- Arthur Mwale & Pethias Siame*
- Department of Literature and Languages, Kwame Nkrumah University, Kabwe, Zambia
- DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21462760
This study examines the phonological processes involved in adapting English borrowed words into Lenje, a Bantu language classified as M61 in Guthrie’s classification system (Guthrie, 1948). Lenje is spoken in Zambia’s Central, Lusaka, Southern, and parts of the Copperbelt provinces. Like any living language, Lenje is constantly evolving, and this change affects its phonology among other levels. The research is guided by the Source-Similarity approach within Optimality Theory, where markedness constraints often take priority over faithfulness constraints. The study documents how Lenje speakers resolve foreign sound patterns using native preferences, particularly the CV syllable structure. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected from Chibombo, Chisamba, and Kapiri Mposhi districts, as well as from documented sources. Findings reveal systematic patterns, including declusterisation, decodalisation, and changes in syllable structure, pseudo-homophones, and vowel quality shifts. These processes ensure that borrowed English words fit Lenje phonotactics while remaining recognizable. Lenje lacks the rhotic /r/, so /r/ is deleted or replaced by /l/ (/r/ → /l/). Other common substitutions include /f/ → /v/, /z/ → /s/, /ʌ/ → /a/, and /θ, ð/ → /s/ or /t/. Metathesis also occurs, where adjacent sounds exchange positions for easier articulation. The study concludes that borrowing into Lenje is not random but follows systematic phonological rules.
