Acoustic Analysis of Iraqi Arabic Simple Vowels

Abstract

Objectives: The study aimed at mapping IBA simple vowels as they are produced by Iraqi speakers. The study also aimed to identify the effect of gender on the pronunciation of Iraqi Arabic simple vowels. The study attempted to compare between the vowel chart proposed in this study and other Iraqi and Arabic vowel charts proposed in the literature. Methods: A quantitative method was adopted in this study. Thus, 10 Iraqis were asked to read stimuli, and their voices were recorded using high quality smart phones. The recordings were analyzed via PRAAT, and the frequencies obtained were descriptively and statistically processed. Results: The chart showed a clear tense-lax dichotomy where each short vowel has a long counterpart except for /ee/. Moreover, the results showed significant differences in vowel formants based on gender variable. Female speakers tend to produce vowels at higher levels, while males tend to produce vowels in more front positions. The results also revealed differences between Iraqi variant in one hand, and Maslawi and other Arabic varieties on the other hand. Conclusions: Iraqi speakers showed a good ability to map vowels in distinct places. Biological differences in male and female vocal apparatuses are behind differences in the pronunciation of vowels. It is recommended that the vowel chart offered here can be used as a reference for teachers of English pronunciation at various levels as it indicates to difficulties Iraqi EFL leaners encounter in the pronunciation of English vowels that are mostly resulting from L1 transfer.