MORPHOPHONOLOGICAL FEATURES OF ENGLISH LOANWORDS AND CODE SWITCHING IN SPOKEN NIGERIAN FULFULDE

Authors

  • Hamidou Bappa Department of English Language and Literatures of English Expression, Higher Teachers’ Training College Maroua, University of Maroua, Cameroon

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejals.v8i2.589

Keywords:

loanwords, lexical borrowing, adaptation, epenthesis, phonological modifications

Abstract

Belonging to the West-Atlantic branch (Greenberg, 1963), Fulfulde has borrowed numerous words and expressions from the English language to enrich its vocabulary, following its contact with English, the British colonial heritage. These loanwords or borrowings have undergone morphological and phonological modifications when used in Fulfulde, which has ‘spilled’ an indigenous flavour over these words. The study is based on Myers-Scotton’s (1997) frame of Maxim Language Model, whereby maxim language imposes its morphology and phonological grammar on the recipient language, known as the Embedded language, which is English in this study. The aim of this paper is to analyse the morphophonologically-adapted English loanwords and code-switching incorporated in Nigerian Fulfulde, which is gaining ground and is increasingly spread across the northern, northeast, and western part of Nigeria, like Borno State, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Zaria, etc. The study focuses on the segmental and syllable-related aspects. Data for this study was collected via pre-recorded audio materials, discussion with Fulfulde-English bilingual informants and informal observation of daily natural conversation of speakers of Fulfulde. Findings reveal that phonological adaptation of English loanwords and code-switching in Fulfulde occurs through such features as vowel and consonant substitution, systematic lengthening of vowel, vowel addition, vowel epenthesis and syllable elongation.

 

Author Biography

  • Hamidou Bappa, Department of English Language and Literatures of English Expression, Higher Teachers’ Training College Maroua, University of Maroua, Cameroon

    Hamidou Bappa is a former student of the Higher Teachers’ Training College in Yaoundé. He is a holder of a Master’s degree and PhD (obtained at the University of Maiduguri, in Nigeria) in English language, specialised in phonology. His areas of research interest include loan phonology, applied linguistics, New Englishes and sociolinguistics. He is currently a lecturer in the English language at the Higher Teachers’ Training College of the University of Maroua, Cameroon. Hamidou Bappa has published many articles in national (like CELLA, KALIAO) and international journals, and a book is in view for publication. He has also received many certificates for participating in national and international conferences.

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Published

2025-03-17

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2025)

Section

Articles

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