The Phonetic Attrition in Balochi- Persian Bilinguals: Evidence from Voice Onset Time Patterns

This case-control study investigates the language attrition of adult Balochi- Persian bilinguals concerning voice onset time (VOT) of [p, t, k] consonants. In this regard, the language behavior of 12 participants who participated in this study as one experimental and two control groups was analyzed. Each group of participants consisted of four subjects (two men and two women). The stimuli included 40 frequent disyllabic nouns of Persian and Balochi. The subjects were asked to repeat the nouns to measure the VOT of stop consonants through Praat. The data analysis showed that the VOT of voiceless stop consonants [p, t, k] in Persian and Balochi speakers was different from each other. The same patterns of VOT in different groups indicated the relationship between VOT of voiceless stop consonants and their place of articulation. Moreover, Persian and Balochi have a reciprocal relationship concerning the phonological attrition of voiceless stop consonants. Persian causes the phonological attrition of Balochi in advanced adult Balochi- Persian bilingual speakers living in Balochi context, makes the VOT of Balochi consonants close to the VOT of Persian consonants and triggers them to be converged. Moreover, Balochi decreases the VOT of Persian consonants and makes interference and attrition in Persian.