The Impact of the Mother Tongue on the Phonetic Realization of Foreign Language Allophones. Algerian Arabic VS Received Pronunciation English.

Abstract

The current research intends to identify the influence of Algerian Arabic as the Algerian first language on Algerian university students’ oral performance in a way that RP English sounds are articulated in the same way as their Arabic counterparts. In order to answer the research question and confirm or reject the hypotheses that the mother tongue interference affects negatively EFL learners’ oral production; a mixed method is adopted: in the first, data are collected through a number of questionnaires administered to 50 students to survey their opinions about the impact of native language on students’ English speaking abilities. The second method includes a recording of fifteen students’ articulation of RP English allophones to examine how these allophones are produced. The results show that nearly all of the participants articulate these sounds as if they were articulated in Arabic.