The phonetic symbol and sound əʊ

We’re almost at the end of exploring vowel sounds in the English language. Only 4 more to go!

One thing I would say here is that it’s worth taking the time to practise listening to and writing one diphthong at a time. The use of two symbols for one vowel sound can seem odd, especially given that if you say the two symbols separately, they don’t always directly equal the diphthong they’re representing.

So if you’re ready for your next phonetic symbol and sound, let’s go!

The reason I have underlined the words ‘so’ and ‘go’ in the above sentence, is because they contain our next double vowel sound: / əʊ /. We can hear this sound in:

So, go, oh, toe, know, no, process, though

Can you think of any other words with / əʊ / in them? If so, please write them in the comments section below!

For more information about listening to, watching and practising phonetic symbols and their corresponding sounds, please click here.