The rephonologisation of Shona loanwords from English: an optimality theory analysis

Abstract

In their quest to respond to scientific and educational demands, speakers of Shona, a Southern Bantu language spoken in Zimbabwe, have expanded its lexical stock by borrowing mainly from the English language. The two languages have different phonologies, the phonology of English being much more complex than that of Shona. This article examines some aspects of the phonology of Shona loanwords from English, focusing specifically on how they are constrained by the Bantu CV syllable structure underlying the receptor language. The focus is on vowel and glide epenthesis which are employed to repair “illegal” complex onsets, syllable codas and diphthongs.