The two key questions recurring in the literature on loanword studies are : are there any general patterns of loanword adaptation , and if so , which forces drive the process ( es ) that result in these patterns . This dissertation readdresses these two questions on the basis of a study of loanword phonology in which Mandarin Chinese ( MC ) is the recipient language ( RL ) and English the source language ( SL ) . It argues that factors that have not received much attention in the field have to be taken into consideration . They are input types and adapter types . In this dissertation , the roles of the two factors are put to the test . By investigating both loanword corpus data and extensive experimental results , this dissertation presents an analysis of MC loanword phonology that can account for the intricate adaptation patterns attested in a corpus of loanwords borrowed from English into MC . It moreover shows that , depending on input and / or adapter types , loanword adaptation is driven by one or more of the following grammars : the native RL phonological production grammar , the native RL perception grammar , the RL / SL interlanguage phonological production grammar and the RL / SL interlanguage perception grammar . This dissertation will be of interest to all those working on loanword adaptation , Mandarin Chinese phonology , perception and production in second language acquisition and the role of orthography in linguistics .
