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To my Parents,
My Two sisters,
With no expectations.
Acknowledgement
First of all, thank God for the strength and patience that gave me to finish this monograph.
Second , I would like to seize this opportunity to express my gratitude and love to my
Finally,I would also like to show my gratefulness to my mother ‘Hamza Najat’, my two
sisters Salma and Douaa , and my friends who provided me with the limitless motivation
Borrowing refers to the method in which speakers use words in their native tongue from
different languages. The current study is designed to explore the word borrowing process in
Morocco. It explores the reasons driving Moroccans to use terms from foreign countries and
how they adjust into our dialect. Several methods have been used to achieve a reliable result:
many articles from Google engineer and previous research about the topic were read,
bilinguals. But borrowing words are now also found in the language of monolingual
speakers; sometimes they are even unaware of their source. Thus, the borrowing process
helped us to communicate more easily in’ ‘’Darija’’ with a colorful, vivid and explicit
language.
explicit language.
1
List of abbreviation
MA : Moroccan Arabic
Fre : French
Spa: Spanish
2
Table of Contents:
General introduction ................................................................................................................... 2
1.Chapter I (Borrowing :A general view )
1-1-Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 8
1.2-A general view of borrowing: ............................................................................................... 7
1.3-A general view of borrowing in Morocco: ............................................................................ 9
1-4:Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 12
2.Chapter II (The classification of borrowing words according to the borrowed aspect )
2-1:Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 24
2.2-Phonetic borrowings: .......................................................................................................... 14
2.3-Semantic borrowings: ......................................................................................................... 15
2.4-Morphemic borrowings : .................................................................................................... 16
2.5-Translation borrowings: ..................................................................................................... 16
2-6-Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 16
3.Chapter III ( Borrowing procces)
3.1-Introduction......................................................................................................................... 18
3.2-Importation examples ......................................................................................................... 20
3.3-Substitution examples: ........................................................................................................ 21
3.4-Morphological adaptation: ................................................................................................. 22
3.5-Phonological adaptation: .................................................................................................. 24
3.6-Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 26
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 24
References
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General introduction
Through ages, human contact has contributed to interaction and exchange in different languages;
therefore, their common impact is evident and produces certain improvements in the languages'
vocabulary, grammar syntax and phonetics. We may usually assume that, under the influence of
another vocabulary, the vocabulary of speakers (unconsciously) changes. Such speakers come
under the control of another language as there is something more "attractive" in that language;
an appeal that is generally correlated with the greater status of the speakers of that language or
its broader usage in the culture where both languages are used. At the end, borrowing is a result
Every language or dialect in the world has dozens of features and characteristics. Among these
features, we find the ability of borrowing words from other languages to use in other context or
the same as its origins. In other words, borrowing is an adopted term which is completely or
partially naturalized from another language. It is also the mechanism by which words from other
languages take over and can be used with the same meaning in other languages.
As any language, Moroccan Arabic has also the quality of containing lot of terms from many
languages and dialects such as: Berber, Arabic, French, Spanish and Portuguese etc... This
Moroccan Arabic is among the dialects that speakers of other dialects have many troubles in
understanding. This is due to one of the most important characteristics of Moroccan ‘Darija’
which makes it hard to grasp for the speakers of other dialects - it is the vowel reduction: the
vowels are always reduced to ‘schwa’ or dropped because of the influence of the Amazigh
phonology on ‘Darija’.
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This research paper will be divided into three main chapters:
The second chapter will explore the classification of borrowed words with Moroccan
examples.
Finally the last chapter will state some of the borrowing processes.
3
LITERATURE REVIEW
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Any language which is internationally dominant or used could be influenced by other languages.
A language can absorb other terms into its grammatical structure and use them. This type of
Borrowing is the act of adopting or importing terms from a language into another one. This means
it is a way to find terms from certain languages in other languages of the same significance in
other languages. In the light of this borrowing means bringing into the vocabulary words or
sentences that do not belong to the common language. Based on Romaine (1995:56) and Baker
(2001:01). Romaine (1995:142) also claimed that borrowing may be either caused by the lack of
other terms or phrases in the recipient language such as cultural practices, food, clothes,
structures and principles, i.e. When we have trouble seeking words to speak in our mother tongue,
In his book, The Analysis of Linguistic Borrowing, Haugen (1950: 212), defined borrowing as
“the attempted reproduction in one language of patterns previously found in another’’. In other
terms, language loan means the transfer of linguistic items from one language system to another
at any time during a period when two cultures get in touch. Haugen (1950) also established two
Importation is when the entire word is imported from the original language without modifying
its features into the target language. Whereas, in substitution some changes in form and
Words borrowed from another language or referred to as the donor language are typically adapted
on the basis of the grammatical rule, both phonologically and morphologically of the recipient
language.
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As far as this piece of research is concerned, the borrowing mechanism in Moroccan Arabic does
not vary from any other world country; they all follow a similar pattern; in this regard, Jendra
(2010:81) states that in addition to selecting, switching, and mixing some codes, a bilingual
frequently borrows lexical items from another language and uses it in his or her pronunciation.
Borrowing foreign words in a specific language does not require a high degree of fluency.
Borrowed products can be listed into three types — loanwords, loan blends, and loan shifts. First,
Loanwords are integrated phonetically and morphologically into the basic language, such as:
Loanwords can be further divided into 2 kinds, namely pure loanword and loan blend. Loan blend
is the second kind of loanword in which one language part of the word and the other language
part of the basic language. Finally Loan shift is the form of lexical borrowing that translates the
meaning of foreign languages word or group of words in the basic language to cover a new
concept.
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Chapter I
1.1-Introduction:
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Language interactions involve incorporating words and definitions from a target context to
explain and convey a particular idea or occurrence. This mechanism is therefore referred to as
'borrowing.' Unlike lending from the products of someone else, it is not temporary for people to
lend language items. In this first chapter I will provide a history on the concept of loans in general
and in Morocco. The factors behind it and the way this practice has first began.
During the history of mankind, human interaction has helped to communicate and has shared
different languages; thus, their common influence was inescapable and could ameliorate their
vocabulary, grammar syntax as well as phonetics. Every contemporary language has long
development history and no language contains only native words. Loanwords are items taken
from one community to another. These items are usually 'loaned' when two different communities
interact with each other. This may be due to immigration, commerce, clothing, food, travelers’
stories, arts such as (paintings, literature, poetry or films), technology or war, etc.... Many of the
borrowed terms tend to be nouns. New items or behaviors originating from overseas require
different vocabulary; and by time, lenders consider these items as their own. The entire borrowing
method is complicated and requires a variety of use events. Clearly, certain borrowers already
recognize or at least know enough the original language to use the right words. If they are truly
multilingual in the source language, as is often occurs, the words will be spoken in the same or
identical manner as in the source language. For instance, Moroccan speakers at first adopted the
French word (LES OUVRIERS) as "ZOFRIE" /Zɔ:frɪ/ with a pronunciation closer than what is
now generally found in the French pronunciation. Perhaps the very first people to use the word
knew at least some French and heard the word used by French speakers. Those who first used
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the new expression may, at the beginning used it only with the speakers of the source language
who knew the word, but at a certain stage they started to use the term with those who actually
did not know the word earlier. The word would sound 'mysterious' to those speakers. At that
point, the word could be called a foreign word if the majority of speakers did not know the term,
Like the entire world, Morocco also uses this method due to many different purposes.
Nevertheless, ‘Darija’ is a general term for Arabic dialects spoken in the Maghreb region of
North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Libya …). ‘Darija’ is primarily used for oral
colloquial communication because it has simpler grammatical rules and a more simplified
vocabulary than the Modern Standard Arabic which is usually used for written communication
and formal interactions. ‘Moroccan Darija’ has a distinct accent and it is essentially obscure to
Arabic speakers in the Middle East, but it is usually synonymous with all dialects around the
Maghreb. It should also be stated that ‘the Darija’ spoken in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and
Libya are not completely compatible; each dialect is littered with words borrowed from various
European countries. Moroccan Darija is an emerging language. Depending on the area at hand,
current French words are inserted into ordinary and scientific languages, and Spanish continues
to flourish in the north; while English is now joining the multicultural lingua franca of
Morocco…
It should be mentioned, that the Darija spoken in Maghreb, is not entirely consistent with one
another. Each dialect is peppered with words borrowed from various countries. Libyan Darija,
for example, was dominated by Italian, Tunisian by French and Italian, and the Algerian dialect
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was largely influenced by French. While The Moroccan Darija - owing to its geographical and
colonial history - combines between French and Spanish words and other languages.
10
These are some examples from the everyday use in Morocco from French and
Spanish origins:
I.French:
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II .Spanish:
1.4-Conclusion:
This chapter examines a theoretical background, which focuses on defining the borrowing
process, its characteristics and the reasons for the borrowing process by people. In the next
chapter we will discuss the classification of loaned words in accordance with the borrowed
aspect.
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Chapter II
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2.1-Introduction:
At this stage of examination, it is necessary to point out that the idea of borrowing demonstrates
how various things shift from one language to another. Different components in phonology,
morphology, grammar, vocabulary and semantics are defined as unities at various types in
language structure. In line with this, it is important to restrict the word "borrowing" when it
comes to transferring items on the same level. Hence, we may differentiate between the
The most famous characteristic of all languages is the phonetic borrowing, which is also known
as loan words. Terms are taken with their spelling, grammar and signification. They then
undergo assimilation; each sound is replaced by the borrowing language's sound in the
borrowed word. Even the term orthography and form may be modified. The phonetic borrowing
language system is very often affected by the stress situation. It can also change the pattern of
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2.3- Semantic borrowings:
Semantic borrowings are used to borrow a new term from a language system. It can occur if we
have two languages with different meanings and similar words. Semantic borrowing also takes
place in close contact with two languages that have different styles. The source and the target
term may be cognate, but may or may not share a similar meaning, a current loan translation or
parallel development, or identical terms that have an established definition; in another meaning
when a word is borrowed into another language, it develops a new significance and a new sense.
e.g.:
[ La queue au mur ] so they can stick to the wall , and by time it has become
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2.4- Morphemic borrowings :
Morphemic borrowing consists of an affix borrowing that takes place in a language that has borrowed
from one language several word in close affixes or that has passed other terms with the same appeals
from one language to the next so that those who know the borrowing language become familiar with
Borrowings for translation are translations of other foreign terms or phrases word by word or
(morpheme for morpheme). In certain cases, the idea is taken from a second language, but expressed
2.6-Conclusion:
This chapter focuses on the aspect of borrowing from other perspectives , how each process vary
from the other ,and how words can be changed from a language to another ,either in the spelling or
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Chapter III
Borrowing Processes
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1.1-Introduction:
In this chapter, we will discuss the borrowing processes, the difference between importation
and substitution, how a term can be borrowed and substituted from a language to another.
We will also see two types of words adaptation (morphological and phonological) and how a
word can change or maintain its meaning if changed from the source language.
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The borrowing approach uses the importation of linguistic items from one language to another.
This occurs when different cultures and languages come in contact. Two different ways -
Importation and substitution - are used in the process of borrowing. Haugen (1950: 212) states
in this regard: ‘’ If the loan is similar enough to the model so that a native speaker would accept
it as his own, the borrowing speaker maybe said to have imported the model into his language,
provided it as an innovation in that language, but insofar as he has reproduced the model
inadequately, he has normally substituted a similar pattern from his own language. ‘’
‘Importation’ is used as a process where the terms are passed on to the whole lexicon of the
borrowing language. In the substitution process; nevertheless, some changes in shape and
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3.1-Importation examples
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3.2-Substitution examples:
Words
Travaux public (Fre) /tra:vɔ pɪbli :k/ Traboblik /trabɔbli :k/ Public Works
The borrowed terms follow techniques to fit into the central framework of the receiving language
during the borrowing process. This may be at phonological or morphological level, as mentioned
by Winford (2003: 46) : “in cases of relatively light to moderate contact, lexical borrowing tends
to be adapted in terms of the phonology and morphology of the recipient language, and become
3.3-Morphological Adaptation:
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In order to accommodate the central pattern and root scheme formed by the language receiver,
Smeaton argues that a borrowed word underlies a shift in morphological structure .For example:
lot of Moroccan Arabic loan names are marked by number, gender and
verb inflection.
Number:
In Moroccan Arabic ‘’Darija’’, the sound plural has two realizations, /-i: n / for the masculine,
and the /-a: t / the feminine and the "broken plural’’ (internal plural) . Loanwords often use the
form of the Moroccan Arabic plural, most of them take a broken-plural inflection, like /afla:m/
for ‘des films’ ; /twa:bel/ for ‘les tables’ ; some words may have other plural affixes such as /a:t/
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Gender:
Nouns and adjectives are defined by gender affixes, meaning that they are either feminine or
masculine .e.g.: the word ‘docteur in Moroccan Arabic we say /dɔktɔr/ for masculine, and
Note:
Verbs:
Pfaff, Carole. W (1979) said that verbs also can be morphologically adapted into the recipient
language because of the requirement to mark tense .In Moroccan Arabic, borrowed verbs are
conjugated in all tenses: past, present and future. For example, the verb se soulager ‘: "find relief»
becomes [tsoulagit] /tsʊlaʒi:t/ in the Moroccan Arabic past form . In the present as
[Kantsoulagea] /Kəntsʊlaʒa/, and in the future as [ghantsoulagea] /ɣantsʊlaʒa/, hence, the verb
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3.4-Phonological Adaptation:
A bilingual uses a new term in a phonetic manner equivalent to normal. Monolinguals cannot
rely solely on the expression of bilingual people with differing degrees of bilingualism without
monolingual speakers adopt the non-native speech habits (patterns) of native speakers. The word
is a permanent loan for monolinguals by repetition, but differs from dialect to dialect because of
On this point Haugen (1969) states ‘’ there are three stages in the phonological adaptation
process. First, in a phonetic form similar to the standard, a bilingual adds a new word. The
monolingual can only depend on bilingual speech, whose degrees of "bilingualism" can differ
without clear exposure to the model created by Native speakers of the source language. Next, the
individual receiver language monolingual speakers imitate the non-native way of speaking. With
its repetitive use in the nation, the term is a fixed loan used by monolinguals, but due to
Several steps, take place in order to fit the borrowed terms into Moroccan Arabic phonology, for
example:
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Consonant Replacement:
This means swapping the original language’s consonant with one from the borrowing language
since the receiver language has no equivalents. As an example of this we can take the [p] former
/boli:s/ for "police ''. In addition, [v] may be produced as / f/ in Moroccan Arabic e.g. “cravate
‘’ as /grɑfɑtɑ/.
Vowel Replacement:
Vowels replaced in ‘the Darija’ because of their absence from the Moroccan Arabic. Others
replace vowels that are not found in Moroccan Arabic in borrowed words. The French vowel /eu/
is an example of this, which generally becomes / ɔ: /as in the French word ‘chauffeur’ /ʃɔfɘ: r/
Syllabic omission:
In order to facilitate pronunciation, some borrowed words undergo a syllabic omission process
as mentioned by Smeaton (1973). For example : the Spanish word ‘’el armario’’ /ɛl aɾ.ˈma.ɾjo/
‘’Infirmier‘’ - /ɛnfiʁmjɛʀ/ , became ‘’fermli’’ /fɛrmlɪ/ where we omit the first syllable.
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Conclusion:
We examined in this chapter some loan processes and the way they vary, and we found that the
words are assimilated and each sound in the word we borrow is substituted with the
corresponding tone of the borrowing language. In some cases, the orthography is modified. There
are also improvements to the form of the term. Stress is often influenced by the borrowing
language's phonetic system. The paradigm of the word and even the meaning are modified.
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Conclusion
In this paper, I tried to explore borrowing in Moroccan Arabic and the factors that led our
ancestors to borrow and integrate new words into our mother tongue. Moroccan Arabic has the
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complexity of merging other languages and dialects such as: Berber, Arabic, French, Spanish and
Portuguese, etc. This mixture is the result of many different factors like the impact of
The present research is divided into three theoretical main chapters. The first chapter is devoted
to a general view of borrowing also to a precise one in Morocco, and the reasons that led to this
borrowing. The second section concerns with the grouping of borrowed terms with certain
Then the third part discusses the borrowing processes: the phonological and morphological
In a nutshell, Morocco has gone through many linguistic phases which have affected our way of
speaking and pronunciation; hence, it has made it easy to interact and this due to the borrowing
technics.
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References
29
Kemmer, S. (n.d.). Loanwords. Retrieved from
https://www.ruf.rice.edu/~kemmer/Words/loanwords.html
30
Appel, R. & P. Muysken (1987) Language Contact and Bilingualism. London:
Edward Arnold
31
Hafez, & Ola. (2008, July 07). Phonological and Morphological Integration of
Loanwords. Retrieved from https://journals.openedition.org/ema/1958
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