Nik Taylor wrote:
>Mangiat wrote:
>
>
>>Just a short question: are English diphthongs phonemic?
>>
>>
>
>Yes. Most monoglots aren't even aware that there's any difference
>between a diphthong like /aj/ and a monophthong like /I/. I remember
>thinking that diphthong meant "one sound written with two letters" cause
>I learned that combinations like "ae" and "au" in Latin were called
>diphthongs, and I didn't realize that they were actually combinations of
>sounds. :-)
>
Don't worry: you're in good company there. A lot of things about English
orthography on the Internet (you know, those things pushing for spelling
reforms and the like) insist on calling things like <th> and <ea>
diphthongs.
TRistan