Phonological Interference of Mother Tongue in Vocabulary Acquisition by Libyan Speakers

The current research investigates some phonological processes owing to interference between English and Tripolian Arabic (TA) within the framework of Optimality Theory (OT) (Prince and Smolensky, 1993). Linguistically, OT is a linguistic approach composed of constraints namely markedness and faithfulness. Methodologically, the research follows a descriptive-analytic approach. The study reveals that certain phonemes undergo emphatic spread and feature changes. In terms of emphatic spread, both [+pharyngeals] /sˀ/ and /tˀ/ are included; nonetheless, feature changes occurrence is associated with fortition and lenition. The study concludes that loanwords’ phonological integration occurs as a result of linguistic interference across English (Source Language) and Tripolian Arabic (Target Language).
The current research investigates some phonological processes owing to interference between English and Tripolian Arabic (TA) within the framework of Optimality Theory (OT) (Prince and Smolensky, 1993). Linguistically, OT is a linguistic approach composed of constraints namely markedness and faithfulness. Methodologically, the research follows a descriptive-analytic approach. The study reveals that certain phonemes undergo emphatic spread and feature changes. In terms of emphatic spread, both [+pharyngeals] /sˀ/ and /tˀ/ are included; nonetheless, feature changes occurrence is associated with fortition and lenition. The study concludes that loanwords’ phonological integration occurs as a result of linguistic interference across English (Source Language) and Tripolian Arabic (Target Language).