Diphthongs: Trans and Norm

This contribution takes a look at diphthongs, which the author calls an oddly trans problem of language. Borrowed from their linguistic function, diphthongs may point to a trans methodology. On a page, diphthongs seem to be the crystallized image of a transition. Yet, as elements of a sentence or a word, they are not necessarily read as a unit. Depending on the context and the function that they serve at the moment they appear, diphthongs take on many different forms. This piece considers the ways in which a diphthong may be viewed as a metaphor for multiplicity within a single body and the implications it may have in the future of trans studies.