The OY-Sound
We’re talking about the OY-sound now.
This sound is one of our special diphthong sounds. It’s a combo sound of the [ɔ] -and the [ɪ] - vowel.
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol combination for this sound is /ɔɪ/.
In General American English and Canadian English, the OY-sound is the sound in the word BOY or ANNOY.
SYMBOL
On the IPA vowel chart, the sound starts along the right of the chart and transitions to the left side of the chart. The sound transitions from a back to front vowel (moving forward in the mouth) and from a mid-close to a near close vowel (meaning mouth opening closes a little more as well).
The Color Vowel® Chart, created by Karen Taylor and Shirley Thompson in 1999, is another visual organizer for spoken English and represents how to learn and think about vowels. It refers to this sound as the ‘TURQUOISE TOY’ sound or the TURQUOISE vowel. Notice the consistent placement on the mid-right corner of each respective chart.
The Color Vowel® Chart, 5th Edition © 2019. ColorVowel.com. Used with Creative Commons licensing (CC BY-NC-ND).
SOUND
So, the OY-sound in BOY is a diphthong.
Because the sound is actually a combination of two vowel sounds transitioning from one to the next, it is important to recognize that the sound is a longer sound. It takes more time to complete the sound because the most important difference from pure vowel sounds IS the transition.
Therefore, it is important to exaggerate the mouth movement to clearly distinguish vowel sound #1 to vowel sound #2.
This diphthong begins with the AW as in LAW [ɔ] vowel. As a part of the diphthong, the lips round more than they do for the pure vowel by itself, like in ‘law’ [lɔ]. This helps to exaggerate the transition. The tongue lifts, front and back, and the tip might pull back just a bit so it’s not touching the back of the front teeth. The jaw will start more open, and the lips will flare and round. To move into the second position, the IH as in SIT [ɪ] vowel, relax the lips from their rounded position. The corners will move out into their natural position again. Let the jaw close some. The tongue tip stays down so the tip touches the back of the bottom front teeth, but the front part arches up towards the roof of the mouth.
FEATURES
Because the OY-sound is a diphthong, its features change from the [o] sound to the [ʊ] sound. I’ve included both below so you can compare.
The [ɔ] sound features are as follows.
Its vowel height is open-mid, also known as low-mid, which means the tongue is positioned halfway between an open vowel (a low vowel) and a mid vowel. Imagine it being 3/4 open.
Its vowel backness is back, which means the tongue is positioned back in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
Its roundedness is protruded, which means that the corners of the lips are drawn together, and the inner surfaces exposed.
The [ɪ] sound features are as follows.
Its vowel height is near-close, also known as near-high, which means the tongue is not quite so constricted as a close vowel (high vowel).
Its vowel backness is front, which means the tongue is positioned forward in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
It is unrounded, which means that the lips are not rounded.
VISUAL REPRESENTATION
In English, the OY-sound is reflected in spelling in many different ways. Depending on the specific English dialect, it may be written using any of the following letters:
oi: moist, Illinois, voice, soil, broil, oil, steroid
oy: boy, Roy, toy, coy, destroy, employ
The /ɔɪ/-sound can appear in any position (initial, middle, final) but typically appears in the middle and end of words.
The reason why I’m especially showing you the different spelling combinations that can create this sound is that there will ALWAYS be exceptions, weird spellings, or other things that impact how reliable the written representation will be.
LISTENING
You need to be able to identify the sound; rhyming is an excellent way to match it properly. So, if you are not good already, start practicing rhyming and hearing the sound.
Practice listening to words throughout the day and categorizing them using the Color Vowel chart. Match the primary stressed vowel with a specific color. You should start noticing a pattern or list forming which will help when you encounter words.
I’m breaking down every single sound down for you so that you can learn how to produce each sound in English accurately. Sometimes, we’ll have easier sounds and sometimes we’ll have harder sounds.
If you’ve grasped this sound, then great! But if you’ve got a tip that might work for others, or you took a while to produce this sound correct but something clicked for you, let me know down below in the comments. My goal is to have a community know what to do when they’re stuck!
