Language Contact: A Study of Syllabic Change of English Borrowed Words in Urdu

This paper aims to describe the syllabic changes in those words which Urdu has borrowed from the English language. The changes are observed by exploring the sequence of sounds present in the syllables of English words. The results are presented on the basis of collection of English words taken from Urdu lexicon. The syllable templates that undergo change during the process of Urdu syllabification are: CCV, CVC, CVCC, CCVC, CCVCC, CVVC, CVVVC, CCCV, CCCVC, and CCCVCC. The current study has formulated some specific generalizations and constraints on the basis of which these changes occur. The study has deduced two processes of epenthesis and replacement/substitution which trigger these changes with respect to the phonological rules and phonotactic constraints of the Urdu language.