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The main difference between English and Polish diphthongs, and at the same time the main difficulty in pronunciation, lies not in the first but in the second element. In Polish diphthongp such as o/! o;! 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 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 glides (shifts in the tongue position) in Polish aj and English [ai].

SL

Fi*. 30. Polish aj Fi*. 3L Engli* |ai|

§ 45. During the articulation of _ Polish aj the tongue shifts immediat from the position of the initial vowel sound to that of the finał cierne whkh is articulated fully. However in English we articulate the ini‘ vowel, which is usually morę front than the Polish a, and from th we raise the front part of the tongue towards the target position of (1 without reaching it. For this reason the glide from a to i during tk( Polish diphthong aj is marked in the diagram with a solid linę a|^ in the case of the English [ai] the finał part of the ^ide is marked a dotted linę to indicate that it is not realised. The diagrams also ithoH a difference in the direction and length of the glide. English [i] is in open and not so front as Polish i. As a result the glide, or in articul terms the upward movement of the tońcie, is considerably sho English than in Polish, and spread over a longer period of time.

li is also wortfa noting here that the pronunciation of aj by Pol es •" much morę uniform because the inidal and finał elements are cleady •'Itned, whereas English [ai] has divetsified pronunciations because it '» ilifficult to specify the exact point where the articulation breaks off; liii* point differs from speaker to speaker, i.e. some shorten the glide MiiKe tiian others.

t 16. I.et us now compare the Polish diphthong au and English [au].

Al III the case of aj and [ai], in the Polish diphthong the tongue ■Mlliill of the second element is reached fully but in Eng]ish only the lilMH lliin of a slow and gradual ^ide from the first towards the second HM W marked, and the target point is not reached.

Atiolliri aignificant difference is tiiat in au and [au] the target pointa Mm dlii.. Kn^ish u is morę open and fronted than Polish u.

Ul Apail from diphthongs glided upward towards [i] and [u], which ^^HHIiiim called closing diphthongs, there is another group of In English, whose target element is the central vowd [•]. ■■ this group include here, kair, boor. No corresponding aaist Polish.

^^^^MHnrdiog to the direction of glide, English diphthongs fali into 'Wl •"'.|||| diphthong; ending in [-i], [-u] and [-a]. In dl of them the la stressed.

L I Diphthongs gliding towards [-i]; [ci]; [ai]; [oi]

Mim tflphllmog* ahare the target element but $ffer in starting pointa. ¹    k* ptcaentnd graphically as in the diagram bdow, where dots •

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