Phonological Interference in Bilingual Contexts: Analyzing Singkil’s Speech through Optimality Theory

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-404-4_17How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Phonological interference; Bilingual context; Optimality theory

Abstract

This research aims to identify and describe the forms of phonological interference that cause interference in the speech of the bilingual Singkil community in the Kuala Baru sub-district. The research method is descriptive qualitative. The data collection techniques used in this study include the observation method, with the tapping technique as the basic technique, along with its advanced techniques: the involved conversation observation technique and the uninvolved conversation observation technique. Additionally, recording and note-taking techniques were used. The research data consists of spoken utterances from the Singkil community in one sub-district of Kuala Baru that indicate language interference. According to Weinreich, interference is a deviation in one language that occurs in bilinguals’ speech due to familiarity with more than one language, leading to language contact. Even the smallest elements from the first language can cause interference when transferred to the second language. The findings demonstrate that Singkil phonology influences the development of Bahasa Indonesia. This is evident in how Singkil-Bahasa Indonesia speakers modify the final phoneme /d/ becomes /t/ from the word [mau.lid̪] becomes [mau.lit], and constrain ranks should be the leftmost constraint, which is the most powerful, and the rightmost, which is the least powerful; *VOI-CODA >> MAX-IO >> IDENT-IO (VOI). And /b/becomes /p/ from the word [sə.bab] becomes [sə.bap] with the constraint ranks: *VOI-CODA >> VOP >> IDENT-IO. Hopefully, this research can contribute to the broader field of linguistics by providing empirical data that supports or refines Optimality Theory. It can help linguists understand how OT constraints operate in bilingual contexts and how they interact.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Dedy Suhery
AU  - Mhd Rasid Ritonga
AU  - Afrizal Revo
AU  - Fadhillah Wiandari
AU  - Mohd Hamid Raza
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/05/15
TI  - Phonological Interference in Bilingual Contexts: Analyzing Singkil’s Speech through Optimality Theory
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference Entitled Language, Literary, and Cultural Studies (ICONLATERALS 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 217
EP  - 225
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-404-4_17
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-404-4_17
ID  - Suhery2025
ER  -