Schedule 78. Studentische Tagung Sprachwissenschaft

How does a non-tonal, stress-based language like English find its place within the tonal system of Thai? In this talk, I explore that question through the lens of English loanwords, analyzing how Thai speakers assign tones when integrating foreign vocabulary into their language. Based on a dataset of 30 loanwords produced by three speakers, I show that the results confirm systematic patterns of tone assignment while also revealing exceptions influenced by English proficiency and perception. The findings shed light on how stress-based languages and tonal systems interact in the adaptation of loanwords.

Loanwords provide a unique window into how languages adapt and evolve when confronted with new phonological challenges. This talk examines how English words, originating from a stress-based, non-tonal system, are integrated into Thai, a tonal language with five contrastive tones and strict syllable constraints. Using a dataset of thirty loanwords, elicited from three native Thai speakers in controlled sentence contexts, the analysis combines auditory judgments with acoustic visualization to track tonal assignment.
The study finds that loanwords generally follow predictable rules: live syllables tend to receive mid tones, dead syllables often carry high tones, and stress placement in English guides tones in polysyllabic words. Nevertheless, variation emerges, principally when English proficiency influences perception, showing that adaptation is not purely rule-governed but also shaped by contact and usage.
These results not only refine earlier accounts (Gandour 1979, Bickner 1986, Kenstowicz & Suchato 2006), but also underscore the flexible, creative strategies Thai employs to incorporate foreign words. More broadly, this study contributes to our understanding of how stress-based and tonal prosodic systems converge in contact situations.

Info

Day: 2025-11-14
Start time: 11:30
Duration: 00:30
Room: M2.41
Track: Phonetics and Phonology
Language: en

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