The Borrowing Process
Dutch loanwords in Sinhala rarely appear in the same form as the original word. Usually, a word has undergone some kind of modification to fit into the Sinhala phonological or morphological system (e.g. balk becomes bālkaya because Sinhala inanimate nouns (see grammatical gender) need to end with /a/, in order to be declineable).
These are the main ways Dutch words are incorporated into the Sinhala lexicon with different endings:
- With an /aya/ or /uva/ added to Dutch words ending in consonants (e.g. raam > rāmuva).
- With a /ya/ added to words ending in /a/ or /e/ or /i/ (e.g. bakje > bakkiya).
- With the animate ending /yā/ added to Dutch words signifying living beings or (e.g. tolk > tōlkayā).
- Initiak /s/ preceeding a consonant usually forms an additional syllable (e.g school > iskōlaya).
Read more about this topic: Dutch Loanwords In Sinhala
Famous quotes containing the words borrowing and/or process:
“If the oarsmen of a fast-moving ship suddenly cease to row, the suspension of the driving force of the oars doesn’t prevent the vessel from continuing to move on its course. And with a speech it is much the same. After he has finished reciting the document, the speaker will still be able to maintain the same tone without a break, borrowing its momentum and impulse from the passage he has just read out.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C)
“The process of discovery is very simple. An unwearied and systematic application of known laws to nature causes the unknown to reveal themselves.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)