Phonological Adaptation of Medical and Covid-19 Loanwords in the Tiv Language
The outbreak of Corona Virus (Covid-19), which began in Wuhan China, sent frightening waves across the globe. As a measure to control its spread, medical doctors devised means to communicate to the world. This outbreak gave rise to the adaptation of loanwords in the various languages of the world. The paper explores phonological adaptation of medical and COVID-19 loanwords in the Tiv language. The study aims to examine the phonological adaptation of medical and COVID-19-related loanwords in the Tiv language, with a focus on how these borrowed terms are integrated into Tiv phonological structure. The study adopts Claude Paradis and Darlene LaCharité‘s Phonological Adaptation Theory (PAT). The study adopts a qualitative, descriptive research design. The study was conducted in Gwer East, Benue State with a purposive sample of 15 native Tiv speakers. Semi-structured interview, observation with note-taking were the major instruments for data collection. The study found that the Tiv language has incorporated numerous medical and COVID-19-related terms from English, such as Virus (Vairusu), Vaccine (Vasin), reflecting direct borrowing to address emerging health concepts. Phonological processes such as syncope, epenthesis, vowel lengthening, and tone adaptation were found. The study concludes that the Tiv language actively adapts and integrates foreign medical and COVID-19-related terms through systematic phonological modifications to align with its native phonotactic constraints. The paper recommends among others that language planners and educators in Tiv-speaking communities should incorporate the adapted medical and COVID-19-related loanwords into formal language teaching and health communication materials to enhance comprehension and usage.
Keywords: Phonological adaptation, COVID-19 loanwords, Tiv Language