Fundamental Frequency and Tone in Arabic Vowels and Consonants by Indonesian Speakers Aged 5 Years Old

Abstract

This study discusses the fundamental frequency and tone in Arabic vowels and consonants by Indonesian speakers aged 5 years old. The method of data collecting used an interview method by recording and writing techniques. It also employed one respondent who was 5 years old from the Javanese who resides in Surakarta city. The device used for recording was OPPO Joy 3 mobile phone, which is equipped with RecForge II program and microphone that can record sound clearly. An instrument that was used to know the fundamental frequency and tone was Praat 6.0.26 version. The method of data analysis employed comparing method using the basic technique of elemental sorter technique, connecting technique, and differential technique. The result of the analysis showed that the fundamental frequency is correlated with the tone. If the fundamental frequency was high and likewise the tone. A vowel sound with the high fundamental frequency is sound [u], followed by [i], then [a]. The high and low frequency of vowel sounds affected the frequency of the consonant sound followed by the vowel. It was known that 52% of consonants with the high tone were accompanied by punctuation [d̪ˤammah], 40% were accompanied by punctuation [kasrah], and 8% were accompanied by punctuation [fatħah]. The highest frequency sounding group was the apico-palatal sound. It happened since the apico-palatal sound was produced by vocal cord in a high vibration influencing the fundamental frequency and tone. Whereas, the group of consonant sounds with the lowest frequency was a pharyngeal sound as it had a low vibration on the vocal cord; hence, it only produced the low frequency sound.