L2 Proficiency Level Influences Loanword Adaptation: Variable Adaptation of English Co-occurrence of Low Vowel and Nasal Into Mandarin
As the most commonly established and attested language contact phenomenon, loanwords, also known as lexical borrowings, may undergo transformations when borrowed from the source language (SL) to the borrowing language (BL). Previous studies have separately illustrated the role of perception and phon...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2023-10-01
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| Series: | SAGE Open |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231202297 |
| _version_ | 1797666107443642368 |
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| author | Wei Wang |
| author_facet | Wei Wang |
| author_sort | Wei Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As the most commonly established and attested language contact phenomenon, loanwords, also known as lexical borrowings, may undergo transformations when borrowed from the source language (SL) to the borrowing language (BL). Previous studies have separately illustrated the role of perception and phonology in the borrowing process. However, the speech perception or phonology contributes more to the adaptation pattern in some cases than others. Few studies attempt to explain this phenomenon. To fill in the gap, the present study hypothesizes that differences in borrowers’ L2 proficiency level of the SL are the potential source. To examine this hypothesis, an online adaptation experiment was designed and conducted. The experiment examines how Mandarin Chinese native speakers adapt the English non-words ended in the combination of low vowel and nasal coda. The results suggest that BL monolinguals and less proficient L2 learners of the SL tend to use a phonetic mapping strategy guided by the backness of vowels, while advanced learners of the SL are more likely to adopt a phonological mapping strategy based on coda nasal place. This paper concludes by proposing that borrowers’ L2 proficiency level has an effect on the certain randomized variations in the process of loanword adaptation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T19:53:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-900a40e7fef54f798d700275aa25e717 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2158-2440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T19:53:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SAGE Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-900a40e7fef54f798d700275aa25e7172023-10-04T22:03:21ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open2158-24402023-10-011310.1177/21582440231202297L2 Proficiency Level Influences Loanword Adaptation: Variable Adaptation of English Co-occurrence of Low Vowel and Nasal Into MandarinWei Wang0Beijing Jiaotong University, ChinaAs the most commonly established and attested language contact phenomenon, loanwords, also known as lexical borrowings, may undergo transformations when borrowed from the source language (SL) to the borrowing language (BL). Previous studies have separately illustrated the role of perception and phonology in the borrowing process. However, the speech perception or phonology contributes more to the adaptation pattern in some cases than others. Few studies attempt to explain this phenomenon. To fill in the gap, the present study hypothesizes that differences in borrowers’ L2 proficiency level of the SL are the potential source. To examine this hypothesis, an online adaptation experiment was designed and conducted. The experiment examines how Mandarin Chinese native speakers adapt the English non-words ended in the combination of low vowel and nasal coda. The results suggest that BL monolinguals and less proficient L2 learners of the SL tend to use a phonetic mapping strategy guided by the backness of vowels, while advanced learners of the SL are more likely to adopt a phonological mapping strategy based on coda nasal place. This paper concludes by proposing that borrowers’ L2 proficiency level has an effect on the certain randomized variations in the process of loanword adaptation.https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231202297 |
| spellingShingle | Wei Wang L2 Proficiency Level Influences Loanword Adaptation: Variable Adaptation of English Co-occurrence of Low Vowel and Nasal Into Mandarin SAGE Open |
| title | L2 Proficiency Level Influences Loanword Adaptation: Variable Adaptation of English Co-occurrence of Low Vowel and Nasal Into Mandarin |
| title_full | L2 Proficiency Level Influences Loanword Adaptation: Variable Adaptation of English Co-occurrence of Low Vowel and Nasal Into Mandarin |
| title_fullStr | L2 Proficiency Level Influences Loanword Adaptation: Variable Adaptation of English Co-occurrence of Low Vowel and Nasal Into Mandarin |
| title_full_unstemmed | L2 Proficiency Level Influences Loanword Adaptation: Variable Adaptation of English Co-occurrence of Low Vowel and Nasal Into Mandarin |
| title_short | L2 Proficiency Level Influences Loanword Adaptation: Variable Adaptation of English Co-occurrence of Low Vowel and Nasal Into Mandarin |
| title_sort | l2 proficiency level influences loanword adaptation variable adaptation of english co occurrence of low vowel and nasal into mandarin |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231202297 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT weiwang l2proficiencylevelinfluencesloanwordadaptationvariableadaptationofenglishcooccurrenceoflowvowelandnasalintomandarin |