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Operationalizing borrowability: Phonological segments as a case study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Steven Moran*
Affiliation:
University of Neuchâtel and University of Miami
Elad Eisen*
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Dmitry Nikolaev*
Affiliation:
University of Manchester
Eitan Grossman
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Abstract

This study provides two mathematical formalizations of borrowability. These operationalizations allow us to quantitatively evaluate the borrowability of phonological segments and to make predictions about the likelihood that speech sounds will be borrowed in language contact situations. Our approach departs from traditional borrowability hierarchies based on qualitative observations and instead provides empirically motivated models based on probability theory and statistics. Our study uses as input two large crosslinguistic segment inventory databases, and our results show that segments have markedly different borrowability profiles, highlighting their different diffusion patterns through space and time.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © 2024 Linguistic Society of America

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