SOUND SIMPLIFICATION PROCESSES AMONG NAJDI ARABIC LEARNERS OF ENGLISH

This paper investigated the phonological simplification processes employed by native speakers of Najdi Arabic to modify complex English consonant sequences. To that end, the study measured the frequency of each simplification process that appeared in the data and examined relevant characteristics. Upon their consent, 42 participants with varying levels of English proficiency were invited to produce 21 English words that contained consonant sequences in different positions, including initial, medial, and final. Furthermore, the sequences included groups of two, three, and four consonants. The data were recorded and analyzed using the Praat software package to identify the simplification strategies that appeared. The findings revealed five main strategies employed by Najdi speakers. These strategies were insertion, voicing, deletion, metathesis, and fricativization. Among these processes, insertion emerged as the most frequently employed and was mostly found in two-consonant sequences, even though modifications introduced on three consonant sequences dominated in general. The second-most common strategy was voicing, followed by deletion. In contrast, metathesis and fricativization were relatively rare. In addition, the participants would sometimes combine two strategies rather than using only one to deal with a problematic consonant sequence.