Abstract

CHRISTIE, Camilla Rose. Khoekhoe Lexical Borrowing in Regionalised Afrikaans. SPiL plus (Online) [online]. 2022, vol.64, pp.133-143. ISSN 2224-3380.  http://dx.doi.org/10.5842/64-1-889.

This brief paper aims to draw attention to the widespread and ongoing phenomenon of lexical borrowing from Khoekhoe-branch languages into regional Afrikaans. A case study of one Afrikaans plant name loaned from Khoekhoe-branch languages, karee (Searsia lancea, Searsia spp.), is used to demonstrate how post-shift phonological attrition can lead to lexical conflation, and hence to semantic extension. This paper strongly recommends that public-facing scientific organisations take greater care when providing linguistic information to lay communities, and also motivates increased study of the behaviour of click consonants in a post-shift context in order to develop a clearer understanding of Khoekhoe-branch language history.

Keywords : Language history; loanwords; phonological attrition; semantic reanalysis; Khoekhoe; Afrikaans.

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