Abstract:
This study critically investigated linguistic cross-pollination, or linguistic inter-influence, that took place when two mutually unintelligible languages (Silozi and English) came into contact for an extended period of time. The study specifically analysed how such contact affected both English and Silozi at the level of phonology, morphology and lexicon, as they were used interchangeably by Silozi speakers at tertiary institutions (IUM, NUST, and UNAM) in Windhoek. The study used the mixed methods approach, where quantitative data was collected to investigate contact induced changes at the aforesaid levels of language, and qualitative data was collected to explore social factors that promoted bilingualism among Silozi speakers at
tertiary institutions in Windhoek. The qualitative data captured in the interviews were presented under emerging themes and verbatim quotes, and quantitative data collected was transcribed and then cross-referenced with the reviewed literature to determine any linguistic effects due to linguistic inter-influence. The study employed the Optimality Theory (OT) to investigate universal principles, phonological acquisition and linguistic typology to determine
linguistic crosspollination as a result of interaction between conflicting constraints. The OT is a theory that could be used to investigate selected sequences to explain and predict crosslinguistic
tendencies in phonotactic constraints. The study found that when Silozi speakers pronounced the two dental sounds (/ð/ and /θ/), the two sounds were substituted by the alveolar sounds (/s/ or /z/), and that, when pronounced by Silozi speakers, the four alveolar sounds (d,
t, z, and s) moved one place to become dentalised. Consonants in Silozi alternate, and allowed no consonant clusters and all words end in vowels. The study recommends for future studies to be pursued to determine linguistic cross-pollination resulting from other English consonants, and also investigate constraints on vowel clusters and diphthongs.
