Word Migration and Change

Ismael K. Isikel

Word Migration and Change

Ismael K. Isikel
Papua New Guinea University of Technology
14th October, 2011

Introduction

English words migrate to Kuanua Language via Pidgin and Kuanua words migrate to Pidgin. My observation is that as more Kuanua speakers learn English they borrow words directly from English but add changes to the spelling and form to suit the Kuanua Language. Some of these migrant words change in meaning. There have been some changes in spelling and pronunciation since 1935 observed in the literature. I conclude that although English and Pidgin appear to be eroding the Kuanua Language by borrowing English and Pidgin words, it has helped to broaden  the  world view of the Kuanua speakers.

I am currently working on a Kuanua dictionary with the intent that this work will differ from earlier works in that it will focus on the current era and attempts to cover all main dialects of Kuanua. The dictionary is being compiled from studies of groups of terms such as gardening words, fishing words, relationship words, names of plants and animals and so on.  I began working on this in 1999 and notes were kept in a folder. Over time words were added and eventually the list grew into a volume that I thought was worth organizing into a dictionary. Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary is being used as a guide in compiling the dictionary. Works by Lanyon-Orgill (1960) and Lean (1992) were consulted and proved helpful but these were consulted much later in 2008. Word Migration and Change is an offshoot of this dictionary compilation work. 

Word Migration and Change is used as the title simply because I view language change similar to humans migrating to another place and tend to change by adapting to their new environment which includes cultural adaptation. Obviously human movement and migration is one of the causes of word migration.

During the course of compiling the list of terms and contact with fellow Kuanua and non-Kuanua  speakers I realized that there are “borrowed” words that are now in use in my language. What is interesting about this realization is that most speakers are rarely or never aware that they are using words in their conversations that are foreign. Some Kuanua words have found their way into Pidgin. That is the reason I have decided to share my experience in studying my language in this blog.

Research methodology for this writing falls into a number of approaches. The first is compilation of groups of Kuanua words and organizing the words into a dictionary which involves study of definitions and other related dictionary development tasks.  Another approach was to find out earlier works and compare them to today’s usage. I speak both Kuanua and English and able to write fluently in both languages. This helped in studying earlier works. Finally a literature review on language change was conducted in the university library and on the internet. 

The discussion begins with background information on the language to give the reader some understanding of the language. Next it provides some highlights on ‘borrowed’ words from English and Pidgin and ‘borrowed’ words from Kuanua used in Pidgin. Some of the causes of language change are discussed and these include colonization. The paper concludes that words migrate between various cultural settings and change to suit the cultural environment. Although the migrant words may appear to be eroding the language, they play an important role in broadening the world view of the Tolai.