Variability of the phonetic structure of borrowings in the Khmer language

Abstract

Introduction. The article describes the variability of the phonetic structure of borrowings in the Khmer language. This topic has a long tradition in both domestic and foreign linguistics. Such prominent scientists as I. Klenin, E. Polivanov and N. Trubetskoy carried out research in this area. In Khmer studies, the topic of language contacts and adaptation of borrowed vocabulary is poorly studied. Materials and Methods. The study is based on the analysis of 208 borrowings selected from 16,119 contexts (sentences) in the Phnom Penh Post Newspaper, the biggest printed daily in the Khmer language. Analysis. Analyzing the phonetic aspect of adaptation, we divided the borrowings into 2 groups: the phonetic and the morphological-phonetic ones. At the same time, the first type included the words transferred from a foreign language in their original form with minor adaptation to Khmer phonetics, and the second type – words that have undergone the process in which a Khmer morpheme is added to the phonetic borrowing. Each group falls into smaller subgroups. Phonetic borrowings were divided into borrowings with “zero” and incomplete adaptation, and the resulting phonetic borrowings were also described separately. Morphological-phonetic borrowings are also divided in two subgroups: phonetic borrowing + a Khmer morpheme and Greco-Latin elements combined with a Khmer (Pali/Sanskrit) word. Results. Based on the results of the study, two main trends inherent in the Khmer language were identified. Firstly, in the process of assimilation of foreign words, the Khmer language strives to eliminate sounds and alien phonetic features that are unusual for it, thus adapting them to its phonetic norms. Secondly, Greek-Latin term elements are used in forming new words and new nominations by combining the Khmer component with a foreign one.