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  • The 'ay' as in 'say' diphthong. The first sound in this diphthong does not occur on

  • its own as a vowel in American English, e, e, ay. To make this first sound, the tongue

  • will push forward and press behind the bottom front teeth, e, e. The front part will be

  • wide, ay, ay. The second half is the 'ih' as in 'sit' vowel. So to make this part of the

  • diphthong, the front/mid part of the tongue will raise towards the roof of the mouth,

  • ay, ay. As the tongue raises, the jaw will close somewhat. Ay, say. Here are the two

  • sounds side by side. You can see that in the first sound of the diphthong, the jaw

  • is dropped slightly more. Here are the two

  • sounds in profile. Again, note that the jaw drops slightly more for the first sound. Here,

  • parts of the mouth are drawn in. In the first sound of the diphthong, the tongue pulls more

  • forward. In the second sound it is more forward and up, and the tongue raises closer to the

  • roof of the mouth. In both sounds, the tip of the tongue is touching the front bottom teeth.

  • Sample words: maybe, play, neighbor. Sample sentence: I was afraid if I stayed

  • late that I'd be tired today. Now you'll see this sentence up close and in slow motion,

  • both straight on and from an angle, so you can really study how the mouth moves when making

  • this sound. I, with the 'ai' as in 'buy' diphthong, was, lips make the W shape, afraid, bottom

  • lip up for the F, and now here is the 'ay' as in 'say' diphthong. Tongue tip up to make

  • the D. If I stayed, again the 'ay' as in 'say' diphthong, and the tongue tip up for the D. Late, again

  • the 'ay' as in 'say' diphthong, and the tongue moves into the T position. That I'd be tired,

  • with the 'ai' as in 'buy' diphthong, today. Again the 'ay' as in 'say' diphthong.

  • And now from an angle. I, with the 'ay' as in 'buy' diphthong, was afraid. The 'ay' as in

  • 'say', tongue forward and then up more towards the roof of the mouth. There the tip makes

  • the D. If I stayed, again the 'ay' as in 'say' but it's very quick here, the jaw doesn't

  • drop much before the tongue moves up to make the D sound. Now here's the L, and it pulls

  • down again, la-, into the 'ay' as in 'say' diphthong. That I'd be tired today. And again,

  • the 'ay' as in 'say' diphthong. The jaw drops, the tongue comes forward, and then the jaw

  • closes as the tongue raises towards the roof of the mouth. That's it, and thanks so much

  • for using Rachel's English.

The 'ay' as in 'say' diphthong. The first sound in this diphthong does not occur on

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