What is a diphthong?

A diphthong is a sound formed by combining two vowels in a single syllable, creating a gliding motion from one vowel sound to another. For example, in the word "coin," the "oi" represents a diphthong, where the sound transitions from the "o" to the "i". This distinctive feature of diphthongs is what sets them apart from single vowel sounds, making them crucial for understanding pronunciation and phonetics in reading and linguistics.

The other options do not accurately define a diphthong: consonant blends involve two or more consonants that appear together in a word but maintain their individual sounds, a single vowel sound refers to a monophthong rather than a combination, and a rhyme pattern pertains to the arrangement of rhyming sounds in poetry or songs, which is unrelated to the blending of vowel sounds.