46. A teacher posts the following words from a reading selection on a word wall. Boil, Oil, Coin, Join. Which of the following vowel sounds is present in each word?
Answer: C
The vowel sound present in each word is a diphthong.
Each of the words provided—Boil, Oil, Coin, and Join—contains a vowel sound that glides from one vowel to another within the same syllable, characteristic of a diphthong.
A) Short vowel
Short vowels are distinct sounds that do not glide between two vowel sounds. In the words listed, the vowel sounds do not fit the criteria for short vowels, as they exhibit a combination of sounds instead of a singular short sound.
B) Schwa
The schwa sound is a neutral vowel sound often found in unstressed syllables, represented by the phonetic symbol /ə/. None of the words provided contain the schwa sound, as they all feature clear and distinct vowel combinations rather than an unstressed vowel sound.
C) Diphthong
Each word includes a diphthong, which is characterized by a combination of two vowel sounds within the same syllable. For example, "Boil" contains the diphthong /ɔɪ/, and this pattern is consistent across the other words listed, making this option the correct choice.
D) Long vowel
Long vowels are pronounced the same as the letter name itself and do not involve the blending of two vowel sounds. The words in question feature combinations of vowel sounds, thus they do not qualify as long vowels.
Conclusion
The presence of diphthongs in each word clearly distinguishes them from other vowel sound types. Options A, B, and D do not apply as they fail to represent the gliding vowel sounds present in the words Boil, Oil, Coin, and Join. Therefore, C is definitively the correct answer.