language in society

People's Democratic Republic of Algeria Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Mentouri University-Constantine Faculty of Letters and Languages Department of Languages The Contribution of Young Adults in the Innovation of New Words Borrowed from French into the Algerian Dialect Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master Degree in Applied Language Studies Submitted by: Supervised by: Amri Nour El Houda Dr. Salah Kaouache 1 Acknowledgement First and foremost, I wish to express my deep appreciation to my supervisor Dr. Salah Kaouache for his patience, determination and guidance that have seen me through this project. His comments and clarifications have been for immense help to me in writing this dissertation. I am very grateful to him for his insightful feedback and constant encouragement throughout. I also thank Pr. Zahri Harouni, Pr. Hacene Saadi, Dr.Youcef Beghoul, Dr. El Hawas Ahmed Sid, Dr.Nacif Labed and Dr.El Khiar Atamna for their invaluable contribution and help during my learning process at the Department of English, University of Constantine. I will not forget to thank my two best friends Meriem and Magdalena with whom I spent nice moments that I will never forget and I feel lucky to have such lovely friends. Finally, I would express my deep love and gratitude to my beloved family, especially my parents for their understanding, support and endless love, through the duration of my studies. My special thanks to my sisters, Sihem, Hakima, to my brothers, Med Lamine, Abdelghani, Amar, Chafik. And in the memory of my dear brother Mehdi, who I will never forget. I will not conclude without so many thanks to my sisters in-law, Amel, Mina, Lisa, Nedjoua and brothers in-law, Samir and Mones, and also to my nephews and my pretty nice niece. 2 ABSTRACT The present empirical sociolinguistic study focuses on the process of borrowing, the speakers' adoption of foreign features into their mother tongue. It investigates how young adults borrow words and concepts from the French language and adopt them in the Algerian dialect as innovations, and how these innovations will be established and integrated as part of the colloquial Algerian Arabic in the whole speech community. Due to the influence of the French culture and the universal technologies such as the Internet, this context is ideal for looking into the meaning and the social significance of Borrowing, and how this linguistic style contributes to language change. This study was based on personal observations, audio recordings of casual conversations of young adults in the University of Constantine, and then, extract the sequences that contain borrowed words to analyse them through their comparison with the original forms in French, explore the changes that have occurred in their language and the integration of the innovations within the speech community. Findings from this research work contribute to an understanding of how young adults shape the language, indicate that they exhibit the greatest amount of structural change in that they no longer produce agreement or introduce other linguistic structures that were found in the speech of the older generation. 3 List of abbreviations GPRS General Packet Radio Service Ipod Internet Pod (Apple) V Verb Art. Article Inf infinitive S subject O object 4 List of Phonetics Symbols 1- English Symbols 1. Short Vowels ? as in 'sit' e as in 'ten' æ as in 'cat' ? as in 'but' ? as in 'got' ? as in 'put' ? as in 'about' 2. Long Vowels i: as in 'see' a: as in 'father' ?: as in 'saw' u: as in 'too' ?: as in 'bird' 5 3. Consonants p as in 'pen' t as in 'tea' k as in 'cup' f as in 'fall' ? as in 'thin' s as in 'sin' ? as in 'shoe' h as in 'hat' m as in 'meat' n as in 'now' ? as in 'sing' t? as in 'chain' b as in 'bad' d as in 'did' g as in 'get' v as in 'van' ð z as in 'this' as in 'zoo' 6 ? as in 'vision' l as in 'led' r as in 'red' j as in 'yes' w as in 'wet' d? as in 'jam' ? glottal stop ? aspiration as in 'pin' p??n (Oxford,2000). 7 2- French Symbols 1. Consonants b as in 'beau' d as in 'donner' m as in 'flamme' n as in 'canne' f as in 'feu' p as in 'tape' g as in 'garde' l as in 'facile' t as in 'table' s as in 'sou' r as in 'rare' j as in 'piano' k as in 'quatre' ? as in 'gilet' ? as in 'huit' ? as in 'chose' 8 2. Vowels i as in 'vite' e as in 'donner' a as in 'chat' o as in 'dos' u as in 'tout' y as in 'cru' ? as in 'le' ?? as in 'vin' ? as in 'fort' oe? as in 'un' ?? as in 'longe' ã as in 'temps'( Le Robert, 1996). 3. Arabic symbols q for letter '?'?? ? for letter '?'?? ? for letter '?'?? ?? for letter '?( '??Kaouache,2008) 9 Table of Contents Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 15 1- Statement of the problem............................................................................................... 15 2- Aims of the Study.......................................................................................................... 16 3- Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 16 4- Hypothesis .................................................................................................................... 16 5- Means of Research ........................................................................................................ 17 6- Structure of the Study.................................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER ONE: LANGUAGE MANIFESTATION1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 18 SECTION ONE 1. Definition of Sociolinguistics ........................................................................................ 19 2. Language Variation ....................................................................................................... 20 3. Linguistic Items ............................................................................................................. 21 4. Standard Language ........................................................................................................ 21 5. Vernacular Language..................................................................................................... 22 6. "Language" or "Dialect"................................................................................................ 23 7. Dialects ......................................................................................................................... 24 10 7.1. Definition of Dialects............................................................................24 7.2. Regional Dialects.................................................................................................... 25 7.3. Social Dialects ........................................................................................................ 26 8. Language Change .......................................................................................................... 28 8.1. Agents of Language Change ................................................................................... 29 8.1.1. Social Status ........................................................................................................ 29 8.1.2. Gender ................................................................................................................. 29 8.1.3. Age ..................................................................................................................... 30 8.1.4. Interaction ........................................................................................................... 30 8.2. Types of Language Change ........................................................................................ 31 8.2.1. Lexical Change ..................................................................................................... 31 8.2.2. Phonological Change ............................................................................................ 31 8.2.3. Grammatical Change............................................................................................. 32 9. Language Shift .............................................................................................................. 32 10. Language Death........................................................................................................... 33 11. Language Maintenance ................................................................................................ 34 SECTION TWO 1. Definition of Bilingualism ............................................................................................. 35 2. Definition of Borrowing ................................................................................................ 35 3. Types of borrowing ....................................................................................................... 36 3.1. Lexical Borrowing ................................................................................................... 37 3.1.1. Loanwords ......................................................................................................... 37 3.1.2. Loan Blends or Hybrids ..................................................................................... 38 3.1.3. Loan Translation or Calque ................................................................................ 38 11 3.1.4. Loan Shifts......................................................................................................... 38 3.2. Grammatical Borrowing ........................................................................................... 39 3.2.1. Convergence ....................................................................................................... 39 3.2.2. Cultural influence and Lexical Borrowing ............................................................ 40 3.2.3. Relexification....................................................................................................... 40 3.2.4. Second language Acquisition and substrate .......................................................... 40 3.2.5. Imitation of prestige language patterns ................................................................. 41 4. Code Switching ............................................................................................................. 41 5. Code Mixing ................................................................................................................ 42 6. Acronyms ...................................................................................................................... 43 7. Initialism ....................................................................................................................... 43 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 44 CHAPTER TWO: LANGUAGE IN NATURALISTIC CONTEXTS Introduction....................................................................................................................... 45 1. Sampling and data collection ......................................................................................... 45 2. Investigating Tools ........................................................................................................ 46 3. Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 46 3.1. Young Adults' Innovations ........................................................................................ 46 1- nbipi /nbi:p? / .................................................................................................... 46 12 2- nconnecté /nk?n?kte /......................................................................................... 47 3- ncerkel /ns?rk?l / ................................................................................................ 47 4- tchoquite /t??:k?:t/............................................................................................... 48 5- ncoupi /nku:p? / .................................................................................................. 48 6- ndéplacé /ndeplase/ ............................................................................................ 49 7- /ndawas/............................................................................................................. 49 8- nweekendé /nw?:kend?/ ....................................................................................... 50 9- nvacancé /nvakãse/............................................................................................. 50 10- ndemandé /nd?mãde/........................................................................................ 50 11- activi /a:kti:v?/ .................................................................................................. 51 12- nnavigui /'na:vig ?/............................................................................................ 52 13- nchaté /n?æte/................................................................................................... 52 14- nformaté /nf?:rmæte/........................................................................................ 53 15- nemmerdé /nãm?rde/ ........................................................................................ 54 16- mongol /m??g?l/ ................................................................................................ 54 17- inchoufable /???u:fabl/ ....................................................................................... 54 18-ndébrillé /ndebr?je/ ............................................................................................ 55 19-ndepresse /nd?pr?s/ ........................................................................................... 56 20- nflashi /nflæ??/ .................................................................................................. 56 13 21- fechlesse / fe?les / ............................................................................................ 57 3.2. Old Fashioned Words ................................................................................................ 57 3.2.1. The word ?/ ????????lfi:?u:/ ....................................................................................... 57 3.2.2. The word ?/ ??????barts?/ ....................................................................................... 58 3.2.3. The word ?/ ??????sang?/ .......................................................................................... 58 3.2.4. The word ?/ ?????????træba?a:r/ ................................................................................ 59 3.2.5. The word ?/ ??? ?? ???????a?n b?tanb?l/.................................................................... 60 3.2.6. The word ?/ ??????k?:tb?/........................................................................................ 60 3.3. Latest Innovations..................................................................................................... 60 4. Summary of the Findings............................................................................................... 62 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 64 General Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 65 REFERENCES 14 Introduction 1- Statement of the problem On a personal level, in everyday communication, when someone says that language is changing, this may not be apparent because we are in a constant contact with our speech and most of the time we may fail to see its changes. But in fact, languages do evolve, this is almost noticeable in the communication pattern in one family when they shift from one language or dialect to another until communication between generations becomes difficult. In other words, the communication between grandparents who stick to their mother tongue is somehow difficult with the middle generation represented by the parents and increasingly hard when it comes to the children. We notice, nowadays, that the dialect used by adolescents and young adults in our society is sometimes odd because they tend to code-switch, code-mix and borrow words especially from the French language, and this leads to the innovations of new words and structures that did not exist few years ago, and that will be adopted and integrated in our language. In fact, these changes in the Algerian speech are spreading quickly and in a crucial way. If this phenomenon continues to occur, the Algerian dialect will be completely distorted and probably disappear in the coming decades. The reasons for that are many; this maybe due to the influence of the French culture on our adolescents and young adults especially with the developing technologies, the evolution of the mass media and the internet. Or, it may be due to an unconscious behaviour because young adults may master the French language as they learn it from the primary school; hence, the reason for that is primarily literacy. In addition to these factors, there are some others that will be discussed in detail in the first chapter. 15 2- Aims of the Study The study aims at exploring and explaining the process of ' Borrowing' in the Algerian Society reflected in the younger generation. Due to the influence of the French culture and the worldwide technologies, the Algerian dialect is shifting from the range of the Arabic language to the emergence of a new variety where the French words dominate the speech. The aim of the current study is to shed light on how young adults use borrowing to come with new words and structures and highlight the advantages of using code-switching, code-mixing, in addition to acronyms, blends, initials and slang. Furthermore, an explanation is given to the phenomenon that intrigues the researchers in the field of Sociolinguistics during the last decades and which is Language Change. 3- Research Questions The piece of research aims at answering the following questions: 1- Why do young adults borrow words from the French language? 2- What is their main objective in using borrowing to invent new words? Is it to fill the lexical gaps in the Algerian dialect? Or is it a matter of prestige? 3- How does the younger generation contribute to language change? 4- Hypothesis In the light of the research questions listed above, we formulate the following hypothesis: If the young adults are not influenced by the French culture and do not consider the French language as more prestigious than their dialect, there will be no need to innovate words through the process of borrowing. 16 5- Means of Research In order to test the hypothesis, obtain the required information and answer the research questions mentioned before, spontaneous conversations will be recorded at Mentouri University, Constantine with students aged between 18-23. After that, the borrowed words will be extracted; then, analyzed at three levels which are: phonology, morphology and semantics and later their integration in the society. 6- Structure of the Study The study will be divided into two main chapters: Chapter one will be devoted to the theoretical part and background knowledge about the topic. Section one will explore the main factors of language change, its types and consequences, in addition to some definitions of the main issues in the subject. While section two will be discussing the language in use, that is, the different processes the speaker use to involve language change. Chapter two will be dealing with the practical part of the study in which the hypothesis is tested, and then the obtained results will be analyzed and discussed. 17 CHAPTER ONE LANGUAGE MANIFESTATIONS "Language grows out of life, out of its needs and experiences" Annie Sullivan (1866-1936). "The limits of my language mean the limits of my world" Ludwig Wittgenstein (1922). Introduction The present chapter deals with the review of the literature, in the light of the manifestations of language involved in the research study. The research work focuses on the process of borrowing which is the adoption of foreign features into one's language. Thus, when a word is transferred from one language to another or even within the same language and then integrated in the new one, many aspects in the field of Sociolinguistics are involved, where each phenomenon is the consequence of the previous one. The chapter begins with a definition of the field of Sociolinguistics. Then, it introduces the main responsible factors for the emergence of new words, which is Language Variation and Dialect Variation, those in turn, lead to Language Change, and as a result Language Shift. Consequently, the shift in language ends with a dominant language and an endangered one. Hence, the latter is only spoken by minorities and will probably disappear if no efforts will be made by governments to maintain it. All these notions are explained in details in the first section. The second section is mainly concerned with a detailed analysis of the process of Borrowing by providing explanations, examples and different theories based on previous research in this field. In addition, other processes that contribute to the change in language are defined and exemplified within the same section. 18 SECTION ONE 1. Definition of Sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics focuses on examining the different ways of using language by individuals in different social contexts. It studies the relationship between language and society (Hudson, 1996). When we refer to such languages as French, Arabic or English, we might think that they are relatively independent from their speakers. But, in fact, this belief is far from the truth in that language is best understood in its appropriate context - the speakers are part of the context in which language occurs. Holmes (20...