PHONOLOGICAL ADAPTATION OF KISWAHILI LOANWORDS INTO GĨ-GĨCHŨGŨ DIALECT OF GĨKŨYŨ LANGUAGE

Abstract

Borrowing is evidently a component of language growth and is, thus, a continuous process.

No language whose speakers have had contact with any other language is completely free of

borrowed forms. Gĩkũyũ language has had long contact with Kiswahili from early last century. As

a result, borrowing is evident. This paper explores the various phonological strategies used by

Gĩ-Gĩchũgũ dialect of Gĩkũyũ language in borrowing words from Kiswahili. To do this, the paper

applies the Source-Similarity model, one of the most recent strands of Optimality Theory. This

model exploits loanword specific faithfulness constraints that impose maximal similarity between the

perceived source form and its corresponding spoken loanword. Using the Source-Similarity model,

this paper shows that Gĩ-Gĩchũgũ uses such strategies as deletion, preservation, substitution as

well as importation of consonants. On the other hand, the adaptation strategies used for vowels are

insertion, preservation, and substitution. These strategies ensure that the borrowed words stay as

similar as possible to the source forms.