International Phonetic Alphabet
In the International Phonetic Alphabet, monophthongs are transcribed with one symbol, as in English sun . Diphthongs are transcribed with two letters, as in English sign or sane . The two vowel symbols are chosen to represent the beginning and ending positions of the tongue, though this can be only approximate.
The non-syllabic diacritic (an inverted breve below, ⟨◌ ̯⟩) can be placed under the less prominent component to show that it is part of a diphthong rather than a separate vowel. It is, however, usually omitted in languages such as English, where there is not likely to be any confusion.
Without the diacritic, the sequence can represent either a diphthong or two vowels in hiatus .
Read more about this topic: Diphthong
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