The primary objective of this study was to investigate the degree of influence of Arabic duration on the production of English when English is learned as a second language. The specific questions raised were: I. What is the average Arabic syllable duration in "emphatic" and "non-emphatic" contexts. Is length variation a function of the adjecent consonant. II. Is duration of English syllables as produced by Jordanian students rule-governed i.e. having the same acoustic features as those of L1.