Abstract
AbstractThis study seeks to ascertain the pronunciation inaccuracies of Kurdish English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students at the university level when articulating English diphthong phonemes. These students grapple with challenges related to the articulation of diphthong sounds in English due to their limited exposure and practice. The primary objective of this research is to identify, categorize, and quantify the total number of pronunciation errors made by Kurdish EFL students in the context of English diphthongs.A sample of thirty undergraduate Kurdish EFL students, who are native speakers of Northern Kirmanci, participated in this descriptive qualitative study. The students were requested to pronounce 40 English words, encompassing the eight diphthong sounds prescribed by Southern Standard British English Received Pronunciation (RP). Their pronunciations were recorded using smartphones. These students, who were in their senior year of undergraduate studies, were selected for the study. The recordings of the students' pronunciations were meticulously examined to discern common mispronunciations of English diphthong sounds. Subsequently, the data were collected, organized, and ranked in order of prevalence, ultimately revealing a total of 405 errors. The prevalence of diphthong errors is presented as follows: (ʊə) at a rate of 93.3%, (ɪə) 58.8%, (əʊ) 42.2%, (eə) 37.3%, (aʊ) 28.6%, (eɪ) 14.7%, (aɪ) 8%, and (ɔɪ) 5.8%.Kurdish native speakers frequently encounter difficulties in articulating English diphthongs, primarily due to the absence of these sounds in their native language and a dearth of English pronunciation study and practice throughout their academic journey.
