Investigating Differences of Consonants and Vowels in English and Arabic Languages and their Effect on Sudanese Undergraduates’ Pronunciation

Abstract

This thesis aims to investigate the effect of the differences between English and Arabic in consonants and vowels on Sudanese undergraduates’ pronunciation. The research intends to find out which of the English consonants and vowels that do not exist in Arabic are difficult for the students. For addressing these inquiries ,the researcher hypothesized that the differences between English and Arabic in consonants and vowels cause pronunciation problems for the learners. An oral test and a structured questionnaire were used for collecting the required data to test the study hypotheses and obtain the objectives of the study. The subjects of the study were 50 third year students at Khartoum University, Faculty of Arts, English Department and 20 teachers of the field at the same university. The main findings revealed that the sound systems differences of English and Arabic affect students’ pronunciation. This effect appears in students’ mispronunciation of some English consonants and vowels which have no Arabic counterparts. Reached up to these results, more emphasis on those problematic consonants and vowels during learning pronunciation is required at universities .In addition, putting into account the sound systems differences between English and Arabic and developing the English syllabus accordingly.