Acoustic Analysis Of English Labio-Dental Sounds /F/ And /V/ Produced By Balti Esl Learners.

The present study investigates how Balti ESL learners pronounce the English labio-dental /f/ and /v/ at the onset and coda positions of monosyllabic words. For the present study, fifteen out of fifty Balti students were taken randomly from different departments of the University of AJK Muzaffarabad. Monosyllabic word lists having English labio-dental sounds /f/ and /v/ at initial and final positions were made. The participants were asked to read the identified English words having the targeted sounds by using Praat software. The scientific tool, spectrogram was used to analyze the recorded data. The acoustic cues (closure, burst, VOT, frication, voicing, frequency and vowel transition) of the English consonant sounds /f/ and /v/, pronounced by Balti ESL learners, were explored. The study reveals that the English labio-dental phonemes /f/ and /v/ are problematic for Balti ESL learners, /f/ is pronounced / as /ph/ at monosyllabic words initial, and final positions, while /v/ is pronounced as /w/ at words initial, and final positions by Balti ESL learners. The study implies that Balti ESL learners are needed to be trained properly to pronounce the English labio-dental /f/ and /v/ sounds. The study will be helpful for Balti speakers in teaching and learning English pronunciation. It also contributes to investigating the cross-linguistic features of Balti and English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]