The role of vowel familiarity in consonant contrast production: a secondary analysis of elicited speech errors in Arabic speakers of English

Drawing on a secondary analysis of data from Aljasser et al. (2018), this study investigates the role of vowel familiarity in the perception and production of consonant contrasts by Arabic speakers of English. This study examines whether the presence of vowels familiar to the Arabic phonetic inventory influences the ability to distinguish English consonant contrasts absent in Arabic. Participants, native speakers of Gulf Arabic, performed a tongue-twister task involving English words differing in consonant contrasts, with stimuli grouped based on vowel familiarity. Results indicate a trend suggesting that familiar vowels facilitate the accurate production of challenging consonant contrasts, while less familiar vowels may hinder it, though statistical significance was not reached. Limitations, including the small sample of familiar vowels and stimulus diversity, highlight the need for further research. The findings underscore the suggested interplay between vowel familiarity and consonant discrimination in second-language acquisition, offering insights for targeted pedagogical approaches for Arabic-English bilinguals.