2026-04-22 –, Main Auditorium
Abstract
This study investigates the integration of gastronomic terms from Romance languages into Japanese, with
the aim of identifying both the morphophonological strategies that shape their adaptation and the
diachronic layers through which these borrowings entered the language. The research focuses on three
central questions: (1) Which recurring adaptation mechanisms characterise the Japanese forms of
Romance gastronomic loanwords? (2) To what extent do source languages (Italian, French, Portuguese,
Spanish) exhibit distinct adaptation profiles once integrated into Japanese phonology? (3) How do
historical periods of contact correspond to different structural outcomes and explain irregularities
between source forms and loanword realizations?
The dataset consists of gastronomic loanwords of Romance origin attested in major Japanese
lexicographic resources and contemporary culinary discourse. The methodology combines comparative
analysis of Romance phonology with established models of Japanese loanword phonology, supplemented
by a diachronic classification of borrowing strata. This approach makes it possible to distinguish between
early borrowings mediated through Portuguese in the 16th century, later borrowings introduced during
the Meiji period, and contemporary imports arising from globalized culinary culture.
Preliminary analysis indicates a clear stratification across borrowing periods. Early Portuguese
loanwords show more extensive phonological restructuring, including final vowel insertion, reduction or
simplification of consonant clusters, and less transparent correspondences that reflect older stages of
Japanese phonotactics rather than the Romance source forms familiar today. By contrast, Italian and
French borrowings from the 20th and 21st centuries display considerably higher segmental transparency,
with consonantal sequences more faithfully preserved through regular epenthesis and moraic
reorganisation. Across all layers, Japanese consistently prioritises moraic structure, resulting in recurrent
patterns such as vowel epenthesis, secondary gemination, and the avoidance of dispreferred clusters
through strategies like consonant lenition or palatalisation.
The diachronic analysis further reveals that contemporary borrowings show reduced structural
modification, suggesting increased phonetic transparency resulting from direct exposure to Romance
culinary terminology in mass media, gastronomy, and branding. These developments allow the
identification of several productive adaptation templates, which not only describe current borrowing
practices but also help explain apparent inconsistencies between older and newer Romance-derived forms.
By integrating diachronic and phonological perspectives, the study contributes to broader discussions
in contact linguistics and loanword phonology. It provides evidence for how Japanese manages the
integration of Romance phonological material and how the history of cultural transmission shapes
modern lexical strata. The findings also offer a framework applicable to other domains of borrowing,
highlighting the interaction between phonotactic constraints, contact history, and the sociolinguistic
environments in which loanwords circulate.
Masaryk University
