Sociophonetic Analysis of /əʊ/ Diphthong in Pakistani English: Pronunciation Patterns and Phonological Implications

Abstract

This study explores the distinct phonological features of Pakistani English. It is an experimental study andthe main purpose of this research is to highlight the phonological development of PakE and its separate position as an indigenous variety of English formed by regional linguistic contexts. It is a mixed method approach and Sociophonetics (Foulkes & Docherty, 2006) is used as a theoretical framework along with Uriel Weinreich’s language contact theory (1950s). Researchers use the convenience sampling method to select the participants. A total of 30 participants (20 females and 10 males) are selected from a private college of Sialkot, Pakistan. All  participants are enrolled in BS program and are between the age of 20 to 25. The word list for the research purposes contains 30 different words.Each word contains /əʊ/ sound. The words are selected randomly from everyday life. The data is recorded in speechanalyzer software PRAAT (Boersma & Weenink, n.d.) in a peaceful environment and then analyzed carefully. The recorded responses compared to standard British Englishand resultsrevealedPakEas an indigenized  non-native variety with distinctive pronunciation patterns and phonological implications.The influence of regional languages, educational variations and geographical differences become a cause of these differences.Future studies should involve a wider range of participants from various age groups and educational backgrounds in order to broaden the area of phonological analysis in Pakistani English, analyzing other diphthongs as well. With this approach, a thorough grasp of the phonological evolution and variations in Pakistani English will be possible.