SPEECH VARIATIONS IN PAKISTANI ENGLISH AND SINGAPOREAN ENGLISH

Abstract

This paper presents acoustic analysis of six English vowels /a: /, /ɔ: /, /i: /, /ʊ/, /ɒ/, /u: / in three
minimal pair of English words produced by second language learners in Pakistan. The paper aims
to analyze acoustic realizations of Pakistani English vowels and compare them with Singaporean
English vowels to investigate as to how much acoustic difference is in terms of F1 and F2
measurements between Pakistani English and Singaporean English. This study used the parameters
of vowel quality (F1 and F2) Fundamental frequency 1 and 2 of English vowels. In addition, the
analysis compares English vowels between the groups and within the groups. The data were
collected through recordings of voice samples from nine subjects (5 male and 4 female) students.
The study hypothesized that there are two varieties and will be different from each other, in terms
of the production of Pakistani English vowels and Singaporean. The paper also looked at the male
and female speakers’ acoustic variations within the group recruited in Pakistan. The speakers were
the undergraduate students from the department of Computer Science, Sindh Madressatul Islam
University, Karachi. Speech differences between female and male voices are associated with
multidisciplinary variations. Not only do these refer to acoustic (fundamental frequency) and
perceptual judgments but also to the size of the vocal track in individual capacity coupled with
educational background of the speakers. The study focused on the height and quality of the vowels
to determine the acoustic differences between male and female students and Pakistani vs.
Singaporean English.