Acoustic Correlates of the Voicing Contrast in Farasani Arabic Stops: A Voice Onset Time Analysis

This study examines the acoustic realization of the voicing contrast in Farasani Arabic (FA, henceforth) stops using Voice Onset Time (VOT). Data were collected from three native speakers producing stop consonants in controlled CVC syllables embedded in a fixed carrier phrase. VOT measurements were obtained using Praat and analyzed in Microsoft Excel. The results show a clear distinction between voiced and voiceless stops: voiced stops exhibit negative VOT values, reflecting prevoicing, while voiceless stops show positive VOT values, indicating delayed voicing onset. These findings suggest that the contrast is best characterized in terms of voicing timing rather than absolute duration of the VOT interval. Descriptive statistics reveal a clear separation between the two categories, which is further supported by a large t-value from an independent-samples t-test. A secondary analysis of voiceless stops suggests a small effect of place of articulation, with velar stops exhibiting slightly longer VOT values than alveolar stops. Overall, the findings indicate that VOT functions as a reliable acoustic cue for voicing in FA within the present dataset, while also reflecting minor variation related to place of articulation. These findings contribute a first acoustic description of FA, an under‑documented Peninsular Arabic dialect.