Monophthongs of PakE: An acoustic investigation (original) (raw)

Exploring English Monophthongs' Formants of Punjabi Speakers in Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Research Article, 2020

This study discovers the formants of Punjabi speakers living in western Punjab, Pakistan and their relative position in a trapezium while articulatingEnglish cited words. English is a lingua franca while Punjabi is one of the local languages of India and Pakistan spoken in upper western Punjab, a province of Pakistan and Eastern Punjab, a part of India.The F1 and F2 (Formant 1 & Formant 2) determine the position of a monophthong (vowel) in a trapezium. Data were collected from twenty (20) Male participants from Lahore and Faisalabad, two major cities of Pakistan and were asked to articulateone hundred and twenty English cited words carrying all English monophthongs. The data was analyzed by measuring the Formant values (F1 and F2) of every single word articulated by twenty (20) Punjabi Male speakers. The Values in Hertz were changed into Bark Scale and Euclidian method was used to measure the distance of monophthongs articulated by Male participants living in Lahore and Faisalabad to determine the difference between two dialects of Punjabi language. Both the groups were also compared through co-relative t-test. The results showed that t value is 0.58, df=11 and P>0.955 which is much higher than 0.05, so it can be concluded that these two cities' speakers utter the English cited words in the same way.

Acoustic Analysis of Consonants of Pakistani English

Elementary Education Online, 2020

The current study aims at investigating the acoustic properties of consonants of Pakistani English to determine whether they are realised like native-Englishes or differently, and whether they are same in number or different from their native counterparts. The study was limited to the investigation of plosives. The participants were selected from among the students of MA English and MPhil English enrolled in The University of Lahore. Certain parameters were predetermined regarding the selection of the participants including age, ethnicity, ability to communicate in English in different situations, and exposure to English, etc. Word-list recordings were made using hitech equipment in a noise free atmosphere. For acoustic analysis and formant measurement, Praat was used. To determine whether the differences in formants were significant, statistical analysis was also performed. The results show that there was significant difference in the realisation of the consonants. It was also determined that they were different in number too, as compared to other native varieties of English. On the basis of these results, it was concluded that Pakistani English is a different variety of English with its idiosyncratic features regarding its consonant phonemes.

Acoustic Investigation of Back Vowels of Pakistani English

Review of Education, Administration and Law, 2021

The present research investigates the acoustic features of back vowels of Pakistani English (PakE). The vowels are acoustically analysed to see whether PakE is different from Standard British English (SBE), and whether PakE merges the back vowels like some Asian varieties of English. The study also investigates the total number of back vowels of PakE. The subjects (20 male and 20 female) are selected from among the undergraduate students enrolled in BS English (University of Sargodha) with Punjabi as their mother tongue. Monosyllabic words with /hVd/ context, containing the selected vowels are recorded using a carrierphrase. For acoustic measurement of the formants (F1-F2) and durational properties, PRAAT has been used. The formant values (F1-F2) are compared with those of SBE to find out similarities and differences. For statistical analysis, ANOVA along with Tukey's HSD test is performed to see whether the results are significant. The results show that PakE has four back vowels, i.e. two long and two short. It does merge /ɒ/ and /ɔ:/ like other varieties of Asian Englishes, but it does not merge the high back vowels, i.e. /u/ and/u:/. So, it can be concluded that PakE is a different variety of English on the basis of the idiosyncratic features of back vowels.

ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS OF FRONT VOWELS IN PAKISTANI ENGLISH

English has got the status of lingua franca when it comes to fulfil the communication needs of the nations around the world. The widespread of English has caused the creation of new languages and dialects (New Englishes). This paper is an attempt to further strengthen the idea that Pakistani English (PE) is a different variety of English on the basis of differences in pronunciation making an acoustic analysis of the four front vowels i.e. /i:/, /I/, /e/ and /æ/. The subjects were selected from among the graduate students of University of Sargodha, who were fluent in speaking English with Punjabi as their L1. 30 male and 30 female speakers were recorded, using minimal pairs. Formant values of the vowels (F1 and F2) were measured using Praat. These formant values were compared with the formant values of the vowels of Received Pronunciation (RP) and American English (AmE). On the basis of differences in formant values of vowels, the conclusions were drawn that PE is a different variety, ascertaining the previous studies on PE. Key words: Formants, acoustic analysis, praat, Asian Englishes, Pakistani English

Acoustic Analysis of Central Vowels in PakE

English, with its many representations around the world, serves as lingua franca among the nations with diverse languages and cultures. The term World Englishes was introduced to represent the diversity of English language. The current study is an acoustic investigation into Pakistani English to observe the phenomenon of central vowels. Researchers (Sailaja, 2009; Gargesh, 2006; Kachru, 2005; Gonzalez & Alberca, 1978 as cited in Bautista & Gonzalez, 2006) have observed that in Asian Englishes, there is no distinction in the central vowels, i.e./ə/, /ɜ:/ and /Λ/. For analysis, 20 subjects (10 male and 10 female) were chosen from BS English programme of University of Sargodha with Punjabi as their L1. Isolated words were recorded using a career phrase. Praat was used for acoustic measurement of the vowel formants. Conclusions were drawn that Pakistani speakers of English did not distinguish between the two vowels /ə/ and /ɜ:/. But the vowel /Λ/ was realized as a different vowel. Hence, it was concluded that Pakistani English has two central vowels. Key words: World Englishes, Asian Englishes, Praat, Formants, Acoustic measurement

An Analysis of the Vowel Sounds of Pakistani English Introduction

English in Pakistan has gone through an evolutionary process over the last century. The stage of deviations, inter-language and deficient varieties are over, and Pakistani English (PE) has, now assumed its independent entity among other non-native varieties. This study investigates the vowel sounds specific to the Pakistani variety of English and for this purpose, a sample population comprising fifty subjects including both males and females between the ages of eighteen to twenty five, belonging to Lahore, was randomly selected to obtain speech samples based on lists prepared by the researcher. All speakers were ethnically Punjabis who spoke Urdu at home and in their workplace or institution. Vowels and diphthong phonemes were studied from the recordings obtained. The results of the study showed that the Pakistani variety of English has restructured the sound system of English to suit its own sound system. For similar sounds, the pronunciation is the same as in Received Pronunciation (RP) but for dissimilar sounds, near-equivalents from Urdu have been substituted. The overall pattern of pronunciation emerging from the study points strongly towards the existence of an educated Pakistani accent. It is closer to the British RP than any other native English accent. However, there are certain differences in the segmental and non-segmental features of pronunciation which need to be accepted as the distinctive characteristics of this variety.

Acoustic Characteristics of Pakistani English Vowel Sounds

International Journal of English Linguistics , 2018

The purpose of this investigation was to document acoustic characteristics of Pakistani English (PaKE) vowel sounds. The experiment was designed to examine the properties of ten vowels produced by Pakistani ESL learners. The analysis is based on the voice samples of recorded 50 CVC words. Total 5000 (10× 10 × 50=5000) voiced samples were analyzed. The data consisted of 50 words of ten English vowel sounds [i: ɪ e ɔ: ae ə ɑ: u: ɒ ʊ]. Ten ESL speakers recorded their voice samples on Praat speech processing tool installed on laptop. Three parameters were considered i.e., fundamental frequency (F0), vowel quality (F1-F2) and duration. Formant patterns were judged manually by visual inspection on Praat. Analysis of formant frequency shows numerous differences between male and female of F1 and F2, fundamental frequency and duration of English vowels. The voice samples provide evidence for higher and lower frequency of vowel sounds. In addition, the data analysis illustrates that there were statistically differences in the values of short and long vowels.

Diphthongs of Pakistani English: An acoustic study

Elementary Education Online, 2021

The slogan that English is the language of those who speak it, has changed the whole spectrum of English studies. It led to the concept of World Englisheswith the idea of many non-native varieties of English. The current study is an acoustic investigation into the diphthongs of Pakistani English (PakE) with the question whether PakE has different set of diphthongs from Standard British English (SBE). The study explored the number of diphthongs of PakE, and any changes in the realization of diphthongs as compared to SBE. The participants (25 male and 25 female), with Punjabi as their L1,were chosen from among the undergraduates of English studies of University of Sargodha Pakistan. The word list containing diphthongs (adapted from Well's Lexical set) was prepared and the participants were asked to speak each word using a carrier phrase 'please say ________ loudly'. The sounds were recorded using high-tech equipment of 'VoV' FM Radio station of the University. Praat was used for acoustic analysis. Formant frequencies F1 and F2 were measured at two different positions (i.e. onsetand offset) of each sequence to observe trajectory of each vowel. The duration of the vowel tokens was also recorded. The formant frequencies and the duration were statistically processed applying ANOVA usingTukey's HSD Test to examine whether the differences of F1 at onset and offset and F2 at onset and offset, are significant. The findings revealed that PakE speakers realized only six diphthongs i.

An Acoustic Investigation of Pakistani and American English Vowels

Intentional Journal of English Linguistics , 2018

Acoustic analysis tests the hypothesis that the physical properties of Pakistani English (PaKE) vowels differ in terms of acoustic measurements of Native American English speakers. The present paper aims to document the physical behavior of English vowels produced by PaKE learners. The major goal of this paper is to measure the production of sound frequencies coupled with vowel duration. The primary aim of this paper is to explore the different frequencies and duration of the vowels involved in articulation of PaKE. English vowels selected for this purpose are: /ae/, /ɛ/, /ɪ/, /ɒ/ and /ə/. Total ten samplings were obtained from the department of computer science at Sindh Madressatul Islam University, Karachi. The study was based on the analysis of 500 (10×5×10=500) voice samples. Five vowel minimal pairs were selected and written in a carrier phrase [I say CVC now]. Ten speakers (5 male & five female) recorded their 500 voice samples using Praat speech processing tool and a high-quality microphone on laptop in a computer laboratory with no background sound. Three parameters were considered for the analysis of PaKE vowels i.e., duration of five vowels, fundamental frequency (F1 and F2). It was hypothesized that the properties of PaKE vowels are different from that of English native speakers. The hypothesis was accepted since the acoustic measurements of PaKE and English Native American speakers' physical properties of sounds were discovered different.

Acoustic Analysis of Central Vowels of PakE

International Journal of Linguistics, 2011

English, with its many representations around the world, serves as lingua franca among the nations with diverse languages and cultures. The term World Englishes was introduced to represent the diversity of English language. The current study is an acoustic investigation into Pakistani English to observe the phenomenon of central vowels.