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Title Phonological Adaption of English Loanwards in Khowar: An Optimality Analysis

Author(s) Owais Ayub Khan

Abstract ABSTRACT Title: Phonological Adaptation of English Loanwords in Khowar: An Optimality Analysis Language contact results in the transfer of lexical items from one language to another. The transferred lexical items are named as loanwords. This study deals with the adjustment of English loanwords into Khowar. English and Khowar are two different languages that present dissimilarities at the phonemic, syllabic, and structural levels. Both languages share a long history of contact situations. Due to this interaction between these languages, there is a transfer of lexical items. English being the dominant language, lends many words that are adjusted into Khowar. This research first aims to identify the English loanwords that have entered Khowar. Secondly, it aims to investigate the processes involved in the adjustment of the English loanwords. Finally, it seeks to identify the phonotactic constraints of Khowar. The adjustment of these loanwords is analyzed through the lens of Optimality Theory. OT remains instrumental in explaining why the recipient language tends to favor certain adaptation processes during loanword adaptation. Optimality Theory (OT) explains how the input, such as the English loanword, is mapped onto an output using the ranking of constraints. The data for this research study is collected from different semantic domains using the technique of participant observation. An audio recorder and two dictionaries are used as research instruments. With an audio recorder, the researcher collects all the spoken data from the conversation of Khowar speakers. To validate whether the collected data is actually a loanword or not, Khowar dictionaries are utilized. The important findings of this study are first, Khowar borrows many words from English to fill the lexical gaps. Additionally, they provide extra lexical items for an already existing word. Secondly, three repairing techniques i.e., deletion, substitution, and epenthesis are found to be used to adjust the illicit structure of English loanwords. Among these techniques, substitution is the dominant one. Third, Khowar phonotactics does not often allow complex onset or coda. Similarly, the voiced coda in the loanwords is adjusted using the technique of coda-devoicing. Finally, it uncovers that complex vowels are prohibited within the phonotactic rules of Khowar.

Type Thesis/Dissertation

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Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2024-02-13

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