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p.s. - shanks, your bet may require a recount; I was thinking it was either dieresis or digraph, the latter leading of course to the more accurate ligature... but the oddest thing (to me, at least) is that the original spelling of dieresis (and still the Brit spelling?) was diaeresis, with the æ ligature.That is still the standard spelling here in NZ as well, although the digraph/ligature has tended to be dropped in favour of ae. We spell encyclopaedia, paediatrician and anaesthesia that way, as well. The æ is still acceptable, it's just considered somewhat pretentious, an affectation - probably why I like it so much! 
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You learn something every day, they say, especially if you visit this board.
I recall being taught that æ is a diphthong. From what I've read above and in several online dictionaries, I now gather that diphthong has the following meanings:
1. Two vowels in which there is a perceptible movement from one sound to another, e.g oi in noise. Sometimes called a "proper diphthong".
2. A vowel digraph in which there is only one sound, e.g. ai in rain. Sometimes called an "improper diphthong".
3. A ligature
Given its etymology ("two voices/sounds") I gather definition #1 is the original and most common.
Is that a fair summary?
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Carpal Tunnel
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I would say that you've got your definitions right, Marty, but I would disagree with your example. The vowel sound in rain is actually a diphthong, where the movement is between the vowels in bet and bit. A better example would be head , where there is the pure vowel (aka monophthong) heard in bet (except in Scotland, where I believe it is pronounced more like heed).
Bingley
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The vowel sound in rain is actually a diphthong, where the movement is between the vowels in bet and bit.
Intriguing. Here in NZ, we pronouce rain as though it were spelled "rayn" - no dipthong.
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In reply to:
we pronouce rain as though it were spelled "rayn"
So do I, but if you listen carefully, that's a diphthong (or at least it is for me). Try pronouncing the vowel sounds from bet and bit together very quickly without any intervening h or glottal stop and see what you get.
Bingley
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In reply to:
Try pronouncing the vowel sounds from bet and bit together very quickly without any intervening h or glottal stop and see what you get.
I'm afraid this coarse colonial is beaten! For me "bit" has only a schwa, and running it together with "bet" doesn't come close to the way I pronounce rain. I have had a lot of practice at diphthongs, Maori is full of them, actually full of separate vowels which must be said together at speed. Despite this, I failed the exercise you suggested miserably. 
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old hand
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In RP (UK), rain would certainly have a diphthong-al quality. But then, in a marked RP accent, just about every vowel sound is a diphthong!
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>we pronouce rain as though it were spelled "rayn"<
Max, try it a different way. Pronounce 'rayn', then cut the consonants off each end and pronounce the 'ay' sound you have in the middle. Do you pronounce this without moving your tongue or changing the shape of your mouth?
Changing the shape of your mouth or moving your tongue is in fact making another sound. I have to do this to say 'rayn'. That makes it a diphthong, at least for me. Compare this to the vowel sounds in 'cat' or 'book' or 'read' (either tense!). I can easily say all these with no movement - they are 'monophthongs'. (Is that a real word or was it made up for this discussion? It is truly wonderful!)
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In reply to:
Do you pronounce this without moving your tongue or changing the shape of your mouth?
Abso-ma-lutely. My tongue, and the shape of my mouth remain perfectly static when saying the vowel sound you describe.
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My tongue, and the shape of my mouth remain perfectly static when saying the vowel sound you describeEven after a few apartment whites, Max? I did wonder whether the 'ai' example might elicit some interesting responses. The example was from one of the online dictionaries. I pronounced it myself a few times and couldn't decide, so I left it in.
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