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Vowel 14: Diphthong /eə/
The tongue starts in the mid-height, frontal position for the vowel /e/ and moves back and down towards a mid, central position: /eə - eə - eə /.
The archetypal spelling for /eə/ is 'air', as in 'hair':
'air, fair, lair, chair, pair, stairs, repair'.
Also common is 'are' as in 'care':
'care, share, fare, rare, bare, spare, square, scare, stare, aware' and 'beware'.
The spelling 'ear' is occasionally /eə/, but much more commonly /ɪə/ from the previous lesson.
Examples of 'ear' pronounced /eə/:
'pear, bear, tear (paper), wear, swear'
Other spellings include
'ere' as in 'where' and 'there'.
'Where', /weə/ should contrast with 'were' – with the vowel in 'bird', /wɜː/ or shwa /wə/ when it unstressed – 'where were you when I needed you?'. They are not the same.
'eir' as in 'heir', which has a silent 'h' and sounds the same as 'air', and 'their'. Also 'Eire', the Irish name for Ireland.
The contraction 'they're' is homophonous with 'their' and 'there', /ðeə/.
Occasionally, and quite oddly, the spelling 'ar' is /eə/, as in 'scarce, Mary', and 'parent'.
There's also 'ayer' as in 'prayer' and 'ayor' as in 'mayor'. 'Mayor' is a homophone with 'mare', the female horse. It is not [meɪɔː]. 'Prayer' is not /ˈpreɪ.ə/ - that would be someone who prays! /meə/ /preə/
Practice sentences
Warily, the mayor shared half his pears with the hungry, hairy bear.
Mary never felt she had been treated fairly by her frankly scary parents.
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