Phonological Adaptation of Loanwords into Ma da : An Optimality Theory Account

Authors

  • Greg Obialamu Nnamdi Azikiwe University
  • Linda Nkamigbo Nnamdi Azikiwe University

Abstract

This paper, using Optimality Theory (OT) as a framework, investigates the
phonology of loanwords in Mad a, a Benue-Congo language spoken in
Nasarawa state, North Central Nigeria (Williamson & Blench, 2000). Data
for the study were obtained from two sources: Mad a- English dictionary and
audio recordings of relevant corpus from three native speakers of Mad a. The
standard OT view of loanword phonology assumes that it is the host
language grammar that acts on the foreign words by selecting the right
output form from a vast majority of candidates. The paper examines the
strategies that Mad a adopts in the process of adapting words borrowed from
other languages into it as well as the constraints hierarchy preferences. The
results show that the phonological changes which foreign words undergo
when borrowed into Mad a are evident in a range of phonological processes
such as vowel deletion, coda simplification, cluster simplification, structure
preservation, and syllable deletion. In all, it is observed that, to a large
extent, the loanwords violate the syllable structure and Mad a phonotactics;
but in order to preserve its structure, Mad a uses constraints that require
the output material to be independent of input.

References

Akinlabi, A. (2008). Yoruba: A Phonological Grammar. Book Proposal Presented at

the 39th Annual Conference of African Linguistics, Georgia, USA.

Aziza, R. & Utulu, D. (2003). Loanword Phonology: English in Urhobo and

Yoruba.Paper Presented at the 4th WOCAL, Rutgers University, New Jersey.

Burenhult, N. (2001). Loanword Phonology in Jahai. Lund University, Dept. of

Linguistics Working Papers, 48: 5-14.

Golston, C. & Yang, P. (2001). White Hmong Loanword Phonology. Proceedings of

HILP5.

Haspelmath, M. & Tadmor, U. (eds.). (2009). Loanwords in the World's Languages: A

Comparative Handbook. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Kenstowicz, M. (2005). The Phonetics and Phonology of Korean Loanword

Adaptation. Paper Presented at the First European Conference on Korean

Linguistics, Leiden University.

Kiparsky, P. (1982). Word-formation and the Lexicon. In F. Ingemann (ed.).

Proceedings of the Mid-America Linguistics Conference. Lawrence, Kansas.

McCarthy, J. (2002). A Thematic Guide to Optimality Theory. Research Surveys in

Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

McCarthy, J. (2008). Doing Optimality Theory. Oxford: Blackwell.

McCarthy, J. & Prince, A. (1993). Prosodic Morphology I: Constraint Interaction and

Satisfaction. Report No. Ru CCS-TR-3. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers

University Centre for Cognitive Science.

McCarthy, J. & Prince, A. (1994). The Emergence of the Unmarked: Optimality

Prosodic Morphology. In M. Gonzalez (ed.). Proceedings of the North East

inguistic Society, 24: 333-379.

McCarthy, J. & Prince, A. (1995). Faithfulness and Reduplicative Identity. In

niversity of Massachusetts Occasional Papers in Linguistics, 18: 249-384.

Oyebade, F. O. (1998). A Course in Phonology. Ijebu-Ode: Shebiotimo Publications.

Oyebade, F. O. (2006). Prosodic Structure Preservation and English

Loanwords in Yoruba: A Constraint-based Account. Paper Presented at the

th Conference of the Linguistic Association of Nigeria, Abuja.

Price, N. (1989). Notes on Ma da Phonology. The Summer Institute of Linguistics,

Inc. Prince, A. & Smolensky, P. (1993). Optimality Theory: Constraint

Interaction and Satisfaction. Report No. Ru CCS-TR-2. New Brunswick, NJ:

Rutgers University Centre for Cognitive Science.

Williamson, K. & Blench, R. M. (2000). Niger - Congo. In B. Heine & D. Nurse (eds.)

African Languages: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Yip, M. (2002). Perceptual Influences in Cantonese Loanword Phonology. Journal of

the Phonetic Society of Japan, 6: 4-21.

Additional Files

Published

2018-02-02

Issue

Section

Articles