On the nativization of lexicon: The case of Marathi

The goal of this paper is to discuss the lexical borrowings from Sanskrit, Persian, and English into Marathi in the context of the following questions: (a) whether or not the loans get fully nativized in the borrowing language, i.e. whether or not the linguistic processes of the borrowing language treat the loans and the native stock alike; (b) if a language borrows from more than one language, then, whether the loans from one language get more nativized than those from others; and (c) what the explanation is for the hierarchy of nativization of loans from different languages. This paper makes three claims: first, loans are not completely nativized in Marathi, i.e. certain linguistic processes treat the loans differently from the native Marathi stock. Second, there is a hierarchy of nativization of loans from Sanskrit, Persian, and English into Marathi. The degrees of nativization differ with each language; for example, in Marathi, while Sanskrit loans are fully nativized, Persian and English are less nativized. Third, this hierarchy is explainable on the basis of the attitude of the Marathi speakers toward Sanskrit, Persian, and English. & 1981, Mouton Publishers.