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.
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 | tə | 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 |
-
aNote that the vowel /i/ is different from the English vowel /ɪ/ in terms of length and quality.
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