This study examines the lexification by Tamil and?Malay of the Chetty language, a sociolinguistic variety spoken by the Chetty community in Melaka, Peninsular Malaysia. A mixed heritage community with Tamil roots, coupled with?hundreds of years of assimilation into the Malay world, the Chetties provide a sui generis case of linguistic fusion. Based on spoken data, historical materials and community?interviews, the paper presents core loan words in different semantic domains like food, clothing, kinship, religion, and general day-to-day life. Religious and familial concepts are used alongside a significant proportion of loanwords from Tamil, while administrative, culinary and social?terms run the gamut of Malay loanwords. The research also shows that code-switching, borrowing, and phonological adaptation provide evidence of both historical contact and current?identity. This kind of lexical?blending represents not only bilingualism but also the preservation of cultural identity. Ultimately, the paper underscores the importance of Chetty as a contact language that embodies multicultural linguistic heritage.
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