Phonetics and Phonology: A Contrastive Grammar of English and Arabic

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the comparative phonetics and phonology of English and Arabic, including consonant features, vowel systems, syllable structures, and stress patterns based on the lecture notes.

Phonology

The study of the sound system of a particular language, subsuming segmental phonemes (consonants and vowels) and suprasegmental features.

Suprasegmental features

Features superimposed on segmental phonemes, specifically length, stress, and rhythm.

Phonetics

The study of the articulatory, auditory, and acoustic properties of speech-sounds.

Aspiration (English)

A feature where voiceless stops /p, t, k/ are aspirated when they occur word-initially in stressed syllables.

Syllabic consonant

A consonant that forms a syllable by itself without a vowel; English has three: /l/, /n/, and /m/.

Linking /r/

Word-final /r/ in British English that is pronounced when the subsequent word begins with a vowel, such as in the phrase "more and more."

Emphatic consonants

Four pairs of Arabic consonants distinguished by اطباق او تفخيم (emphasis), traditionally marked by a dot underneath the consonant.

Gemination (تشديد)

A sequence of two identical consonants; it is phonemic in Arabic but not in English.

Al-hamza

The Arabic glottal phonemic stop which occurs in initial, medial, and final positions in a word.

Diphthong

A sequence of vowel plus glide within the same syllable.

Madd (المد)

A distinguishing feature of Arabic vowels referring to length, which is similar to consonantal gemination.

Letters of prolongation

The Arabic long vowels known as al-'alif (األلف), al-waaw (الواو), and al-yaa (الياء).

English Consonant Clusters

Allows initial clusters of up to three consonants and final clusters of up to four consonants.

Arabic Consonant Clusters

Allows no initial clusters and limits medial and final clusters to no more than two consonants.

English Syllable formula

$$(CCC)V(CCCC)$$

Arabic Syllable formula

$$CV(V)(C)(C)$$

Arabic Lexical Stress

More predictable than English stress, it employs placement rules that operate at the word level.