A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE MORPHO-SEMANTIC VARIATIONS IN BORROWED FORMS OF LUKABARAS TOPONYMS

Abstract

The study of borrowed toponyms is significant because its analysis provides insight to the morphological processes, the structure, and lexical changes within a language and the resultant meanings on borrowings among languages in contact. In this regard, the purpose of the present study was to comparatively analyse the borrowed forms of toponyms from English, Swahili, Nandi and Maasai languages into Lukabaras because the linguistic outcomes of contact between Lukabaras and these languages focusing on toponyms have not received sufficient scholarly attention. The study sought to; describe the borrowed forms of toponyms in Lukabaras, describe the morphological structure and processes involved in the formation of the toponyms in Lukabaras and analyse the morpho- semantic variations evident in the borrowed forms of the toponyms in Lukabaras. The study used a descriptive research design. The analysis was done within the framework of the Generative Morphological Theory and the Casual Name Theory. The respondents included 42 purposively sampled speakers of Lukabaras from the seven wards of Kakamega North Sub County. A sample of 30 toponyms which formed the linguistic data for the study was collected through Focus Group Discussions. The sample size for analysis constituted the recorded borrowed forms of toponyms. The collected data was then analysed qualitatively using content analysis. The findings showed that many of the borrowed forms of toponyms in Lukabaras originated from Nandi. All the toponyms were integrated in Lukabaras through affixation, compounding and clipping. It was established that the toponyms carried both denotative and connotative meaning and they varied as applied in Lukabaras compared to the meanings of the source words in the donor languages. The study concluded that although there are morpho semiotic variations in the borrowed forms of the toponyms, the historical importance attached to them is esteemed for cultural heritage. The findings of the study necessitate the formation of policy to guide creation of place names especially where conflicts arise among local communities. The knowledge of toponyms in Lukabaras further adds to the existing studies done in Lukabaras.