Detecting loan words computationally
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Liqin Zhang
Abstract
A loanword is a word that is borrowed from one language and adopted into another; examples are the English words toboggan, skunk, and hickory, all of which were borrowed from Algonquian languages. Among languages that are not (closely) related, loan words are recognizable because they are semantically related and are more similar in pronunciation than one would expect by coincidence. This chapter applies techniques for measuring pronunciation similarity, focusing on edit-distance measures and a sound-class based method. The novel issue in loan-word detection is the circumstance that loan words are normally modified to fit the phonology of the borrowing language, meaning that sensitivity in measuring pronunciation similarity may be deprecated.
Abstract
A loanword is a word that is borrowed from one language and adopted into another; examples are the English words toboggan, skunk, and hickory, all of which were borrowed from Algonquian languages. Among languages that are not (closely) related, loan words are recognizable because they are semantically related and are more similar in pronunciation than one would expect by coincidence. This chapter applies techniques for measuring pronunciation similarity, focusing on edit-distance measures and a sound-class based method. The novel issue in loan-word detection is the circumstance that loan words are normally modified to fit the phonology of the borrowing language, meaning that sensitivity in measuring pronunciation similarity may be deprecated.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Acronyms and glosses ix
- Portrait of Salikoko S. Mufwene xiv
- Introduction 1
- A sociolinguistic typology for languages in contact 23
- A local history of Tok Pisin 57
- Conventionalized creativity in the emergence of a mixed language – A case study of Light Warlpiri 81
- Acquisition or shift? 105
- Substrate influence in Northern Quechua languages 133
- Coordination in the Suriname Creoles 161
- Reflections on Darwin’s natural selection 191
- Building grammar in the early stages of development of French Creoles 211
- Foundings and futures 243
- Detecting loan words computationally 269
- Learnability and ecological factors as motivators of language change 289
- The restructuring of Salikoko Mufwene through competition and selection 307
- Language Index 327
- Subject Index 329
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Acronyms and glosses ix
- Portrait of Salikoko S. Mufwene xiv
- Introduction 1
- A sociolinguistic typology for languages in contact 23
- A local history of Tok Pisin 57
- Conventionalized creativity in the emergence of a mixed language – A case study of Light Warlpiri 81
- Acquisition or shift? 105
- Substrate influence in Northern Quechua languages 133
- Coordination in the Suriname Creoles 161
- Reflections on Darwin’s natural selection 191
- Building grammar in the early stages of development of French Creoles 211
- Foundings and futures 243
- Detecting loan words computationally 269
- Learnability and ecological factors as motivators of language change 289
- The restructuring of Salikoko Mufwene through competition and selection 307
- Language Index 327
- Subject Index 329
