The Goblin Nation has turned its attention to linguistics, and specifically to whether the diphthong is real.
"Diphthongs? Bah!" Supreme Leader Grungle told the Goblin Academy of Linguistic Anarchy. "These 'double sounds' are a conspiracy cooked up by vowel-loving elitists to confuse the rest of us."
The speech has set off an anti-diphthong movement. "We don't need fancy diphthongs," said a spokesperson for the Goblin Linguist Liberation Front. "We have grunts, growls and guttural snarls. They express our love of mushrooms and our disdain for hygiene perfectly well."
The Academy itself is split. Some linguists claim to have found dozens of distinct goblin diphthongs. Others say these are ordinary vowels mangled by goblin vocal cords and mumbling.
The debate shows no sign of ending. It has already produced three duels and a treatise, which several scholars are trying to pronounce.
