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The main difference between English and Polish diphthongs, and at the same time łhe main difficulty in pronunciation, lies not in the first but in the second element. In Polish diphthongs such as aj] oj] au! the second element is realised fully, i.e. the tongue reaches the position of i or u (check tliis by placing your hand under the chin). In the correspond-ing English diphthongs, (i] and [u] are merely targets which are never j reached; we do not get to articulate the second element fully but stop , half-way. For this reason in Polish we can refer to the second element of a diphthong as its finał element, while in English it will be the target sound. This is due to the fact that while in Polish we pass from the first to the second element immediately, in English the transition from the first element to the target sound is gradual and very slow.

The diagrams below are graphic representations of diphthongal glid' (shifts in the tongue position) in Polish aj and English [ai].

§ 45. During the articulation of _ Polish aj the tongue shifts immedia' from the position of the initial vowel sound to that of the finał elenr which is articulated fully. However in English we articulate the ini vowel, which is usually morę front than the Polish a, and from tir we raise the front part of the tongue towards the target position of [|l without reaching it. For this reason the glide from a to i during Polish diphthong aj is marked in the diagram with a solid linc a in the case of the English [ai] the finał part of the glide is marked w a dotted linę to indicate that it is not realised. The diagrams also sir a difference in the direction and length of the glide. English [i] is n| open and not so front as Polish i. As a result the glide, or in articuL terms the upward movement of the tongue, is considerably sho English than in Polish, and spread over a longer period of time.

Il is aiso wortfa noting here that the pronunciation of aj by Pol es la much morę uniform because the initial and finał elements are cleariy dftflncd, whereaB English [ai] has divereified pronunciations because it tu ilifncult to specify the exact point where the articulation breaks off; lltU point differs from speaker to speaker, i.e. some shorten the glide tllore llian others.

| 46, I.et us now compare the Polish diphthong au and En^ish [au].

Hu In the case of aj and [ai], in the Polish diphthong the tongue of the second element is reached fully but in English only the IJlM of ii slow and gradual glide from the first towards the second 11» marked, and the target point is not reached. jjthrr significant difference is that in au and [au] the target pointa English u is morę open and fronted than Polish u.

Apsii from diphthongs glided upward towards [i] and [u], which nnllmeu called closing diphthongs, there is another group of ■■ In English, whose target element is the central vowel [a]. m of Ihis group include here, hair, boor. No corresponding ■ aslst in Polish.

||l!!'"nling to the direction of glide, English diphthongs fali into l(»l iliphlhongs ending in [-i], [-u] and [-8]. In all of them the |l U strcnsed.

I- Diphthongs gliding towards [-i]; [«],* [ai]; [oi]

lllplithiiiign share the target element but (Jiffer in starting pointa. h» pirannlnd graphically as in the diagram below, where dots •

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