VOWEL DURATION AND L1 INFLUENCE IN PAKISTANI ENGLISH: AN ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH MONOPHTHONGS

Abstract

This study investigates vowel duration among Pakistani speakers of English, focusing on variations influenced by the first language (L1) of participants. The research draws on acoustic analysis to explore the durational properties of monophthongs in Pakistani English (PakE), with attention to how these properties vary across different L1 backgrounds. A total of 80 participants, equally divided by gender and selected from the major linguistic regions of Pakistan, were recorded reading the poem The North Wind and the Sun. The study utilised Praat software to analyse 4,800-word tokens, examining the mean duration of front and back vowels across four language groups: Balochi, Pashto, Punjabi, and Sindhi. The findings reveal significant differences in vowel duration among these groups, with Pashto speakers consistently exhibiting the most extended durations, particularly for the vowels /i:/ and /æ/. In contrast, Punjabi speakers displayed the shortest vowel durations, suggesting a phonetic reduction or simplification in their vowel production. The study’s results indicate that phonetic and articulatory factors influence vowel duration in PakE and sociolinguistic and regional norms associated with each L1 group. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of PakE phonology and underscore the importance of considering L1 influences in studying English spoken in multilingual contexts.