Abstract
The aim of this article is to explore the relationship between a language and aculture in the light of the borrowing from the Kara language observed in the Koegulanguage. The main cultural characteristics of Koegu lie in hunting and gathering, and Kara people introduced new cultivating methods in the downstream area of theOmo river.
The Koegu language has borrowed extensively from the Kara language with regardto vocabulary and grammar. There are some tendencies in borrowing.
(1) Regarding the vocabulary not related to the main cultural characteristics, thatis, the whole vocabulary except for that of hunting and gathering, words withrestricted semantic fields tend to be replaced by borrowed words, and words withgeneral and wide semantic fields are not likely to be replaced. (2) In the case of thevocabulary related to the main cultural characteristics, that is, the vocabulary of hun-ting and gathering, words with general and wide semantic fields tend to be replaced byborrowed words, while words with restricted semantic fields are not likely to be replac-ed. Thus it can be concluded that a culture influences exchange of speech forms.
