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

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.