Diphthongs

FACE

In a global perspective, the pronunciations of FACE words can be categorized into two distinct types, a diphthongal one (which in turn can be sub-divided according to the height of the onset) and a monophthongal one, and these serve as fairly good diagnostics for some main regional accents. The RP variant, [eɪ] , is also the predominant one throughout North America, in WhSAfE, and in South Asia and the Cultivated accent of Australia. Interestingly enough, in England itself it tends to be socially marked, given that practically all regional dialects have alternative or at least additional pronunciations, usually with lower (e.g. [εɪ] in the South-west or [æɪ] in the West Midlands or East Anglia) or backer (e.g. [Λɪ] in the South-east or the West Midlands) onsets. Except for Cultivated speakers, a low and usually also back onset of FACE words constitutes a distinguishing feature of AusE, shared to some extent with NZE. In North America, slightly lowered (e.g. [εɪ/æɪ]) or also backed ([Λɪ]) onset realizations can also be heard, predominantly in dialects of SAmE. Conversely, the second major type, a half-close monophthongal [e:], characterizes Scotland, Ireland, Wales, northern England, most of the Caribbean, some North American dialects, and, with a short vowel (which may also come up in the British Isles), the accents of East and West Africa, South-East Asia, and the Pacific.