verb
- to change a diphthong into a monophthong; to reduce a two-part vowel sound to a single vowel sound
Usage: linguistics; phonetics
Examples
- In some English dialects, the vowel sound in 'price' has monophthongized over time.
- Linguists observed that the diphthong /aɪ/ began to monophthongize in the speech community.
- The historical sound change caused the diphthong to monophthongize into a single vowel.
- When speakers monophthongize a diphthong, they simplify the vowel articulation.
- The dialect study showed how certain diphthongs monophthongize in younger speakers.