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Production of vowel reduction by Jordanian–Arabic speakers of English: an acoustic study

  • Mohammed Nour Abu Guba ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Bassil Mashaqba , Samer Jarbou and Omar Al-Haj Eid

Abstract

This study investigates the production of vowel reduction among Jordanian–Arabic speakers of English. Two groups of speakers, intermediate and advanced, and a control group of English native speakers were asked to read a story. The phonetic properties of reduced vowels, namely duration, intensity, F0, F1, and F2 were measured and compared as produced by the three groups. Results show that there were considerable differences in duration as the reduced vowels produced by the Arabic speakers exhibited longer duration values than those produced by the native speakers. Slight differences were attested between the two proficiency groups. Also, it was found that lower F0, but not intensity, was used by all groups to signal lack of stress. Results revealed that advanced Arabic speakers of English failed to produce English schwa in a native-like manner both in terms of quantity and quality.


Corresponding author: Mohammed Nour Abu Guba, The University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, UAE, E-mail:

Appendix A: Aesop’s fable: ‘The North Wind and the Sun’ (reduced syllables are underlined)

The North Wind and the Sun were disputing, which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveler take his cloak off should be considered stronger than the other. Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew the more closely did the traveler fold his cloak around him, and at last the North Wind gave up the attempt. Then the Sun shined out warmly, and immediately the traveler took off his cloak. And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the stronger of the two.

Appendix B: Realization of reduced vowels by JA speakers (The vowel in question is underlined in polysyllabic words)

Words with reduced vowels Target pronunciation Most typical JA realization
1. the ðə ða
2. and ən(d) ænd
3. was wəz wɑːz
4. were wə/wɚ wɜːr
5. be bi/bɪ biː
6. that ðət ðæt
7. in ɪn ina/ɪn
8. than ðən ðæn
9. a ə a
10. he hi/i hiː
11. his ɪz hiz
12. him ɪm him
13. as əz æz
14. should ʃəd ʃud/ʊ
15. but bət bʌt
16. did dɪd did
17. at ət at
18. to tu
19. of ə(v) uv
20. disputing dɪˈspjuːtɪŋ diˈspjuːting
21. traveler træv.əl.ɚ/ə travilar
22. along əˈlɑːŋ/əˈlɒŋ aˈlɒng
23. agreed əˈɡriːd aˈɡriːd
24. succeeded səkˈsiːdɪd sʌkˈsiːdid
25. making ˈmeɪ.kɪŋ ˈmeɪ.king
26. consider kənˈsɪd.ɚ/ə kunˈsidar
27. around əˈraʊnd aˈraʊnd
28. attempt əˈtempt aˈtempt
29. immediately ɪˈmiː.di.ət.li/əˈmiː.di.ət.li iˈmiː.di.at.li
30. obliged əˈblaɪdʒd uˈblaɪdʒd
31. confess kənˈfes kunˈfes/fis
  1. aNote that the vowel /i/ is different from the English vowel /ɪ/ in terms of length and quality.

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Received: 2021-03-03
Accepted: 2022-01-12
Accepted: 2022-01-12
Published Online: 2023-01-03
Published in Print: 2023-03-28

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