Combating linguicide through pronunciation and voice reclamation: shadowing as an identity practice

This study investigates voice reclamation as a countermeasure to linguicidal processes that erode speakers’ confidence in their phonological identity. Using a mixed-methods quasi-experimental design, we examined how a shadowing-based intervention, embedded in sociophonetic awareness workshops, shaped the interplay between pronunciation, identity, and agency among 120 undergraduate English majors in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Quantitative data included a Voice Confidence Scale (VCS) and acoustic analysis of speech rate, pitch range, and pausing patterns; qualitative evidence was drawn from reflective voice diaries and semi-structured interviews. Voice confidence increased significantly in both cohorts (a mean gain of approximately 30%), accompanied by modest, non-significant prosodic shifts that participants framed as more intentional pausing and individualized pitch adjustment. The findings suggest that shadowing, when reframed within a Voice Reclamation Framework rather than a native-speaker imitation paradigm, can reposition the learner’s voice as a site of self-recognition and cultural negotiation. The study contributes to applied linguistics, sociophonetics, and World Englishes research by showing how embodied voice practices may support identity ownership and contest deficit-based narratives in global English, while acknowledging that acoustic change over a four-week intervention remained limited.