International Journal of English Linguistics; Vol. 7, No. 5; 2017 ISSN 1923-869X E-ISSN 1923-8703 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 19 Articulation of English Consonants, Vowels and Diphthongs by Pashto Speakers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Afzal Khan 1 , Wasima Shehzad 2 & Inayat Ullah 3 1 Department of Humanities, Faculty of Social sciences, Air University, Islamabad, Pakistan 2 Fulbright & British Alumna, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Air University, Islamabad, Pakistan 3 Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities, Faculty of Social Sciences, Air University, Islamabad, Pakistan Correspondence: Afzal Khan, Department of Humanities, Faculty of Social sciences, Air University, Islamabad, Pakistan. E-mail: afzalenghu@gmail.com; Afzal.khan@mail.au.edu.pk; wasima@mail.au.edu.pk; wasima.shehzad@yahoo.com; inayat_ktk@yahoo.com; inayatullah@mail.au.edu.pk Received: April 27, 2017 Accepted: May 18, 2017 Online Published: July 24, 2017 doi:10.5539/ijel.v7n5p19 URL: http://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v7n5p19 Abstract This paper aims to examine the articulation of English consonants, vowels and diphthongs by Pashto Speakers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, and explores the problems they face in their English articulation due to the influence of mother tongue. A detailed experiment has been carried out to analyze the articulatory properties of /θ/ /ð/ /ɪ: /, /ɪ/ and /еɪ: / sounds spoken by Pashto speakers in Pakistan. The research reveals that Pashtun speakers of English language have a distinct pronunciation pattern of /θ/ and /ð/ sounds. This research provides a scientific justification to establish Pashto English as an independent deviant variety of RP Standard English Language. Based on the findings of the data collected from the recordings of 50 participants, it was concluded that thickness is low and frequencies of formants are considerably low as compared to RP sounds. In this regard, consonant phonemes of /θ/ and /ð/ sounds articulated by Pashto speakers are dissimilar to their Standard English (RP). They are produced as “Dental Plosives” instead of “Dental Fricatives”. The participants face great difficulty in pronouncing these English dental fricatives /ð/, /ɵ/ sounds, and they also face insurmountable problems in the regular plural forms. In relation to vowels and diphthongs in English language, major problems largely appeared in misunderstanding between /ɪ:/, /ɪ/ and /еɪ:/ sound production. The results of this study shall provide assistance to English language teachers and learners in teaching and learning English Language, especially in teaching and learning English pronunciation. It has been ascertained that special consideration should be given to these problematic consonants, vowels and diphthongs in order to avoid misunderstandings/confusion on the part of the listener. Keywords: Articulation, consonants, vowels, diphthongs, Pashto Speakers in Khyber, Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan 1. Introduction Pashto in Pakistan is spoken in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, including Swat and Kaghan valley. Pashto is also spoken in the eastern and southern regions of Afghanistan, where it is the national language. Pashto is spoken by 9,585,000 speakers in Pakistan which is 8.47% of the total population according to the 1993 census estimation; 100,000 people speak Pashto in United Arab Emirates as recorded in the 1986 census; and 14,161 Pashto native speakers reside in India, noted in 1994 census. All Pashto speakers in Pakistan were estimated at 13.2% of the total population, according to 1981 Census. Pashto has many regional dialects in Pakistan, such as Kohati, and Khattak dialects. Yusufzai dialect is also known as Peshawari; Afridi; Mohmandi; Shinwari; and Shilmani. The major dialect of Khattaks, also known as Kohati and Kandahari, is considered as a soft dialect. The Yusufzai one is known as a hard dialect or the literary dialect, mostly practiced in schools and media in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its adjacent tribal regions in Pakistan (Baart, 2001). Pashto is an ancient language and its script is written in Perso-Arabic. Pashto vocabulary contains words mostly borrowed from Ossete, Sanskrit, Hindi, Persian, Urdu and some other regional and local languages of Pakistan. It has also absorbed words from Indo-Aryan languages. Pashto Language is regarded to be in close similarity with Persian language but there exists certain contradictory features in Pashto Language that do not exist in Persian. For example, in Pashto, there are some consonants and vowels which are not present in Persian such as retroflex