A diphthong consists of two vowels within the
same syllable, which means that one vowel directly
precedes the other.
Most Northern Low Saxon dialects have only rising
diphthongs, which means that the first vowel in the sequence is
lower than the second vowel. In rising diphthongs the first vowel is the
main vowel (or “nucleus”) and the second vowel is often referred to as
“semivowel”. In English, this is the case in words like “aisle”
([aɪ̯]),
“dough”
([ɔʊ̯] ~
[ɛʊ̯̯])
and “coin”
([ɔɪ̯]).
(Falling diphthongs, that is diphthongs in which the
main vowel is higher than the semivowel, occur in Westphalian and
Eastphalian dialects of Low Saxon. But these are diphthongs only on the
phonetic level; on the (underlying) phonemic level they are long vowels;
for instance
Westphalian /ee/ → [iɛ̯]
(usually written iä), /oo/ →
[uɔ̯]
(usually written uo), and /öö/ →
[yœ̯] (usually written üö).)
Most
northern dialects have the following diphthongs: /ei/, /öü/, /ai/, /ou/ and
/au/, in German loanwords also /oi/ (written eu,
for instance in Europa). Pronunciation
of the diphthongs varies from dialect to dialect. The pronunciation guide
below is very general.
If
you hear someone consistently pronounce ee or eh as [eː] and öö or öh as [øː], as in German, you can safely assume that they learned Low Saxon mostly or entirely from reading.
If they pronounce them consistently as diphthongs it
may be a case of overcompensation (due to orthographic
flaws) or they may be speaking a Lower Elbe dialect in
which the distinction has been lost.
In some dialects, /ei/ and /ai/ have come to be pronounced
alike, and most of these dialects also pronounce /ou/ and /au/ alike. It can
be said that these dialects have only /ai/ and /au/ besides /öü/ and /oi/
which some have reduced to /oi/ as well (so they have only /ai/, /au/ and
/oi/, usually spelled ei,
au,
and eu ~
äu respectively).
In slow and careful speech, the main vowel tends to sound
slightly lengthened. (In phonetic script I could indicate this by means of
the half-length symbol
([ˑ])
after the main vowel, but I leave it out for the sake of simplicity.) This
characteristic is consistent with a general rule that slightly lengthens a
vowel that is followed by a sonorant (i.e. semivowel
as well as nasals and liquid consonants). This helps to give Low Saxon (and
German dialects influenced by it) the feature of drawn-out vowels and
dipthongs that strikes people in southern parts of Germany as typisch
norddeutsch (“typically North German”).
e(e)
(eh)
ey
[ɛˑɪ̯]
as in
non-Scottish English “day” and “lane” pronounced slowly
Deel (deyl)
‘deal’, ‘part’ See
(sey) ‘sea’ beden
(beyden) ‘to offer’ Deef
(deyv) ‘thief’
Seep (seyp)
‘soap’
Note:
In some dialects the above-mentioned diphthong is pronounced as in “aisle”
and “lie” and is usually written
ei or
eih. This may be written
ey or
ay in the General Orthography.
Note:
Before syllable-final /r/, which is pronounced as a low medial vowel,
this diphthong is pronounced either as in “sayer”
or as “dear”, the latter mostly in dialects of the Lower Elbe
region and Mecklenburg (including some of the
ee =
ei
dialects mentioned above) which do not permit triphthongs, i.e. three
vowels in a row.
Note:
In some dialects, e.g. those of the Lower Elbe region and
Mecklenburg, the above-mentioned diphthong is pronounced as in “boy”
and “coin” and is usually written
eu,
äu,
euh or
äuh.
Note:
Before syllable-final /r/, which is pronounced as a low medial vowel,
this diphthong is pronounced either as in as in
French œil or as in French dur, the
latter mostly in dialects of the Lower Elbe region and Mecklenburg
(including some of the ee =
ei
and öö =
üü dialects
mentioned above) which do not permit triphthongs, i.e. three vowels
in a row.
as
in “go” and “stone” pronounced slowly in non-Scottish English, depending on the dialect either
fully rounded (as e.g. in North America) or with the main vowel unrounded
(as e.g.
in Southeastern
England, Australia and New Zealand)
good (goud) ‘good’ Goos (gous) ‘goose’ Pool (poul) ‘pool’,
‘pond’ Foot (vout) ‘foot’ noog (noug) ‘enough’
Note:
In some dialects, e.g. many of Mecklenburg,
the above-mentioned diphthong is pronounced as in “house” and “now” and is usually written au or auh. This may be written oy or au in the General Orthography.
Note:
Before syllable-final /r/, which is pronounced as a low medial vowel,
this diphthong is pronounced either as in as in “tower” or as in “tour”, depending on the dialect, the latter mostly in dialects of the Lower Elbe region
and Mecklenburg (including some of the ee = ei, öö = üü and oo = au dialects mentioned above) which do not permit triphthongs, i.e. three vowels
in a row.
Many authentically spoken Low Saxon dialects have what is called
“super-length”
or “drawl tone” where final unstressed -e has
been deleted after a syllable with a long vowel or a
diphthong. When the
consonant before the final unstressed -e is a voiced one (/b/, /v/,
/m/, /d/, /n/, /z/, /l/, /r/, /g/, /j/), the preceding long vowel or
diphthong is pronounced somewhat longer. In other words, the length of the
“disappeared” short -e comes to be added to the previous, now final
syllable. In such cases, the now seemingly final consonant does not undergo
final devoicing. (Please note that in some dialects /d/ comes to be deleted
and /g/ comes to be fricative ([ɣ])
in cases of super-length.) In these cases an apostrophe is supposed to be
written to represent the “disappeared” short -e. However, even in
textbooks, dictionaries and encyclopedias this orthographic rule is rarely
followed, and this leads to mispronunciation by learners.
(Falling diphthongs, that is diphthongs in which the
main vowel is higher than the semivowel, occur in Westphalian and
Eastphalian dialects of Low Saxon. But these are diphthongs only on the
phonetic level; on the (underlying) phonemic level they are long vowels;
for instance
Westphalian /ee/ → [iɛ̯]
(usually written iä), /oo/ →
[uɔ̯]
(usually written uo), and /öö/ →
[yœ̯] (usually written üö).)
