Intelligibility Issues Caused by Arabic Phonology in English Pronunciation

This paper attempts to address those phonological-based intelligibility problems encountered by native speakers of Arabic in English as a foreign language (EFL) pronunciation. In most cases, second language pronunciation is determined largely by the first language’s phonological system; this influence has been variously referred to as L1 interference or negative transfer. For learners of Arabic, since the differences between Arabic and English are quite marked with respect to their phonological features, there exist systematic and predictable patterns of mispronunciations which render comprehensibility difficult for both native and non-native interlocutors with them in English. The primary aim that this study seeks is major phonological differences between Arabic and English through an analysis of how these differences manifest systematically as common errors-in-consonants,-vowels,-stress-and-intonation; then consideration about their effect on clarity in oral communication. The study will be descriptive-analytical. Arab EFL learners will be purposively sampled. The major tool for data collection is a specially prepared wordlist containing English phonemes and phonological structures known to pose problems for Arabic speakers, the participants' reading of which will be recorded, hence audio-recorded readings. The recordings shall then be analyzed both by perceptual analysis to experienced listeners who shall listen out for error patterns and acoustic analysis using Praat software that objectively measures phonetic properties. The expected results are likely to reveal the presence of regular, systematic errors in the production of English consonants that do not exist in Arabic, for example /p/, /v/, and /ŋ/; even extreme difficulty in distinguishing English short and long vowels-for instance, /ɪ/ versus /iː/- transfer of syllable-timed stress patterns from Arabic onto the stress-timed rhythm of English.[ The paper concludes by highlighting such phonological transfer errors as a main culprit behind reduced intelligibility. Finally,] this research slightly turns pedagogical for EFL teachers proposing focused pronunciation drills and awareness-raising activities meanwhile providing learners with ways for self-improvement accompanied by future avenues in comparative phonology between Arabic and English.