Jump to content

Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2018 October 8

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Language desk
< October 7 << Sep | October | Nov >> Current desk >
Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is a transcluded archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.


October 8

[edit]

New question about English sounds

[edit]

How come the oi (as in oil) sound exists in English but (in general) the diphthong eh+oo doesn't?? Georgia guy (talk) 12:23, 8 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

See Great Vowel Shift and Phonological history of English diphthongs. The /ɛu/ eh+oo shifted eventually into /juː/ yoo (which yod-dropping turns into /uː/ oo), while the /ɔɪ/ oi remained so. --Theurgist (talk) 14:04, 8 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]