The Phonology of Borrowed Words in Kitharaka

Abstract

One consequence of language contact is borrowing. Kitharaka, a Bantu language spoken in the Eastern Province of Kenya, has had such contact with a number of languages including Kiswahili and English. As a result, several Kiswahili and English words have been borrowed into the language. Borrowed words undergo adjustments at the various linguistic levels in the process of being accommodated in the borrowing language. Although such word adjustments can sometimes be effected at the semantic and syntactic levels, they usually occur at the phonological and morphological levels. This paper examines the nature of phonological adjustments of Kiswahili and English words that have entered Kitharaka.