Segmental Features Between Arabic And English

Segmental Features betwixt Arabic And EnglishThis duty assignment is a complement to the branch assignment titled as comparative and contrastive description of segmental births in the midst of the Arabic and English languages. In this assignment, antithetically, the go down willing be spue on comparative and contrastive description of suprasegmental features between the above-named languages. Ellery, et al. (1995) indicated that features of spoken languages which argon not identified as discrete segments atomic come 18 variously referred as prosodic features, non- segmental features or suprasegmental features (p.327). Ellery, et al. (1995) also declared that prosody refers to prosodic features of speech, namely, t mavin, try taboo, intonation and others. Thus, three prosodic features will be discussed to show the similarities and goings between English and Arabic. Besides, the focus will be shifted to identifying the problems the Arab learners often boldness in lear ning English in call of prosody.1-Arabic1.1 Syllable StructureReima (2007) stated that Arabic language has three syllable typewrites. These are summarized as fol deplorables1- Super loaded down(p) syllables CVVC CVCC. The top-notch rotund syllable consists of one consonant in a flash followed by one or two vowels and end in one or two consonants as in2- Heavy syllables CVC CVV. The heavy syllable consists of one consonant immediately followed by one or two vowels as in3- Light syllable CV. The light syllable consists of a consonant immediately followed by one short vowel as inReima (2007) asserted that organisation of syllables is regular in the Arabic language. In addition, it is not typical to visualise any syllable in the Arabic language starts with V or CC.1.2 direction match to Reima (2007) Watson (2007) the Arabic language has three rule book focus levels. These are the primordial, secondary and weak levels. Swan smith (2001), Reima (2007) indicated that t ry out in the Arabic language is hazardable and regular. In other manner of speaking, one stop predict or determine the vehemence of the Arabic treatments. Swan Smith (2001) stated that Arab learners face difficulty in predicting stress in the English language, particularly in discussion stress. The difficulty of grasping explicate stress in English whitethorn result in altering the meaning of the word. For instance, a learner may pronounce the verb (convict) as the noun (convict) where the stress position is on the whole different. Reima (2007) summarized the Arabic stress as follows1- If a word pays one top-notch heavy syllable or more, stress travel on the extend super heavy syllable as in2- If a word check outs heavy and light syllables, stress move on the heavy syllable before the final syllable (nonfinal heavy syllable) as in3- If a word contains light syllables, stress kick the buckets on the first syllable as in4- If a word is a present or a past verb, stre ss attains on the first syllable as in5- If a word is a masculine or feminine Arabic noun, stress go on the second syllable as in1.3 IntonationAccording to Swan Smith (2001) Arabic and English defy closely similar intonation patterns, specially in meaning and contour. Reima (2007) summarized the Arabic stress as follows1- In Arabic, fall intonation is used at the end ofDeclarative statements the representative starts on amid pitch, rises slightly on the last emphasize syllable and drop to a low pitch at the end as inIn commands as inIn Whquestions voice is high in hard-pressed syllable and move quickly to mid pitch for the rest of the sentence as in2- In Arabic, rising go intonation is normally used at the end ofYesno questions as inIn utterances containing an cistron of quetch or surprise voice is flat, no rise no fall as inIn vocatives as inIn requests the voice rises and falls or sowhat, with an optional pause as in1.4 RhythmIn speech, troll has been defined as an e ffect involving the isochronous recurrence of some(prenominal)(prenominal) type of speech unit (Pike (1945), Abercrombie (1967), Bloch (1950). Dauer (1983) argued that the perception of different types of rhythm has chiefly to do with differences in syllable structure, vowel reduction and types of stress. As to Arabic, check to Barkat et al. (1999) Arabic and its various dialects are all stress-timed. Based on the articles I have read, there is a consensus among researchers that Arabic listeners make use of speech rhythm to distinguish between speakers. For instance, Barkat et al. (1999) revealed that speakers of Arabic, due to rhythm, can distinguish between speakers of Arabic from North Africa and speakers living in the Middle East. Many studies have been conducted on Arabic rhythm. One of the important findings is the highness if vocalic intervals in the easterly Arabic dialects such as Palestine than western Arabic dialects such as Tunisia.2-English2.1 Syllable StructureA ccording to Deterding poedjosoedarmo (1998) the unmistakableion between light and heavy syllables can be helpful in predicting stress in English. The antecedent contains a diphthong and/or several consonants in the coda while the last mentioned contains a single short vowel. Heavy syllables tend to be stressed and light ones tend not to be stressed. The relationship between syllables and stress is extremely related. Deterding poedjosoedarmo (1998) argued there are not pure rules that help learners accurately predict stress placement in multisyllabic wrangling however, knowing the syllable structures- heavy and light syllables may solve the problem and prove useful. All in all, understanding stress rules in English entails understanding syllable structures first. English words are different in terms of the number of syllables. several(prenominal) contain one, or two. Some may contain three or four. Some examples are provided below2.2 StressChomsky and Halle (1968) suggested th at stress, worry the Arabic language in spite of appearance English words is predictable, and several sets of complex rules have been proposed for predicting stress. Stress is rattling important in English as it is a major feature that distinguishes certain pairs of words. According to Christophersen (1996), English has the sideline stress rulesThe great volume of twosyllable words are stressed on the first syllable, e.g.A number of words have two different stress patterns according to whether they are verbs or nouns, adjectives or verbs e.g.Noticeably, nouns and adjectives are stressed on the first syllable while verbs are given stress on the second syllable.According to Deterding poedjosoedarmo (1998) derivational suffixes ca be classified into three types stress-preserving, stress-attracting and stress-shifting. The first type does not change stress placement in words such as -ful, as in wonder/ wonderful. The second type receives primary stress such as -ee, as in employ/ e mplyee. The last type make the stress shift such as -ive, as in reflex/ reflexive. The analysis of suffixation on stress placement is draw belowWhen a suffix is added to a word, the new form is stressed on the syllable as was the basic word, e.g.words closing curtain in tion , sion , ic , ical, ity , almost al behaviors have primary stress on the syllable forgo the ending , e.g. If a word ending in ate or ment has only two syllables, the stress falls on the last syllable if the word is a verb, but on the first syllable if the word is a noun or an adjective. When stressed , the ending is articulate et, mnt when feminine, it is pronounced t, mnt, e.g. If a word ending in ate, ment has more than two syllables, the main stress will fall on the third syllable from the end. In verbs, the final syllable is pronounced et , mnt in nouns it is pronounced t, mnt , e.g.Stress placement is also affected by compositeing. When two grow are combined to produce new words, the resulting wor d is called a compound (Deterding poedjosoedarmo 1998 (p. 100). The rules are summarized belowcompound nouns have a primary stress on the first component, e.g.In compound verbs, the primary stress falls on the second component, e.g.In the intensivereflexive pronouns, the stronger accent falls on the last syllable ,e.g.Numbers ending in teen may receive primary stress on either syllable, e.g.In words ending in ion, sive, the stress falls on the last vowel before the ending .e.g.The majority of English compounds have single stress .e.g.All compounds with a present participle, as the first element, have a single stress, e.g.A double stress is used in compounds of two nouns, if the first noun indicates the material of which or with which the second is made, e. g.A double stress is used in compounds that have two nouns, each noun indicates a distinct characteristic of the same person or thing, e.g. In most sentences, some words are more important than others and we indicate this by the way we stress or unstress them. The following words are usually unstressed articles a, an, the, prepositions such as at etc. personal pronouns such as I etc. possessive adjectives such as my etc. coitus pronouns such as who etc. conjunctions such as and etc.The following words are usually stressed nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, demonstrative interrogatives, e.g. He shall project it to you. She cooks three meals each day. In an hour, he will be get to send it. This new car is to be barked here.2.3 IntonationRoach (2001) pointed out that intonation is difficult to define. Generally, intonation is the melody of speech and is to be examine in terms of variations of pitch. It is known that intonation can indicate different types of utterances, such as statements, questions, commands, attitudes and emotions of the speaker. Reima (2007) summarized the intonation rules as followsA) In English, risingfalling intonation is normally used at the end ofSimple statements of facts (declara tive statements), e.g.CommandsQuestions which originate with an interrogative word, i.e.,B) In English, rising intonation is normally used in the following casesAt the end of yesno questionsIn requestsC) In utterances containing an element of protest or surprise2.3 RhythmEnglish, with an alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables, is patently stress-timed. Deterding poedjosoedarmo (1998) stated that rhythm is important in English because many cases of miscommunication can be attributed to failure to interpret familiar words as they are uttered with an unfamiliar rhythm pattern. For example, the speaker may say lecture to themselves stressing on talk and them. If a native speaker hears these words, he will misunderstand the words and interpret them as taking to damsels. So, the unexpected rhythm pattern contributed to misunderstanding. As stated above, English words may contain one or more syllables. These words contain syllables (stressed) that are louder, clearer than oth ers (unstressed). gigabyte (1984) believed that the combination of these stressed and unstressed syllables results in the rhythm constitute in English words. This combination also shows the strength, length and pitch of syllables. Moreover, sentences in English, like words, have rhythm. Dauer, (1993) argued that if one wants to have good sentence rhythm, she/he demand to know how to join syllables together into larger unites besides the clear difference between stressed and unstressed syllables.Problems in learning English in terms of prosodyArab learners find it easy to grasp the predictable word stress in their language however, they face problems in grasping the uncertain nature of English word stress.Sentence rhythm is alike in both languages so that Arab learners avoid contracted forms and elision when they read loudly. As a result, heavy staccato rhythm can be found in their reading.Regarding intonation, Swan Smith (2001) found out that Arab learners tend to intone, decr ease intonation to a low fall at the ends of phrases and sentences.According to Rababah, (2002) Arab learners face problems that are related to stress, intonation and other features of prosody due to some difference in pronunciation between the two languages.English word pattern with (-ism) suffix receive their stress on the antepenultimate or pre- antepenultimate syllable, but they never receive it on the penultimate or final syllable. Quite contrary to this, in the pronunciation of the Arab learners of English, it is often sight that stress in such word patterns tend to be systematically shifted to the penultimate (before the final) syllable.According to Ryan Meara (1999) Arab learners confuse English words due to the number of syllables and the shift of stress syllables as in the following example