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Differences Between Arabic And English

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Many Arabic speakers have difficulty in acquiring English properly. It is hard for them to adjust to a new different language in speaking, listening, reading, writing and particularly pronunciation due to the strong influence of the Arabic language. In the beginning, it is important to understand the characteristics of the Arabic language and the general differences between Arabic and English in order to overcome the pronunciation problems for Arabic speakers. Arabic is the most common language of the Semitic Languages which is spoken by about 175 million people around the world. The similarities between Arabic and English are few, but the differences are significant. Both Arabic and English differ in many respects, according to
Amosava, Arabic has gutturals and emphatic consonants which are absent in English. The speaking sounds of Arabic and English are indeed different and confusing. Vowel sounds in
Arabic are stated as: the vowel sounds of Arabic are simpler than those found in English. Arabic has three primary vowels, represented in English by "i," "a" and "u." Each of these vowels, just like in English, has a short and a long form. Arabic does not have an equivalent vowel sound to the English "e" or
"o"; what we say in English as "Cairo" is pronounced in Arabic as "Kahirah." The only exception to the absence of "e" and "o" is in foreign loan words or brand names that use those letters.
(Robert Allen) The difference in vowel sounds between Arabic and English is

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