Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to provide an Optimality-Theoretic (henceforth OT) account of the linguistic phenomenon of borrowing. In particular, it examines English loanwords in Hawaiian from a constraint-based analysis as opposed to a rule-based analysis. Data necessary for this study consisted of some randomly selected Hawaiian words. These loanwords were carefully examined as to realize their phonological changes and how they can be accounted for from an OT standpoint. Several phonological changes, mainly those of the syllable structure of Hawaiian, were examined along with accompanying phonological processes (e.g., epenthesis, degemination, etc.) where applicable. The proposed ranking hierarchy that, the argument goes, could account for all English loanwords in Hawaiian is like this: ∑{NO CODA >> MAX-IO >> *CC >> DEP-IO}, a state of affairs which confirmed our intuition that the syllable structure of the borrowing language (Hawaiian) prevails over the syllable structure of the donor language (English). In order to establish the ranking argument, comparative tableaux are used. Violations tableaux are also used to demonstrate how the winning configuration beats competitive candidate forms.
Highlights
It is not uncommon that languages borrow from one another for such a wide array of reasons as need, prestige or even derogation (Campbell, 2011: p. 58)
This paper has sought to provide an Optimality-Theoretic (OT) account of two Hawaiian words borrowed from English
The Optimality Theory (OT) framework is adopted to provide a complete analysis of the syllable structure of these two loanwords in Hawaiian
Summary
It is not uncommon that languages borrow from one another for such a wide array of reasons as need, prestige (and lack thereof) or even derogation (Campbell, 2011: p. 58). Borrowed items are not restricted to only lexical items as one might mistakenly assume, but further extend to other linguistic elements, e.g., phonological rules, How to cite this paper: Harb, M. Unlike code switching where bilinguals normally communicate by mixing two distinct languages, elements of borrowing (i.e., loanwords) get totally integrated into the linguistic patterns of the recipient language. Named after the largest island in the North Pacific archipelago, the Hawaiian language-along with English-is the official language of the State of Hawaii. Hawaiian is a melodious language best known for having one of the smallest phonemic inventories in the languages of the world. Hawaiian has only eight consonants [m, n, p, k, h, ʔ, l, w] and five vowels [i, e, a, u, o]. Rows stand for degrees of tongue height, while columns indicate the tongue advancement (Tense) and identify how far forward the tongue is located in the oral cavity during production (i.e., Advanced Tongue Root or ATR)
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