The bare facts of borrowing

This chapter addresses the problem of classifying formally ambiguous bare forms. It illustrates with analysis of three typologically distinct language pairs involving isolating recipients (Wolof, Fongbe, and Igbo) that feature virtually no overt morphology on the noun, obviating the morphological criterion for loanword integration. Here the appeal is to the syntax of nouns and noun phrases, focusing on their variable distribution across different types of modification structure. This expands and systematizes the comparisons of chapters 4 and 5 by considering in greater detail not just the rates of occurrence of a diagnostic but also its variable structure. Regardless of language pair, the overwhelming majority of lone donor-language nouns display quantitative parallels to their relevant recipient-language counterparts in ways far too specific to be random. At the same time, they pattern differently from nouns in unmixed donor-language contexts. This reveals that the donor-language nouns have been borrowed and integrated into different recipients.