LL-L "Language contacts" 2006.05.29 (07) [E]

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   L O W L A N D S - L * 29 May 2006 * Volume 07
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From: Isaac M. Davis <isaacmacdonalddavis at gmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Language acquisition" 2006.05.29 (06) [E]

Ron wrote, regarding Polynesian languages:

> Also, sustained contacts with and improving proficiency in French and
> English has resulted in an increase of consonant phonemes.

Since you mention it, I recall reading in some kind of language-related 
forum, back around Easter, that Hawai'ian has borrowed the word 'kristo', 
among others, and so, though its native vocabulary is limited in phonology, 
loanwords are not so. Do you know of any interesting resources talking about 
this phenomenon? I'd be interested to see what loanwords exist in the 
Hawai'ian language today.


Regards,

Isaac M. Davis

-- 

Westron wynd, when wilt thou blow
The smalle rain down can rain
Christ yf my love were in my arms
And I yn my bed again

----------

From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Language contacts

Isaac,

There are some pertinent linguistic articles; e.g.

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/linguistics/documents/q1047_lecture_06.pdf
http://nels.uconn.edu/abstracts/AllisonN.Adler.pdf
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/linguistics/documents/q1047_lecture_05.pdf
http://ling.ucsd.edu/courses/lign111/111.handout3.pdf

I'm not aware of a list.  I'm afraid you'd have to plow through a Hawaiian 
dictionary for those loans.

The study of phoneme inventory change by way of lexical loaning is pretty 
interesting.  In most cases of sustained contacts, there are layers or 
strata of loans, and oftentimes these are different levels of adaptation and 
show phonological changes.  For instance Arabic loans have greatly impacted 
the phoneme inventories of the languages of the Islamic world.  On the 
"negative" side, this loaning -- mostly by way of Persian varieties -- has 
thrown the erstwhile perfectly symmetrical harmonic sound systems of the 
Turkic languages out of whack, and in the case of Siberian Turkic languages 
it is Russian loaning that did a similar thing (also to Uralic languages). 
This indirect contact together with sustained contacts with and proficiency 
in (Iranian) Tajik (and great reverence for "Persian" as a learned and 
poetic language) plus long-time Russian proficiency has pretty much 
"destroyed" the harmonic system of (Turkic) Uzbek.

You are right: "Christ" is _Karisto_ or _Kristo_ in Hawaiian, the former 
probably being the older one (CV...).  Consider the fact that Hawaiian does 
not permit consonant clusters (has regular CV structure) and Modern Hawaiian 
does not have /s/ and /t/.  (These have in most cases become /k/.)  To go a 
step farther -- though I don't know how old it is -- Hawaiian also has the 
loan _Jesus Christ_ besides the older form _Iesu K(a)risto_.  My theory is 
that the "proper" pronunciation of such religious loans is due to the 
insistence of missionaries, or there is some sort of finickiness with regard 
to reverential names.

And this is where the plot thickens: the word for 'grandparent', for 
instance, is _kūkū_ (or _kūkū kāne_ 'grandfather', _kūkū wahine_ 
'grandmother', with the modifiers 'male' and 'female' respectively). 
However, this _kūkū_, although it tends to be written as such, is usally 
pronounced _tūtū_!!!  We know that _kūkū_ is derived from *_tūtū_ because 
the shift /t/ > /k/ is a regular one.  My theory is that in Hawaiian certain 
words, or names, were/are exempt from certain phonological changes, must be 
pronounced "properly," as in the olden days, and that this has been extended 
to names in Christianity, the new religion.  I further believe that the case 
of _tūtū_ has something to do with ancestor "worship."  Note that for 
instance _makua_ 'parent' is not exempt (i.e., is not preserved as earlier 
*_matua_; cf., Maori _matua_, Malay _tuan_ 'lord', 'sire').  Contradicting 
my theory are the word _kupuna_ 'ancestor' (< *_tupuna_, cf. Maori _tipuna_ 
~ _tupuna_) and _akua_ 'god' (< *_hatua_, cf. Maori _atua_).

At any rate, isn't it interesting that a supposedly non-existing or extinct 
phoneme (/t/) makes an appearance in a few words, among them at least one 
native word?

Further irregularities (noting strata):

catechism(o) > kakakimo (not expected *_'ake'imo_)
Sabbath > kāpaki ~> sabati
crown: kalaunu ~ kolona (not expected *_talaunu_ ~ *_tolona_)
computer: kamepiula (not expected *_'amepiuka_)
Catholic, Catholicism: Kakōlika (not expected *_'At/kōlita_)
France: Palani ~> Falani
Australia: 'Aukekulelia ~> Auseturelia (formerly _Nuhōlani_ "New Holland")
Korea: Kōlea ~ Korea (not expected *_Tōlea_ ~ *_Tolea_)
Denmark: Kenemaka ~ Denemaka (not expected *_Kenema'a_)
Austria: 'Aukekulia ~> Auseturia
Switzerland: Kuikilana ~> Suizilana
Israel: 'Ikela'ela ~> Iseraela
Turkey: Kuleke ~> Tureke
Italy: Ikalia ~> Italia
Spain: Kepania ~> Sepania
Pakistan: Pakitana (not expected *_Pa'ikana_)
Canada: Kanaka ~> Kanada (not expected *_'Anaka_)
Croatia: Koloatia (not expected *_'Oloakia_)
Russia: Lukia ~> Rusia
Czech Republic: Tieka (not expected *_Tie'a_)
Portugal: Pokukala ~> Potugala
Britain: Pelekane ~ Pelekania ~> Beretania
Scotland: Kekokia ~ Sekotia
Jordan: Ioredāne (not expected *_Iolekane_)
Kiribati (Gilbert Islands): Kilipaki (not expected *_'Ilipaki_)
Belgium: Pelekiuma ~> Belegiuma (not expected *_Pele'iuma_)
America: 'Amelika (not expected *_Ameli'a_)

But regular, though recent:

radio: lekiō
telephone: kelepona
television (TV): kelewikiona, kīwī [ki:vi:], (Japanese テレビ _terebi_ >?) 
kelewī

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron 

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