Graphophonic Rules Governing English Loanwords in Lontómbá Language

The English loanwords entered into Lontomba language have undergone some adaptation in both spelling and pronunciation. This adaptation needs to be explained in a scientific way. This article analyses 100 English loanwords that have been adapted in Lontomba language at the graphophonic level so as to find out the rules that govern their adaptation in Lontomba. To reach this purpose, the based-corpus approach is applied in the analysis of data with a focus on spelling of the original English loanwords and the way they are written and pronounced in Lontomba language. To put it very clear, the analysis is mainly based on the graphs i.e. how letters are combined to produce one sound in English, and how the same letters are adapted in Lontomba through the process of epenthesis. In this vein, one can understand that this article attempts to answer the question “are there any rules that govern the change in the spelling of graphs of English loanwords in Lontomba language?” The analysis of data led to the following results: (1) no English word that enters Lontomba language keeps its original form. That is to say, English words are adapted in Lontomba by changing the spelling and pronunciation. (2) Each English loanword entering Lontomba language must have a vowel grapheme ending by the following sub-rules. (3) Digraphs and trigraphs of English words are eliminated by the process of epenthesis. (4) An English loanword adapted in Lontomba should not contain the graphemes r and c (5) An English loanword adapted in Lontomba should not contain digraph vowels and digraph consonants. (6) English vowel graphemes are also adapted in Lontomba language according to the way they are pronounced in English. (7) The consonant grapheme in English words c, g, and d that enter Lontomba language are adapted by changing c into k or s, g into k, and d into t.


Introduction
The contact between the Protestant Missionaries (speaking English) and Bikoro people (speaking Lontómbá) has been the opportunity for Lontómbá speaker to borrow words from the English language. This fact is a sociolinguistic phenomenon known as borrowing. English words, being difficult to pronounce by Bikoro people, were subject to adaptation so as to fit the phonological system of Lontómbá language. Therefore, the English words borrowed in Lontómbá language have changed their spelling and pronunciation. Up to this moment there does not exist any scientific explanation about the graphophonic change of the English loanwords in Lontómbá. The problem that leads to conduct this research is the remarkable lack of a reliable scientific explanation of English borrowings in Lontómbá language. Therefore, this paper examines the English loanwords in Lontómbá language with respect to their spelling (especially graphs, diagraphs, and trigraphs) and pronunciation so as to find out the graphophonic rules that govern the adaptation of the English loanwords in Lontómbá.

Background
Researchers interested in reconstructing the history of languages often use comparative methods. Kastronic [1] explains the comparative methods by saying that "this type of method is necessary for the reconstruction of the presettlement ancestor because traces of the language at this stage are usually rare, if not completely non-existent, all the more if the ancestor that is being reconstructed is a spoken vernacular". Lontómbá has been compared other languages on different phenomena. But no scholar has focused on graphophonic rules. For example Lontómbá has been compared to Lomongo as Mamet [2] states that" the major part of Lontómbá vocabulary and grammar has similar rule to those of Lomongo simply because they share life with Bobangi as neighbours, and they were one of the Mongo migrant part".
When two different people speaking different languages meet, some words are borrowed from one language into another. This sociolinguistic phenomenon is called borrowing. The term borrowing is defined by Hoffer [3] as "the process of importing linguistic items from one linguistic system into another, a process that occurs any time two cultures are in contact over a period of time". English loanwords have entered Lontómbá language thanks to the contact between Protestant Missionaries (who were speaking English) and Bikoro people (who were speaking Lontómbá). This contact is a normal linguistic phenomenon. Beel and Felder [4] explain it in this way: "this is a linguistic phenomenon that occurs cross linguistically whenever one language interacts with another language, and generally when one word exists in one language but not in the second language. Besset [5] also adds that "language contact usually results in the use of one-item lexical element from a donor language into a recipient language". Bikoro people preferred to borrow some English words. Considering the term borrowing, Mao and Hulden [6] state that "borrowing lexical items from one language to another is a common linguistic phenomenon". Being unable to pronounce the English loanwords correctly, Bikoro people felt obliged to adapt these English loanwords to the phonological system of their language (Lontomba) as Nagy [7] argues that "loanwords may carry sounds, prosodic and phonotactic patterns that are unknown in the borrowing phonology…". This is also affirmed by Kenstowicz [8] in these terms: When the phonemic and prosodic structures of the two languages do not align then the loan is reshaped to the closest available language alternative measured in terms of the phonological features operative in the recipient language and their location in feature geometric and prosodic structure.
In the same perspective, the English loanwords having graphs (diagraphs or trigraphs) have been altered so as to facilitate their pronunciation. Aktürk-Drake [9] explains that "in the phonological integration of loanwords, the original structure of the donor language can either be preserved (i.e. adopted) as innovations or altered to fit the existing system of the recipient language (i.e. adapted)". Therefore, the English graphs have undergone some adaptation. The English loanwords have been reshaped by the process of epenthesis so as to facilitate their pronunciation.. Akidah [10] writes that "epenthesis refers to the process of inserting a phoneme (either vowel or consonant) in a word to break the consonant cluster system". Repetty [11] says that "an epenthetic vowel is a vowel inserted into a phonological environment to repair a marked or illegal structure". Graphs of English loanwords have undergone some alternation in specific phonological environment. Jaradat [12] confirms that "phonological processes are usually used to represent the way in which certain sounds undergo phonological changes or alternation in specific environments". In the most of cases the epenthesis is applied to facilitate the pronunciation of independent sounds as Diaz [13] argues that "pronunciation cannot be based on letters, but on independent sounds". In his view Gudia [14] states that "loanwords are usually required to conform to the phonological, morphological and syntactic rules/constraints of L1 to the extent that they become integrated into native phonology through a gradual and a complicated process". In the following section, the discussion is about the analysis of English loanword graphemes in Lontómbá. Murray and Watson [15] explain a grapheme in the following terms: a grapheme can be a single letter or a combination of letters. A single-letter grapheme is called a graph, as in hat; a two-letter grapheme is called a digraph, as in chicken; a three-letter grapheme is called a trigraph, as in bridge; and a four-letter grapheme is called a quadgraph, as in eight. To avoid confusion in the early years, only the term 'grapheme' is used.

Discussion
The following are the English loanwords that have entered LONTOMBA linguistic system and have been integrated or adapted with changes in the morphology and phonemics. by the process of epenthesis. In Lontómbá language digraphs do not exist except the consonant trigraph grapheme tsh in order to produce the sound [tʃ]. Therefore, the English words containing digraphs undergo the process of epenthesis before it is adapted in Lontómbá.    1) The English consonant grapheme /c/ changes into the Lontómbá consonant grapheme k when the grapheme c is not followed by the vowel grapheme neither e nor i.

2) The English consonant grapheme c changes into s in
Lontómbá when it is followed by the vowel grapheme either e or i. 3) The English consonant grapheme g changes into k when it appears at the beginning of the world. 4) The English consonant grapheme d changes into the grapheme t in Lontómbá. 5) The English consonant grapheme g changes into the grapheme k in Lontómbá. The English consonant digraphs are changed into the single grapheme in Lontómbá. 1) The English consonant digraph ff changes into f in Lontómbá.
2) The English consonant digraph tt changes into t in Lontómbá.

3) The English consonant digraph ss changes into s in
Lontómbá.
4) The combination of the consonant grapheme t and h changes into f in Lontómbá.

Conclusion
This research was conducted because no scientific explanation of the changes in spelling and pronunciation occurring in the English loanwords in Lontómbá is given so far. The aim was to find out the graphophonic rules that govern the changes in the English loanwords in Lontomba so as to provide the community with a reliable explanation the changes mentioned above. To reach this aim a corpus of 100 English loanwords was examined thanks to the based-corpus approach. The analysis revealed the following 7 graphophonic rules: 1. No English word that enters Lontómbá language keeps its original form. That is to say, English words are adapted in Lontómbá by changing the spelling and pronunciation. 2. Each English loanword entering Lontómbá language must have a vowel grapheme ending by the following sub-rules. 3. Digraphs and trigraphs of English words are eliminated by the process of epenthesis. 4. An English loanword adapted in Lontómbá should not contain the graphemes r and c 5. An English loanword adapted in Lontómbá should not contain digraph vowels and digraph consonants. 6. English vowel graphemes are also adapted in Lontómbá language according to the way they are pronounced in English. 7. The consonant grapheme in English words c, g, and d that enter Lontómbá language are adapted by changing c into k or s, g into k, and d into t.