A Constraint-based analysis of Kikamba nativized loanwords
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Date
2013-08-14
Authors
Ndambuki, Bernard Mutua
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Abstract
This work is a constraint-based analysis of Kikamba nativized loanwords. The mechanism
used by the recipient language in the phonological modification of loanwords has been
explained within the framework of Optimality Theory, a linguistic model which proposes
that observed forms of languages arise from the interaction between conflicting
constraints. It is through the interaction of markedness and faithfulness constraints that the
output forms – the nativized words – are realized.The study has investigated the strategies
used by the recipient system, Kikamba, to handle phonologically different words from
English. Notably, the recipient language has open syllables and does not allow consonant
clusters in the onset. In sharp contrast, English has closed syllables and allows consonant
clusters in both onset and coda positions. The phonemic inventories of the two languages
also differ considerably. The borrowed words are, therefore, significantly modified in
order to conform to the phonotactics of Kikamba. This cannot be achieved without
violating faithfulness. The high-ranked markedness constraints in Kikamba trigger the
repair strategies in order to increase the well-formedness of the surface forms. The study
sought to establish how the grammar of Kikamba resolves the conflict between
markedness and faithfulness constraints in the selection of optimal output forms, namely
the nativized words. The study utilized primary data which were collected in Machakos
District where the subjects are predominantly speakers of Kikamba. Out of a corpus of
200 words collected, 75 were purposefully sampled for analysis. Both qualitative and
quantitative methods have been used to analyze the data. The analyses have revealed that
in dealing with disallowed codas and consonant clusters, three main strategies: insertion,
deletion and feature change are used in order to satisfy high-ranked markedness
constraints in Kikamba. In a few instances, however, faithfulness prevails over
markedness, leading to change in the phonology of Kikamba. The study has shown that
the loanword phenomenon in Kikamba can be adequately accounted for using the
Optimality Theory. The findings of the research have implications on the growth and
development of Kikamba as the study has addressed phonological modification of
loanwords which is one of the means by which languages develop their vocabulary.