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Article published In: Variation in the Pacific: Part I
Edited by Eri Kashima and Miriam Meyerhoff
[Asia-Pacific Language Variation 6:2] 2020
► pp. 160–195

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Borrowing from Bislama into Raga, Vanuatu

Borrowing frequency, adaptation strategies and semantic considerations

 | Australian National University
Published online: 18 December 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/aplv.19015.duh
Abstract
This paper reports on variation among speakers of Raga, an Oceanic language of Pentecost island, Vanuatu, in their use of borrowings from Bislama, the national language of Vanuatu, an English-lexifier contact language. The study measures the frequency of borrowings from Bislama in the speech of 50 speakers, surveys speakers’ strategies in assimilating loanwords into Raga and quantifies speakers’ rate of lexical replacement and insertion. This corpus of natural speech reveals an overall low incidence of borrowing from Bislama at 1.6 Bislama words per 100 recorded words. Women and younger speakers borrow more frequently from Bislama. Young speakers use borrowings in equal measure to add to their vocabulary and replace Raga words, while their elders tend to borrow from Bislama to add to their vocabulary, rather than replace Raga words.
Abstract (French)
Cet article rend compte des variations entre les locuteurs du raga, une langue océanienne de l’île de Pentecôte, Vanuatu, dans leur utilisation des emprunts au bislama, une langue de contact à base lexicale anglaise et la langue nationale du Vanuatu. Cette étude porte sur un corpus d’enregistrements de 50 locuteurs. On y mesure la fréquence des emprunts du bislama auprès des locuteurs, examine leurs stratégies d’assimilation au raga et quantifie leurs taux de remplacement et d’insertion lexicale. Ce corpus de discours naturel révèle une faible incidence globale d’emprunt au bislama, à raison de 1,6 emprunts pour 100 mots enregistrés. On observe chez les femmes et les jeunes locuteurs une plus grande fréquence d’emprunts au bislama que chez les autres locuteurs. Les jeunes locuteurs, et en particulier les jeunes femmes, présentent le taux d’assimilation phonologique le plus faible. Les jeunes locuteurs empruntent au bislama à mesure égale pour ajouter à leur vocabulaire et remplacer les mots raga, alors que leurs ainés ont tendance à ajouter à leur vocabulaire, plutôt qu’à remplacer les mots raga, avec leurs emprunts au bislama.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Code-switching, borrowing and loanwords
  • 2.Bislama, the donor language
    • 2.1Bislama – or English?
    • 2.2Attitudes towards Bislama
    • 2.3Language regulators
  • 3.The data
    • 3.1Speakers: Number, sex, age and mobility
    • 3.2Type of texts
  • 4.Borrowing frequency
    • 4.1Narrative type
    • 4.2Age and sex
    • 4.3Mobility
    • 4.4Regression modelling
  • 5.Nativisation: Phonetic and morphological
    • 5.1Possible contexts for adaptation of Bislama words
    • 5.2Phonetic assimilation
    • 5.3Morphological assimilation
    • 5.4Nativisation across age groups
  • 6.Lexical replacement and insertion
  • 7.Discussion and conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Lavender Forsyth, Guy A.
2025. Language endangerment in Vanuatu: Bislama likely does pose a threat in the world’s most language-diverse country. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 12:1 DOI logo
Meyerhoff, Miriam & Carol C. Aru
2025. Bislama (Vanuatu). In The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of World Englishes, ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo

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