Journal of African Studies
Online ISSN : 1884-5533
Print ISSN : 0065-4140
ISSN-L : 0065-4140
The Syllabic Structure of the Words borrowed into Swahili from English
Tadahisa GOTO
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1967 Volume 1967 Issue 5 Pages 19-26

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Abstract

The formula of the syllabic structure of the English words is (C3)(C2)(C1)V(C1)(C2)(C3)(C4). Examples may be given:
C3C2C1VC1: strong/stro_??_/
C1V: see/si_??_/
C1VC1C2C3: length/le_??_kθ/
VC1C2C3C4: absence/æbsns/.
Swahili has the following formula: (C3) (C2) (C1) V.
V: ona /o-na/‘to see’
C1V: ja/ja/‘to come’
C2C1V: anza/a-nza/‘to begin’
C3C2C1V: hamstashara/ha-msta-ša-ra/‘fifteen’
Thus, syllables in Swahili regularly end in vowels. Many loan-words taken from English, therefore, have adapted their syllabic structure to that of Swahili, changing their one-syllable type into two- or three-syllable one.
C1V-C1V (<E. C1VC1): basi/ba-si/ (<E. bus/bas/)
C1V-C2C1V (<E. C1VC1C2): banki/ba-nki/ (<E. bank/bæ_??_k/)
C2C1V-C1V (<E. C2C1VC1): brashi/bra-ši/ (<E. brush/braš/)
C2C1V-C2C1V (<E. C2C1VC1C2): stampa/sta-mpa/ (<E. stamp/stæmp/)
C1V-C2C1V-C1V (<E. C1VC1C2C3): sampuli/sa-mpu-li/ (<E. sample/sæmpl/)
C1V-C1V-C1V (<E. C1VC1C2): dazani/da-za-ni/ (<E. dozen/dazn/)
Some words have the same syllabic structure as the original ones.
V-C1V (<E. V-C1V): eka/e-ka/ (<E. acre/ei-k_??_/)
C1V-C1V (<E. C1V-C1V): gita/gi-ta/ (<E. guitar/gi-ta_??_/)

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