Influence of English on African Languages

A Look at English Loanwords in Kiswahili

Abstract

Kiswahili, like all developing languages of wider communication, is continually faced with the challenge of modernizing its lexicon and developing new words to denote new concepts entering into the language from alien cultures. However, in the last 40 or so years, Standard Kiswahili, which is based on the Swahili dialect called Kiunguja, (spoken in Zanzibar Island), has grown and spread so much as to assume its own distinct character. One dominant aspect of this growth is the area of lexical borrowing from the English language. This process has often been carried out in an isolated and uncoordinated manner resulting into many words of English origin being adapted into Kiswahili to duplicate other lexical equivalents already in use. This paper examines the types of lexical borrowing from English into Kiswahili and attempts to advance  the rationale for such borrowing. The registers covered include: the sciences; military service, domestic life; sports (eg. Soccer). Examples of unnecessary duplication (over-borrowing) and unnatural adaptation of some of the borrowed words are indicated. In conclusion, it is argued that over-borrowing by Kiswahili from English is largely caused by motivation and not causes, according to the theoretical model on lexical borrowing advanced by Roberts (1994) and Weinreith 1968).