife" and "knives", rather than the F /f/ or V /v/ consonants that come after the vowel. If you have difficulty producing voicing on the final consonants, increasing the vowel length is one of the ways you can "trick" your listener into hearing voicing that isn't there! Vowel length probably deserves its own video :) Thanks for the question!

[@BlueSky-nj7zd]

Thanks a million!

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

@@BlueSky-nj7zd You're welcome :)