A Survey on Loanwords from English to Kurdish

Abstract

In this going-over study, words borrowed from English to Kurdish are scrutinized. More than 350 words are found to be derived from English to Kurdish as loanwords. In conformity with the wordlist which accompanies this research, the patterns of these words are categorized with reference to phonological-oriented criteria as assimilated, partially-assimilated, and non-assimilated borrowings. The assimilated genres were noticed to be the most frequently borrowed types of words from English to Kurdish. The meanings of each loanword from the donor (English) to the receiver language (Kurdish) are unchanged. However, the pronunciations of certain forms of loanwords are changed partly or naturalized. That is, the halfway assimilated loanwords may still be recognized as borrowings, but the non-assimilated ones are somewhat unrealizable. Keywords: English language, Kurdish language, Sorani dialect, loanwords, borrowing PuxtaLam twěžinawa lěkoĺin amězadã, wŝa xwãstrãwakãn la ingliziyawa bo kurdi lěyãn dakoĺdrětawa. Zyãtr la 350 wŝa dadozrětawa ka la ingliziyawa hatuna nãw kurdi waku wuŝai xwãstrãw. Ba gwěrai aw lista wŝayai ka lagaĺ am twěžinawayadã dět, ŝěwazakãni am wŝãna polěn krãwn ba gwěrai pěwari tãibati fonoloji waku wŝai xwãstrãwi ĉunyak, nimĉa ĉunyak u nã ĉunyak. Ŝěwãza ĉunyakakãn wã těbini dakrãn kawã bãwtrin jori wŝai xwãstrãu bn la ingliziyawa bo kurdi. Manãi har wŝayakai xwãstrãw la zmãni baxŝar (inglizi) bo zmãni wargr (kurdi) nagorãwa. Harchanda, ŝěwãzi běžãni handě ŝěwai tãibati wŝa xwãstrãwakãn baŝěwai baŝi dagorěn yãxud ba xomãli dakrěn. Amaŝ manãi waya, wŝa xwãstrãwa nimĉaiya ĉunyakakãn lawãnaya heŝta har waku wŝai xwãstrãw sayir bkrěn, baĺam wŝa xwãstrãwa nãĉunyakakãn tã rãdayak nazãnrãwn. Paivin Saraki: zmani inglizi, zmani kurdi, diyalěkti sorani, wŝai xwastrawakan, xwastn.

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“…For Sorani subdialect, different studies analysed loanwords from different perspectives. For example, Azeez and Awla (2016) surveyed lexical borrowings from English in Sorani. The investigation is based on a wordlist that consists of 358 English loanwords that were found in Sorani.…”

“…A few studies have been conducted on the phenomenon of loanwords in Kurdish, and most of the research analysed them in only one dialect (in Bahdini such as Mosa 2016; Rasheed 2012 and in Sorani dialect such as Azeez and Awla 2016;Hasanpoor 1999). No studies have ever compared loanwords across two dialects of Kurdish.…”

False Cognates and Friends between English and Kurdish

“…As for the cognate words, any word falling under this category between English and Kurdish languages can be acknowledged as loanwords and borrowings as the words share similar meaning and almost form with the same origin. Azeez and Awla (2016) have established a comprehensive wordlist for the loanwords and borrowings from English to Kurdish through which it can be stated that these loanwords are possibly the cognates. Thus, the significance of the present research attempt lies in the unexplored gap of necessity of finding false friends between English and Kurdish languages.…”

“…One may anticipate that these borrowings would aid students in learning to speak in English, but if learners are not cautioned about the false friends that exist in the English language, the exact opposite may occur (Yaylaci & Argnbayev, 2014). Azeez and Awla (2016) found more than 350 words which were borrowed from English to Kurdish. The meaning of each loanword was unchanged but the pronunciation of certain forms of loanwords were changed or naturalized.…”

Loanwords and Their Variations in Kurdish

“…A few studies have been conducted on the phenomenon of loanwords in Kurdish, and most of the research analysed them in only one dialect (in Bahdini such as Mosa 2016; Rasheed 2012 and in Sorani dialect such as Azeez and Awla 2016;Hasanpoor 1999). No studies have ever compared loanwords across two dialects of Kurdish.…”