Distributed Morphology Based Study of Arabic Loan Nouns in Punjabi

Abstract

The study highlights the morphological properties of Arabic loan nouns in Punjabi with reference to gender, number and case marking.  It analyzes the inflectional processes of loan nouns in accordance with the inflectional patterns of Punjabi.  Distributed Morphology provides theoretical basis during analysis.  The analysis consists of two phases. In the first phase, three groups of masculine and four groups of feminine noun inflections of Punjabi are formulated.  In the second phase, Arabic loan nouns are grouped accordingly.  The groups are shown in the tables with examples and their morphological properties are further discussed qualitatively.  The study confirms and shows contrast with various features described in the previous studies.  It is a foundational study in the realm of loanword morphology of Punjabi with reference to Arabic and the application of DM for further investigation.