Volume III: Education and Ecological Literacy

Acoustic Analysis and Phonological Interference of the Phoneme /ħ/ in Arabic Speech Among Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia Students

  • Nalahuddin Saleh Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia
  • Dindin Solahudin UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia
  • Isop Syafe'i UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia
  • Asep Supianudin UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia

Keywords

Acoustic Phonetics; Arabic Language; /ħ/ Phoneme; Phonological Interference.

Abstract

This study aims to identify the forms of phonological interference occurring in the pronunciation of the phoneme /ħ/ and to analyze its acoustic characteristics in the Arabic speech of students at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. The phoneme /ħ/ is a voiceless pharyngeal fricative consonant that has no direct equivalent in Indonesian. The differences between the Arabic and Indonesian phonological systems may lead to phonological interference in the production of this phoneme by learners of Arabic. Difficulties in articulating /ħ/ often result in sound substitution, weakened articulation, or modifications of phonetic characteristics that affect pronunciation accuracy. This study employed a qualitative approach using a descriptive-analytical method. The data consisted of recorded speech samples containing the phoneme /ħ/. Data were collected through recorded pronunciation tests and subsequently analyzed using Praat software to examine acoustic parameters, including duration, intensity, and spectrogram patterns. Phonological analysis was conducted to identify pronunciation deviations resulting from the influence of the speakers’ first language. The findings reveal that some students experienced phonological interference in producing the phoneme /ħ/, primarily through the substitution of /ħ/ with /h/ and the reduction of its characteristic pharyngeal frication. Acoustic analysis demonstrated differences in energy distribution and frication intensity between the students’ productions and the standard Arabic pronunciation. These findings indicate that the influence of the mother tongue continues to play a significant role in the production of Arabic phonemes. The study highlights the importance of an acoustic phonetic approach in developing more effective Arabic pronunciation teaching strategies.

References

  1. Al Farisi, M. Z. (2018). The impact of techniques and translation ideology on the clarity of pragmatic meanings translation of the qur’anic imperative verses. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 7(3), 676–686. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v7i3.9818
  2. Ali, M., Sanusi, A., Maulani, H., Saleh, N., Khalid, S. M., Supriadi, R., & Al Farisi, M. Z. (2023). Investigating the Arabic /f/ Pronunciation: A Comparative Analysis of Acoustic Phonetics. Al-Ta’rib : Jurnal Ilmiah Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Arab IAIN Palangka Raya, 11(2), 181–196. https://doi.org/10.23971/altarib.v11i2.7234
  3. Anam, R. (2025). Analisis Konsonan (الصوامت) dalam QS al-Ma‘ūn: Kajian Makhraj dan Sifat Huruf Berdasarkan Tartil Syekh as-Sudais. Maliki Interdisciplinary Journal, 4(2), 315-319. Retrieved from https://urj.uin-malang.ac.id/index.php/mij/article/view/20276
  4. Annisa, W., Nurbayan, Y., & Saleh, N. (2024). Analyzing Phonemic Errors in Arabic by Native Javanese Speakers. Tsaqofiya : Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Dan Sastra Arab, 6(2), 422–440. https://doi.org/10.21154/tsaqofiya.v6i2.672
  5. Farisi, M. Z. A., Ali, M., Ismail, Z., Maulani, H., Shaleh, N., & Khalid, S. M. (2025). Investigation of the Pronunciation of the Voiceless Fricative Non-Sibilant Phoneme /θ/ in Arabic: An Acoustic Phonetics Comparative Analysis. Dirasat: Human and Social Sciences, 52(6). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.35516/hum.2025.5447
  6. Flege, J. E. (1995). Second language speech learning: Theory, findings, and problems. Speech perception and linguistic experience: Issues in cross-language research, 92(1), 233-277.
  7. Hameau, S., Biedermann, B., Robidoux, S. & Nickels, L. (2021). Effects of phonological neighbourhood density and frequency in picture naming. Journal of Memory and Language, 120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2021.104248
  8. Hidayat, R. (2022). Ilmu tajwid dan i'rabnya. Pustaka Labib.
  9. Kazi, M. (1987). Arabic Phonetics: A Comparative Study. Islamic Book Publishers.
  10. Ladefoged, P., & Johnson, K. (2015). A Course in Phonetics (7th ed.). Cengage Learning.
  11. Lado, R. (1957). Linguistics Across Cultures: Applied Linguistics for Language Teachers. University of Michigan Press.
  12. Lara, M. S., Subhashini, R., Shiny, C., Lawrance, J. C., Prema, S., & Muthuperumal, S. (2024). Constructing an AI-Assisted Pronunciation Correction Tool Using Speech Recognition and Phonetic Analysis for ELL. 1021–1026. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCSP60870.2024.10543462
  13. Marlina, L. (2019). Pengantar ilmu ashwat. Fajar Media Bandung.
  14. Nasution, A. S. A. (2010). Bunyi Bahasa: Pengantar Fonetik Serta Analisis Fonem Bahasa Arab. Jakarta: Amzah.
  15. Nurholis, T., Al Farisi, M. Z., & Saleh, N. (2026). AGE-RELATED ARTICULATORY VARIATIONS OF ARABIC /dʕ/: ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS IN ELDERLY NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS. Journal of Linguistics, 10(1).
  16. Rahardjo M. Studi Kasus dalam Penelitian Kualitatif: Konsep dan Prosedurnya. Malang: UIN Malang Press; 2017.
  17. Watson, J. C. E. (2002). The Phonology and Morphology of Arabic. Oxford University Press.
  18. Zawaydeh, B. A. (1999). The phonetics and phonology of gutturals in Arabic. Indiana University
Scroll to Top