A contrastive analysis of Quranic Arabic and Standard Australian English: Implications for speech-language pathology

Research Question: How can a contrastive phonemic analysis of Quranic Arabic (QA) and Standard Australian English (SAE) support speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in working with Muslims acquiring these languages? Approach and Method: SLPs working with Muslim clients should have a thorough understanding of all languages their clients are exposed to. Muslims internationally learn QA alongside their home languages. Learning the QA sound system requires knowledge of its phonemic inventory and how it compares to the other languages in the client’s repertoire. Cross-linguistic influences can affect a learner’s articulation of QA sounds and ultimately their ability to preserve the pronunciation of the holy Quranic text. Conversely, QA may influence a learner’s acquisition of additional languages, such as SAE. This study employs a contrastive phonemic analysis of QA and SAE to explore cross-linguistic influences on speech sound acquisition to support SLPs working with Muslims acquiring these additional languages.
Data: QA has 28 consonants, while SAE has 24. Although the languages share eighteen consonant phonemes, QA has ten consonants not found in SAE, and SAE has six not found in QA. The slightly larger consonant inventory results from QA’s more extensive vocal tract use. QA employs all the places and manners of articulation found in SAE, though not all SAE sounds are present in QA. Sounds absent in QA but present in SAE often have counterparts in QA, whether voiced or voiceless. For example, while /p/ is not present in QA, its voiced pair, /b/, is.
Expected Results: Cross-linguistic influences between QA and SAE may affect articulation, particularly for sounds unique to one language. These findings are essential for accurate differentiation between speech sound disorders, delays, and cultural differences.
Conclusion: Understanding the phonemic contrasts between QA and SAE helps SLPs accurately diagnose speech sound disorders and supports Quranic pronunciation preservation among Muslims learning SAE.