Vowel adaptation patterns within English loanwords in Iraqi Arabic

Ahmed Hamid Abdulrazzaq

University of Baghdad, Iraq

Ahmed Hamid Abdulrazzaq is a lecturer at the English Department, College of Arts, University of Baghdad. He holds an MA and a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Baghdad, Iraq, and an MSc in TESOL from the University of Exeter, UK, and has extensive experience in teaching undergraduate courses in EFL and linguistics in the UAE, Iraq, and Libya. Abdulrazzaq's research in linguistics focuses on phonology, morphology, and optimality theory, while his research in TESOL focuses on language teacher education and teacher evaluation. Dr Abdulrazzaq has actively published peer-reviewed journal articles in these research areas.


https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2700-8021

Sundus Mushin Al-Ubaidy

University of Baghdad, Iraq

Sundus Muhsin Al-Ubaidy is a professor of linguistics at the English Department, College of Arts, University of Baghdad. She holds an MA and a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Baghdad, Iraq, and has extensive experience in teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses in EFL and linguistics in Iraq. Her teaching and research areas include psycholinguistics, syntax, phonology, pragmatics, and lexicography. Dr Al-Ubaidy has supervised MA and PhD candidates and has actively published books, and peer-reviewed journal articles in these research areas.


https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8819-4537



Abstract

This research examines the phonological adaptation of pure vowels in English loanwords in Iraqi Arabic (IA). Unlike previous small-scale studies, the present study collected 346 loanwords through document review and self-observation, and then analyzed them using quantitative content analysis to identify the patterns of pure vowel adaptation involved in incorporating English loanwords into IA. The content analysis findings showed that most pure vowel adaptations in English loanwords in IA follow systematic patterns and may thus be attributed to specific characteristics of both L1 and L2 phonological systems. Specifically, the findings suggest that the IA output forms typically preserve the features of the input pure vowel to the maximum degree feasible by either converting input pure vowels to their direct IA counterparts or replacing them with their closest IA match.

Keywords:

Iraqi Arabic, Baghdadi Arabic, loanwords, borrowing, vowel adaptation, vocalic adaptation

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Published
2023-09-26


Abdulrazzaq, A. H. and Al-Ubaidy, S. M. (2023) “Vowel adaptation patterns within English loanwords in Iraqi Arabic”, Crossroads. A Journal of English Studies, (40). Available at: https://czasopisma.filologia.uwb.edu.pl/index.php/c/article/view/2066 (Accessed: 10 May 2024).

Ahmed Hamid Abdulrazzaq 
University of Baghdad, Iraq

Ahmed Hamid Abdulrazzaq is a lecturer at the English Department, College of Arts, University of Baghdad. He holds an MA and a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Baghdad, Iraq, and an MSc in TESOL from the University of Exeter, UK, and has extensive experience in teaching undergraduate courses in EFL and linguistics in the UAE, Iraq, and Libya. Abdulrazzaq's research in linguistics focuses on phonology, morphology, and optimality theory, while his research in TESOL focuses on language teacher education and teacher evaluation. Dr Abdulrazzaq has actively published peer-reviewed journal articles in these research areas.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2700-8021
Sundus Mushin Al-Ubaidy 
University of Baghdad, Iraq

Sundus Muhsin Al-Ubaidy is a professor of linguistics at the English Department, College of Arts, University of Baghdad. She holds an MA and a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Baghdad, Iraq, and has extensive experience in teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses in EFL and linguistics in Iraq. Her teaching and research areas include psycholinguistics, syntax, phonology, pragmatics, and lexicography. Dr Al-Ubaidy has supervised MA and PhD candidates and has actively published books, and peer-reviewed journal articles in these research areas.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8819-4537