Which diphthong takes place in 'desirous'?
The phonetic transcription for desirous (in its BrE pronunciation) can be written as [dɪˈzʌɪərəs]. I wonder which diphthong—ʌɪ or ɪə—takes place in this word? Maybe here we can see a kind of haplology?
Solution 1:
/ʌɪə/ and /ʌuə/ are triphthongs. They are sometimes phonetically realized as diphthongs, but if all three vowel sounds are pronounced, they are triphthongs.