Gender differences play a crucial role in shaping bilingual phonological development, particularly in multilingual societies like the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study explored the influence of gender on the acquisition of Voice Onset Time (VOT) for word-initial English plosives among bilingual Emirati preschool children, examining how boys and girls acquired and differentiated voicing contrasts in English as their second language (L2). The study included 20 typically developing Emirati children aged 2:00 years to 5:11 years, all native speakers of Emirati Arabic and bilinguals with English as their second language (L2). Data were collected through a picture-naming task in a controlled acoustic environment, and the audio recordings of voiced and voiceless plosives were analyzed using PRAAT software. The results revealed significant gender-based differences in VOT patterns. Boys displayed stronger interference from their first language (L1), Emirati Arabic, in their English plosive production, whereas girls exhibited VOT values more closely aligned with English norms. These findings suggest that gender influences bilingual phonetic development, potentially due to biological, social, and developmental factors. The study emphasizes the importance of incorporating gender as a variable in educational strategies and clinical interventions, providing valuable insights into bilingual phonological acquisition and its implications for language teaching and the assessment of phonological disorders.

Keywords: Voice onset time (VOT); bilingualism; gender differences; Emirati Arabic; phonetic acquisition

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