Abstract
This study
investigates the acoustic characteristics of vowel intrusion in the English of
educated Hausa speakers. Vowel intrusion, a form of epenthesis, is commonly
employed to resolve consonant clusters that are incompatible with Hausa
syllable structure. Previous studies
have described this phenomenon, yet, there is limited empirical research
examining its acoustic realisation. Drawing on insights from acoustic phonetics
which are grounded in Interlanguage Theory, this study adopts a mixed-methods
approach. Data was collected from 10 educated Hausa English speakers through
word lists. Acoustic analysis was conducted using Praat to measure formant
frequencies (F1, F2) and duration of intrusive vowels. The study aims to
identify the phonological environments that trigger vowel intrusion, determine
the quality and consistency of inserted vowels. Findings are expected to
demonstrate that vowel intrusion is systematic and phonetically measurable
rather than random error, reflecting L1 transfer. The study contributes to
research on Nigerian English phonology and provides empirical support for the
integration of acoustic methods in the study of second-language phonological
processes.
Keywords:
Acoustic, Correlates, Vowel, Educated, Hausa and Speakers
DOI: 10.36349/alqajolls.2026.v01i02.038
author/Dr. Sadiya Abubakar Gwandu & Dr. Halima Abdullahi Aminu
journal/AL-QALAM JLLS 1(2) | June 2026
