Monophthongisation of English Diphthongs by Native Speakers of Pashto

Abstract

Studies on the pronunciation of English sounds by speakers of diverse languages have discovered many
phonological variants from Standard English. The present qualitative study focuses on variations in the pronunciation of English diphthongs, produced as monophthongs, by Pashto speakers. To this end, in the present study, 20 native Pashto speakers read out words built on the target diphthongs at initial, medial and final levels followed or preceded by voiced and voiceless sounds. PRAAT was used to record and analyze data and to show diphthongal movement through spectrogram and first formants. The findings indicate that all theselected English diphthongs are articulated with variations at different levels. Besides, the common features in the process of monophthongisation of English diphthongs by Pashto speakers are also discovered in the form of lengthening of the first or second element of a diphthong, deletion of one of the elements of diphthongs orinsertion ofa sound between the two elements of diphthongs. The study concludes that this process of monophthongization in the form of insertion, deletion or lengthening of one of the two elements of diphthongs is basically variations in the form of features. All these features add to the uniqueness of English used by Pashto speakers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.