So, my language bears foreign vocabulary Glossing the English words in the Silozi language spoken in the Zambezi region
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Abstract
This article traces the incorporation of English words in the lexicon, phonology and morphology of the Silozi language spoken in the Zambezi Region. English is Namibia’s sole official language and is usually used alongside Silozi in different domains. Silozi is the Zambezi Region lingua franca that is used in linguistic situations where translation is required to cater for other parties to discourse. The English linguistic items are a common feature in the Silozi lexicon, and this study, therefore, seeks to establish the incorporation processes through which English loanwords were assimilated into Silozi. The research methods, such as interviews, focus groups and questionnaires, were used to collect single lexical items that were borrowed from English. The Consonant/Vowel Theory was used as the incorporation model for English loanwords into Silozi (Barlow & Gierut, 1999; Prince & Smolensky, 2002). Data show that English loanwords are morphologically and phonologically incorporated into Silozi to ensure harmony and ease of articulation by Silozi speakers.
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