Identifying Loan Words in Arabic: A Study Conducted with Native Speakers of Arabic

Abstract

Languages are connected to one another. This connection appears in the process of lending and borrowing words. Loanwords may become official in a language dictionary yet many speakers may not know about the origin of the words they use in their daily conversations. The author conduct this research to measure the knowledge of native Arabic speakers about the loanwords in their language and whether there are phonological reasons that play a rule in spotting loanwords. This study focuses on native speakers of the Arabic language from Saudi Arabia and on loanwords that are adapted from English. The current study investigates the following questions: How familiar are Saudis with loanwords in their language? For what reasons do Saudis fail to recognize such loanwords? A survey was designed to answer these questions. The outcomes showed that a significant number of the subjects have high-quality knowledge about the loanwords; however, there were a few who did not. One reason for failure to recognize loanwords is certain changes to loanwords that give them phonological properties of the target language such as substitution of sounds. Loanwords with significant phonological properties of the target language make speakers unsure whether the word originated in their native language.