<Tr> <Th> Diphthongs </Th> <Td_colspan="6"> æɪ ɑe oɪ æɔ əʉ ɪə (ʊə) </Td> </Tr> <Ol> <Li> Although the notation / ʌ / is used for the vowel of STRUT in RP, the actual pronunciation is closer to a near - open central unrounded vowel (ɐ). The symbol ⟨ ʌ ⟩ continues to be used for reasons of tradition (it was historically a back vowel) and because it is still back in other varieties . </Li> <Li> General American lacks a truly contrastive NURSE vowel, so pairs like forward vs. foreword (distinguished in RP as / ˈfɔːwəd / and / ˈfɔːwɜːd /, respectively) are most typically homophonous as (ˈfɔɹwɚd). Also, (ʌ) (stressed) and (ə) (unstressed) may be considered allophones of a single phoneme in General American . </Li> <Li> Although the notation / eɪ oʊ / are used for the vowels of FACE and GOAT respectively in General American, they are analysed as phonemic monophthongs and frequently transcribed as / eo / in the literature . </Li> <Li> Many North American speakers do not distinguish / ɔ / from / ɑ / and merge them into / ɑ /, except before / r / (see cot--caught merger). </Li> </Ol> <Li> Although the notation / ʌ / is used for the vowel of STRUT in RP, the actual pronunciation is closer to a near - open central unrounded vowel (ɐ). The symbol ⟨ ʌ ⟩ continues to be used for reasons of tradition (it was historically a back vowel) and because it is still back in other varieties . </Li> <Li> General American lacks a truly contrastive NURSE vowel, so pairs like forward vs. foreword (distinguished in RP as / ˈfɔːwəd / and / ˈfɔːwɜːd /, respectively) are most typically homophonous as (ˈfɔɹwɚd). Also, (ʌ) (stressed) and (ə) (unstressed) may be considered allophones of a single phoneme in General American . </Li>

How many vowel sounds are there in the english language