Sound files

The meaning and form of onomatopoeias in Tjwao

“…In other words, the prototype is a cumulative model – abstract, although motivated – that encompasses the most common and/or the most characteristic features exhibited by onomatopoeias, whether non-formal (semantic) or formal (phonetic and morphological). Below, we present such prototypical features, drawing on previous studies on onomatopoeias (Ameka 1992, 2006; Rubino 2001; Reay 2006; Feist 2012; Meinard 2015; Stange 2016; Körtvélyessy 2020) and ideophones (Childs 1994, 2003; Voeltz and Kilian-Hatz 2001; Dingemanse 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017; Lahti et al 2014; Dingemanse and Akita 2017; Ibarretxe-Antuñano 2017; Andrason 2020) – as explained above, a larger category that also comprises onomatopoeias 3…”

“…Phonetically, onomatopoeias allow for extra-systematic sounds – including non-speech sounds that cannot be represented within the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) – and extra-systematic sound combinations and syllable structures (see Hinton et al 1994: 9; Childs 2003: 118–119; Ibarretxe-Antuñano 2006: 151–152; Dingemanse 2011: 134–136, 2012: 656). Onomatopoeias extensively exploit vocalic and consonantal length and tolerate degrees of length that are otherwise rare or ungrammatical in a language (Childs 2003: 119; Andrason 2020: 126).…”

“…Phonetically, onomatopoeias allow for extra-systematic sounds – including non-speech sounds that cannot be represented within the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) – and extra-systematic sound combinations and syllable structures (see Hinton et al 1994: 9; Childs 2003: 118–119; Ibarretxe-Antuñano 2006: 151–152; Dingemanse 2011: 134–136, 2012: 656). Onomatopoeias extensively exploit vocalic and consonantal length and tolerate degrees of length that are otherwise rare or ungrammatical in a language (Childs 2003: 119; Andrason 2020: 126). The difference between onomatopoeias and the other word classes found in a language may also concern prosody – onomatopoeias being generally produced with special phonation, air stream intensity, and melody (Feist 2012: 114; see also Childs 2003: 119; Dingemanse 2012; Ibarretxe-Antuñano 2006: 152, 2017: 211).…”

“…Onomatopoeias extensively exploit vocalic and consonantal length and tolerate degrees of length that are otherwise rare or ungrammatical in a language (Childs 2003: 119; Andrason 2020: 126). The difference between onomatopoeias and the other word classes found in a language may also concern prosody – onomatopoeias being generally produced with special phonation, air stream intensity, and melody (Feist 2012: 114; see also Childs 2003: 119; Dingemanse 2012; Ibarretxe-Antuñano 2006: 152, 2017: 211). Lastly, onomatopoeias abound in harmonious patterns (whether vocalic or consonantal), and rhymes (Reay 2006: 531; Childs 2003; Dingemanse 2011, 2012).…”

“…The analysis is developed within a typologically driven prototype approach to categorization. The prototype of an onomatopoeia itself is designed by drawing on the work of Ameka (1992, 2006), Rubino (2001), Reay (2006), Ibarretxe-Antuñano (2006), Feist (2012), Meinard (2015), Stange (2016), Johansson et al (2020), and Körtvélyessy (2020), as well as on typological studies dedicated to the related category of ideophones, especially those authored by Childs (1994, 2003), Voeltz and Kilian-Hatz (2001), Dingemanse (2011, 2012, 2015, 2017), Lahti et al (2014), Ibarretxe-Antuñano (2017), and Andrason (2020). Given our framework, we principally aim to determine the extent of the compliance of Tjwao onomatopoeias with an onomatopoeic ideal plotted cross-linguistically.…”