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Loanword adaptation of Japanese vowels in Truku

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2025

Hui-shan Lin
Hui-shan Lin*
Affiliation:
Department of English, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
*
Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article provides the first formal account of empirical generalizations concerning the adaptation of Japanese vowels in Truku, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan. It is shown that while most Truku native markedness constraints are respected in loanword adaptation, two of the language's markedness constraints are sacrificed to satisfy loanword-sensitive faithfulness constraints and one is blocked only in unaffixed loanwords, exhibiting a derived environment effect. Other than native phonology, perceptual saliency is also shown to play a role in loanword adaptation, as evidenced by the different adaptation behaviors between voiced and voiceless vowels and between peripheral and mid vowels. The fact that both perception and native phonology play roles in vowel adaptation in Truku loanwords thus supports the Perception-Phonology Approach of loanword adaptation, a perception-oriented theory that involves the native phonology.

Résumé

Résumé

Cet article fournit le premier compte-rendu formel des généralisations empiriques concernant l'adaptation des voyelles japonaises en Truku, une langue austronésienne parlée à Taïwan. Il est démontré que si la plupart des contraintes de marquage propres au Truku sont respectées dans l'adaptation des mots d'emprunt, deux des contraintes de marquage de la langue sont sacrifiées pour satisfaire les contraintes de fidélité sensibles aux mots d'emprunt et l'une d'entre elles n'est bloquée que dans les mots d'emprunt non affixés, ce qui témoigne d'un effet d'environnement dérivé. Outre la phonologie native, la saillance perceptive joue également un rôle dans l'adaptation des mots d'emprunt, comme le montrent les différents comportements d'adaptation entre les voyelles voisées et les voyelles sans voix, et entre les voyelles périphériques et les voyelles médianes. Le fait que la perception et la phonologie native jouent toutes deux un rôle dans l'adaptation des voyelles dans les mots empruntés à Truku soutient donc l'approche perception-phonologie de l'adaptation des mots empruntés, une théorie axée sur la perception qui implique la phonologie native.

Keywords

TrukuJapanese loanwordvowel adaptationPerception-Phonology ApproachOptimality TheoryTrukuemprunts japonaisadaptation des voyellesapproche perception-phonologiethéorie de l'optimalité
Type
Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique , First View , pp. 1 - 45
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Copyright © Canadian Linguistic Association/Association canadienne de linguistique 2025

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