An acoustic analysis of the pronunciation of the diphthong vowel AU
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Date
2022
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Publisher
Université De Larbi Ben M’hidi Oum EL Bouaghi
Abstract
This research attempts to provide a descriptive analysis of EFL Algerian secondary schools pupils' pronunciation of the English diphthong /au/. It focuses mainly on whether there is an acoustic difference between male and female pronunciation of the sound /au/ at the level of first formant frequency (F1), second formant frequency (F2), and pitch. This research also seeks to answer the following questions: What is the difference between female and male formant frequency, pitch, and while uttering the diphthong /au/? What are the reasons behind EFL female learners pronouncing the diphthong /au/differently from male learners? And which sex can utter the diphthong /au/ in a more native-like manner? Participants were ten Algerian secondary school pupils; they were five males and five females. In the process of conducting this research, isolated words and a sentence containing the sound /au/ were used to record the sample. Praat software was used to measure acoustically the recordings. However, acoustic chart and statistical analysis were used to examine the significance of the treatment on the predictor variable (gender).
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Keywords
Pronunciation, Acoustic Analysis, Diphthong Vowel