The Phonological Status Of Diphthongs

THE PHONOLOGICAL STATUS OF DIPHTHONGSCONTENTINTRODUCTIONCHAPTER 1 DIPHTHONGS AND PHONOLOGICAL THEORY…………..1.1. Diphthongs………………………………………………………………..1.2. Phonological Theory………………………………………………………1.3. Research Objectives……………………………………………………….CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON DIPHTHONGS………2.1. Generative Phonology and Diphthongs2.2. Optimality Theory and Diphthongs2.3. Comparative Analysis of Theoretical PerspectivesCHAPTER 3 EMPIRICAL STUDIES ON THE PHONOLOGICAL STATUS OF DIPHTHONGS…………………………………………………………………3.1. Methodological Considerations……………………………………………3.2.Case Studies on Specific Languages………………………………………..3.3.Synthesis and Conclusion………………………………………………….CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………….REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………….INTRODUCTIONThere are two basic approaches to the phonological status of English diphthongs, which are known as the «unit theory» and «analytic treatment». The unit theory suggested by the Prague phonologists (N.S.Trubetzkoy, B.Tmka, J.Vachek) is based on the certain rules for the determination of the mono- and biphonematic realizations of the combinations of two phonemes. The criteria used in the unit theory are as follows: 1) diphthongs may be produced by unit articulatory movements and their length is almost equal to that of simple vowels (monophthongs); 2) diphthongs are monosyllabic combinations, i.e. their two elements - a nucleous and a glide - do not belong to different syllables of a word; 3) according to the functional criterion the distinctive function of a diphthong may be established by two rules: a) the combination