Phonological Adjustment in Hausa-Fulfulde Loanwords Adaptation

Hausa loanwords in Fulfulde experience series of phonological adjustments before they could be adapted into the borrowing language. The aim of this paper is to analyse some of these borrowed words so as to find out the consonant adaptation processes of assimilating Hausa words into Fulfulde. The data for the research is derived from the responses of the native speakers of Fulfulde using the Interview and Observation methods. However, the analysis is based on the Generative Phonology theory where distinctive phonological features are used to justify the process. The findings revealed that for a Hausa loanword to be fully adapted into Fulfulde language some consonants encounter series of adjustments to suit the borrowing language’s phonology. Base on the analyses, the findings of the research are: assimilation, gemination, delabialization, depalatalization and syllable reduction. However, it is suggested that further researches need to be conducted to unveil more adaptation processes involve in the assimilation of Hausa loanwords into Fulfulde.