Ideophones (Typological Studies in Language, 44)

Ideophones Typological Studies in Language (TSL) A companion series to the journal Studies in Language General Edi...

Author: F.K.Erhard Voeltz | Christa Killian-Hatz

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Ideophones

Typological Studies in Language (TSL) A companion series to the journal Studies in Language

General Editor

Michael Noonan

Assistant Editors

Spike Gildea, Suzanne Kemmer

Editorial Board Wallace Chafe (Santa Barbara) Bernard Comrie (Leipzig) R. M. W. Dixon (Canberra) Matthew Dryer (Buffalo) John Haiman (St Paul) Kenneth Hale (Cambridge, Mass.) Bernd Heine (Köln) Paul Hopper (Pittsburgh) Andrej Kibrik (Moscow)

Ronald Langacker (San Diego) Charles Li (Santa Barbara) Andrew Pawley (Canberra) Doris Payne (Oregon) Frans Plank (Konstanz) Jerrold Sadock (Chicago) Dan Slobin (Berkeley) Sandra Thompson (Santa Barbara)

Volumes in this series will be functionally and typologically oriented, covering specific topics in language by collecting together data from a wide variety of languages and language typologies. The orientation of the volumes will be substantive rather than formal, with the aim of investigating universals of human language via as broadly defined a data base as possible, leaning toward cross-linguistic, diachronic, developmental and live-discourse data.

Volume 44 Ideophones Edited by F.K. Erhard Voeltz and Christa Kilian-Hatz

Ideophones

Edited by F. K. Erhard Voeltz Universität zu Köln

Christa Kilian-Hatz Universität zu Köln

John Benjamins Publishing Company Amsterdam/Philadelphia

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The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences – Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1984.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ideophones / edited by F. K. Erhard Voeltz, Christa Kilian-Hatz. p. cm. -- (Typological studies in language, issn 0167-7373 ; v. 44) Papers presented at the 1st International Symposium on Ideophones held Jan. 1999, St. Augustin, Ger. Includes bibliographical references and index. I. Grammar, Comparative and general--Ideophone--Congresses. I. Voeltz, Erhard Friedrich Karl, 1943- II. Kilian-Hatz, Christa. III. International Symposium on Ideophones 1st: 1999 : Sankt Augustin, Germany) IV. Series. P299.I34.I34 2001 415--dc21 isbn 90 272 2946 5 (Eur.) / 1 58811 019 2 (US) (Hb; alk. paper)

2001-025060

© 2001 – John Benjamins B.V. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the publisher. John Benjamins Publishing Co. · P.O.Box 36224 · 1020 me Amsterdam · The Netherlands John Benjamins North America · P.O.Box 27519 · Philadelphia pa 19118-0519 · usa

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Table of contents

Acknowledgements Introduction F. K. Erhard Voeltz and Christa Kilian-Hatz Ideophones in interaction with intonation and the expression of new information in some indigenous languages of Australia Barry Alpher

ix 1

9

Ideophones and the nature of the adjective word class in Ewe Felix K. Ameka

25

Ideophones and compound verbs in Wolaitta Azeb Amha

49

Research on ideophones, whither hence?: The need for a social theory of ideophones G. Tucker Childs

63

Setswana ideophones as uninflected predicative lexemes Denis Creissels

75

Phonosemantic correspondences in Emai attributive ideophones Francis O. Egbokhare

87

Defining ideophones in Mundang Stefan Elders

97

Some expressive and borrowed elements in the lexicon of Finnish dialects Vesa Jarva

111

The ideophone in Didinga Nicky de Jong

121

Ideophones in Ciluba N. S. Kabuta

139

Universality and diversity: Ideophones from Baka and Kxoe Christa Kilian-Hatz

155

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vi

Table of contents

Expressives and iconicity in the lexicon Marian Klamer

165

Speaking the act: The ideophone as a linguistic rebel Daniel P. Kunene

183

Phonosemantic hierarchies Omen N. Maduka-Durunze

193

Ideophones as the source of verbs in Northern Australian languages William McGregor

205

Ideophones in the Balto-Finnic languages Eve Mikone

223

The ideophone in Zulu: A re-examination of conceptual and descriptive notions C. T. Msimang and G. Poulos

235

Are ideophones really as weird and extra-systematic as linguists make them out to be? Paul Newman

251

Ideas, phones and Gbaya verbal art Philip A. Noss

259

Ideophones in Pastaza Quechua Janis B. Nuckolls

271

Le statut des idéophones en gbaya Paulette Roulon-Doko

287

Iconic morphology and word formation in Ilocano Carl Rubino

303

Testing hypotheses about African ideophones William J. Samarin

321

Ideophonic adverbs and manner gaps in Emai Ronald P. Schaefer

339

Ideophone-like characteristics of uninflected predicates in Jaminjung (Australia) Eva Schultze-Berndt

355

La formation des radicaux déidéophonique et des idéophones déverbatifs en t7t7la (dialecte ewango) Okombe-Lukumbu Tassa

375

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Table of contents

A comparison of some Southeast Asian ideophones with some African ideophones Richard L. Watson

385

Bibliography of ideophone research F. K. Erhard Voeltz and Christa Kilian-Hatz

407

Language index

425

Name index

429

Subject index

433

vii

Acknowledgements First and foremost we are grateful to the actors, the participants of the symposium for the enthusiastic role they played. We would also like to thank Axel Fleisch, Tania Kuteva, Friederike Lüpke, Roxana Ma-Newman, Dirk Otten and Yvonne Treis for agreeing to chair the various sessions. To Danielle Jansen and Friederike Lüpke, moreover, a special thanks for their accomplished management of all the many technical details before, during and after the symposium. It is our pleasure to thank the director of the Arnold-Janssen-Haus of the Steyler Missionare, Sankt Augustin, Dr. Hermann Kochanek and Ms. Marlies Dahmen for their hospitality and the congenial and relaxed atmosphere. The symposium was supported with a generous grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft to whom we wish to express our sincere gratitude and the Institut für Afrikanistik, Universität zu Köln and its director, Bernd Heine, who has never failed to support and encourage our endeavors, however unconventional they may have been.

Erhard Voeltz & Christa Kilian-Hatz

November, 1999

Introduction F. K. Erhard Voeltz and Christa Kilian-Hatz Universität zu Köln

Certainly one of the earliest insights into the nature of language was the recognition that the words we use belong to different grammatical categories; and as these categories were identified, definitions were formulated. Certain categories allow for easy definitions, others are more complicated and yet others have been relegated to footnotes or were simply ignored. With the advent of research on unwritten languages in the nineteenth century different language structures were discovered and linguists found themselves confronted with grammatical categories that they were vaguely aware of in their own languages, but that they had only rarely considered worth an effort to describe. One such case, from Zulu, is exemplified under (1): (1) a. b. c.

Thula uthi tu! ‘Keep perfectly silent!’ Kubomvu tubhu. ‘It is bright red.’ Wathi uyahamba wathi twa obukwini. ‘As he went he sank deep into the bog.’

Most of the individual elements are easily identified: Thula, kubomvu and uyahamba are inflected verb forms, obukwini is the locative form of a given noun and so on. Not so easily identified are the underline forms tu, tubhu and twa. Grammarians invented a whole series of different names for these items which were so abundant in these newly discovered languages, including descriptive adverb, descriptive complement, uninflected verb, onomatopoeic vocable, adverb, substantive, etc, etc. Finally Doke, in attempting to systematize and prescribe grammatical terminology for Bantu linguistic studies, provided them with a definition and proposed to call them: “Ideophone (Idéophone) [Ideophon] A vivid representation of an idea in sound. A word, often onomatopoeic, which describes a predicate, qualificative or adverb in respect to manner, colour, sound, smell, action, state or intensity.” (Doke 1935: 118)

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F. K. Erhard Voeltz and Christa Kilian-Hatz

It is useful to realize that this often repeated citation is only a part of Doke’s total definition of the ideophone. Doke tried to establish with the term ideophone, which he borrowed from the phonetician E. W. Scripture, a new grammatical category which was clearly different from mimic nouns and onomatopoeia — for which he provides separate entries. The importance of his definition was the observation that ideophones were neither always onomatopoeic (What sounds do colors make that one may imitate? But there are ideophones for colors.), nor could they be grouped with any particular grammatical category normally recognized, and therefore they constituted a category in their own right. While distancing himself from the sound-meaning correlation of ideophones — which would make them onomatopoeias — he was nevertheless quick to point out that ideophones had a special phonology which set them noticeably apart from other words:1 “It must be pointed out that generally the special rules of length, tone and stress, applicable in ordinary grammatical forms, differ considerably in the case of ideophones.” (Doke 1935: 118–119)

Doke offered neither a syntactic nor semantic definition nor any criteria for identifying ideophones as such. Still, his definition has served as the basis and inspiration of research on ideophones for many years and could very well appear in its original form in any given dictionary of linguistics. The reason why a more precise, formalistic definition has been lacking — and may in fact not be possible — lies in the very nature of the element investigated. There is little doubt that such elements as ideophones exist in any language, some languages seemingly having more, some less (cf. Kilian-Hatz2 and Mikone). In almost all cases investigated, as is documented in the contributions in the present volume, ideophones have a particular often special phonology, they do not entirely fit into normal syntactic patterns and they are semantically highly marked, while at the same time fulfilling functions of other, easier definable grammatical categories. Moreover, ideophones are very often only used in oral language, a fact which may well have led to them being ignored in the traditional descriptions of languages that have long since been reduced to writing and where the grammatical traditions are based on the elaboration of observations based on written documents. And in spite of a fairly voluminous literature attempting to catalogue and describe them, they have remained a step-child of modern linguistic science. As linguists are turning away from the very centralized paradigms that have defined research over the last four decades and in order to retrieve ideophones from the particularized, language-specialized investigations of researchers here and there, a symposium was organized to bring together individuals from a variety of language areas to share their knowledge of ideophones with each other and to place ideophonic research into the mainstream of linguistics where it has always belonged. The present volume represents a collection of the talks given at this [first]

Introduction

International Symposium on Ideophones held in January 1999 in St. Augustin, Germany. The outcome of the conference may be shortly summed up as follows in four points: 1.Ideophones are found in many more languages than expected. While the sample of languages of the present contributions can not be considered representative, it is nevertheless reasonable to assume that ideophones exist in all languages of the world: They are a universal category. 2.As for the function of ideophones, there was a general consensus that ideophones and similar words have a special dramaturgic function that differs from all other word classes: Ideophones simulate an event, an emotion, a perception through language. 3.In addition to this unique function, a good number of formal parallels could be observed as well. Ilocano (Northern Philippines) and Bantu languages, for example, displays a strikingly similar patterns of derivational processes involving ideophones. An equally widespread common feature is the introduction of ideophones via a verbum dicendi or complementizer; this is the case in most languages of different areas and families. A third observation concerns the sound-symbolic behavior of ideophones. Thus the word formation of ideophones differs from other words in their tendency for iconicity and sound-symbolism. Finally it was clear that ideophones are part of spoken language — the language register, where gestures could be used — rather than written language. It was not surprising that ideophones are often accompanied by gestures or even considered as “vocal gestures” (as e.g. in Japanese, in Southern Sotho or in the Australian Jaminjung). 4.These functional and formal parallels allow the conclusion that one spoke about the same or similar word class — whether they are called ‘coverbs’, ‘mimics’ or ‘expressives’ or ‘ideophone’. One consequence of this consensus is to accept the Doke (1935) term ‘ideophone’ for this group of words in their contributions presented here. The latter point reflects the unspoken, but nevertheless common concern of all participants of the conference that this volume may be a useful contribution in order to come to a standardized term that finally may facilitate further typological studies dealing with a cross-language definition of these unique word class. It is not unusual for volumes such as this to group papers either according to topic, phonology, syntax, semantics etc., or theoretical orientation, functional, cognitive, generative etc.). Or one may even arrange them according to language family. In latter case the proceedings of this volume may have looked like this in outline:

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(1) Africa: Mundang (Adamawa), Ciluba, Sotho, Tetela, Tswana, Xhosa and Zulu (Bantu), Didinga (Eastern Sudanic), Emai (Edo), Hausa (Chadic), Kxoe (Khoisan), Ewe (Kwa), Wolaitta (Omotic), Baka, Gbeya/Gbaya and Sango (Ubangian). (2) America: Pastaza Quechua; (3) Asia: Japanese (Mongolian-Tungus), Pacoh (Mon-Khmer), Ilocano (Northern Philippine), and Kambera (Sumba-Bima); (4) Australia: Jaminjung and Yir-Yoront; (5) Europe: Finnish and Estonian;

As research on ideophones is experiencing a renaissance and contributors in many cases are still searching for a direction it was felt useful to present the individual contributions simply in alphabetical order, emphasizing the common ground being covered and also reflecting the program and spirit of the conference itself. Three contributions included here, those of Creissels, Egbokhare and Maduka-Durunze could unfortunately not be presented at the conference, but are included here nevertheless. Berry Alpher compares the syntactic and semantic properties of ideophones in the Australian languages Yir-Yoront, Yirrk-Mel, and the Wik-languages. He shows that ideophones are “a matter of presentation of new information” in these languages, i.e. ideophones have the function of foregrounding the verb which is the carrier of new information or focus. Ideophones are consistently absent when the verb does not fulfill this function. Describing some properties of ideophones in Ewe (Togo) in detail, Felix K. Ameka points out the relevance of understanding ideophones that are defined as a phonosemantic class, in order to characterize the close relationship between ideophones and ideophonic adjectives in African languages. Azeb Amha distinguishes the ideophones in Wolaitta (Omotic) into two groups. This distinction is based on their different phonological shape and syntactic function. Thus group I ideophones typically involve reduplication and are syntactically and semantically similar to adjectives. Ideophones of group II behave semantically and syntactically like converbs. Her aim is to show on these data that ideophones in Wolaitta do not constitute a separate word class, but are part of the basic lexicon. Based on some of his earlier works Tucker Childs points out the “quintessential” social value of ideophones that he sees grounded in communicative interaction. Denis Creissels recognizes two types of predicates: An inflected predicate and a predicate consisting of the verb to say and an ideophone. From a historical point of view, these ideophonic constructions in Tswana are interesting because they could reflect a word order change from SVOX to SOVX.

Introduction

Francis O. Egbokhare’s contribution deals with sound-symbolism of ideophones in Emai (Edo) which he considers to be natural and predictable. By contrasting sound-meaning minimal pairs he manages to iconic correlations underlying the formation of ideophones. Concluding he observes that all ideophones are composed of recurrent sound-symbolic molecules with predictable meaning. For Stefan Elders ideophones do not present a syntactical definable separate class in Mundang, but are found in all lexical classes. Still, they are different from other word classes in respect to their phonological structure and the phonesthetic associations they evoke.. Vesa Jarva presents a class of words called ‘expressives’ in Finnish, but which corresponds to the word class ‘ideophone’ known in African languages. He describes the diachronic process of how borrowed Russian words became expressives in the target language, Finnish, and reconstructs how this process has been triggered by phonetic resemblance and semantic motivation. Nicky de Jong gives a detailed overview of formal properties of ideophones in the Eastern Sudanic language Didinga. Regarding their phonotactics as well as their syntactic behavior, he concludes that ideophones in Didinga must be considered to be a subclass of adverbs. N. S. Kabuta describes the phonology, morphology, syntax and meaning of ideophones in Ciluba (Bantu). Their special formal properties leads him to define ideophones as a separate word class that differs from other “ideophonic words” that share some phonological and semantic features with ideophones, but are nouns, verbs, and adverbs. Christa Kilian-Hatz has a mainly functional based approach to define ideophones cross-linguistically. Using the example of Kxoe (Khoisan) and Baka (Ubangi), several formal universal as well as language specific properties of ideophones are described. It is suggested that formal differences of ideophones in different languages can be explained if we assume that they reflect different stages of a common historical development. Marian Klamer divides the lexicon into the core vocabulary and the peripheral. Using three criteria, form markedness, meaning markedness and function markedness, she argues convincingly that onomatopes and ideophones in three different languages, Kambera, Balinese, and West Tarangan, belong to the peripheral part of the lexicon. Daniel P. Kunene describes the ideophones of Sotho (Bantu) as “linguistic rebels” because they are — as opposed to other word classes — “the closest substitute for a non-verbal physical act”. Because of this unique dramaturgic function, ideophones seem to be “aloof” from the grammatical system, while at the same time fulfilling special communicative, i.e. performative, function in oral discourse.

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Omen Maduka-Durunze makes a further contribution to the sound-symbolic elements of ideophones. In his analysis, ideophones are composed of three different kinds of phonosemantic units that are combined following a specific, two-dimensional hierarchies. Associated to these hierarchies are sets of rules which allow the assignment of semantic values such as ‘roundness’, ‘largeness’, ‘straightness’, for ideophones of Nembe, Hausa, Igbo and others. William McGregor points out the relevance of a word class ideophone for the verbal system in the Northern Australian languages. These languages use compound verb constructions consisting of an uninflected particle and an inflected verb. He suggests that ideophones are the “major historical source for these uninflected parts in northern Australian languages” and explains this process by regarding it as an instance of a wider cycle of grammatical change. C. T. Msimang and G. Poulos re-examine the status of the word category ‘ideophone’ in Zulu (Bantu) compared to other Bantu languages (Venda, Tsonga). Their main concern is to show that ideophones are a separate word category showing “no derivation from other word classes” like other lexical items do. From Paul Newman’s perspective, the treatment of ideophones as a formal aberrant group of words seems exaggerated and overinterpreted. Ideophones in Hausa (Chadic) are phonologically normal, i.e., they obey the same phonotactic constraints as other word classes. Ideophones are therefore not as “exotic” as believed; rather they are part of the language and must therefore be described systematically. Some unusual phonological features may exist, however, they are not so apart from the language as not to fit into the general system. Another aspect of Finnish and of Estonian ideophones is described by Eve Mikone. She characterizes the properties of ideophones in these Balto-Finnic languages. Ideophones are interpreted syntactically as verbs and substantives, but they differ phonologically from other word classes in their phonotactic structure and their meaning. Morphologically noteworthy is the abundance of derivational processes, largely internal sandhi, used only with ideophones. Phillip A. Noss’ aim is to examine the use of Gbaya (Ubangian) ideophones in folktales, poetry, and poems. His main concern is to show how creatively ideophones are employed. He points out how stylistically relevant ideophones are for oral discourse: Not only do the have an important social, i.e., communicative impact, but they also add an important aesthetic note to structure of a text. Janis B. Nuckolls lines out four semantic functions of adverbial ideophones in Pastaza Quechua, a dialect of the Ecuadorean Quechua: Thus ideophones function like manner adverbs modifying the meaning of a related verb. With semantically interdependent verbs, however, ideophones may be considered to be co-verbs, i.e., part of a complex predicate. On the other hand, ideophones can be regarded as a verbal gesture modifying the verbal action. Finally she call attention to the aspectual function of ideophones that may add punctual or completive information.

Introduction

Roulon-Doko investigates the status of ideophones vis-à-vis the other grammatical categories used in Gbaya (Ubangian), coming to the conclusion, that ideophones occupy a very high status as indicated by their frequency in Gbaya discourse. Carl Rubino describes ideophones referring to sounds of Ilocano (Northern Philippine) that are all. Ideophones are roots, but the main interest here is the elaboration of the productive derivational morphology added to ideophones. Of particular importance is the observation that the Ilocano lexicon displays recurrent patterns of onomatopoeic sequences that have iconic values. In William J. Samarin’s very personal contribution a list of 23 hypothesis about ideophones are presented that are the result of his long experience in the study of ideophones. The hypotheses may be understood as a help for fieldwork on ideophones, but they could also be a helpful outline for further investigation on ideophones and especially for typological studies. In the first part of his contribution, Ronald Schaefer shortly describes syntactic and semantic properties of ideophones in Emai (Edo). Ideophones are here a subclass of the adverbials. The second part is an attempt to elaborate a ‘finelygrained’ semantic analysis on the basis of typologically oriented comparative studies. Eva Schultze-Berndt examines the so-called ‘coverbs’ of the Australian Jaminjung (Yirram). She provides detailed information about their morphology, syntax, phonology, and phonotactics as well as instances of sound-symbolism. Based on these formal properties, she concludes, that uninflected coverbs share many features with ideophones known in African languages. Similar to McGregor’s contribution, she concludes, that the ideophone-like behavior of coverbs may have arisen diachronically through the incorporation of “true” ideophones into the verbal system. Okombe-Lukumbu Tassa describes two derivational processes with ideophones in Tetela (Bantu). On the one hand, verbs can be derived systematically from ideophones through the addition of de-ideophonizing suffixes that share a good number of properties with normal verb-derivational suffixes, and on the other hand, there are ideophones which derive from verbs by suffixation of an ideophonizer. Richard L. Watson, finally, compares the structure of ideophones in Southeast Asian and African languages in respect to their phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, iconicity, and pragmatics. He outlines many cross-language similarities on all these linguistic levels, but also some areal or language family specific features are identified.

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Notes 1. Unfortunately he also suggested that ideophones are best classified according to syllable length, a suggestion which many researchers following in his footsteps took all too serious. 2. Where no further bibliographical indications are given, the reference is to a paper in the present volume.

References Doke, C. M. 1935. Bantu linguistic terminology. London, Longmans, Green.

Ideophones in interaction with intonation and the expression of new information in some indigenous languages of Australia Barry Alpher Washington, D.C.

Ideophones occur frequently and conspicuously in certain registers of speech in the indigenous languages of southwestern Cape York Peninsula, Australia. As I have shown elsewhere (1994) for the Yir-Yoront language of this area and as seems likely to be true of Yir-Yoront’s neighboring languages, ideophones are not members of any part-of-speech class that participates in syntactic relations like head–attribute, verb–object, verb–adverb, or in derivational or inflectional morphological relations; they can be usefully viewed as belonging with intonational phenomena; they differ phonologically from words of other classes; and they play an important part in discourse flow in these languages (in addition to providing sound effects for dramatic enhancement). Taking all but the last of these characteristics as given, I show below by means of textual examples (in the Appendix; all the examples below are from tape-recorded dictation, but speakers are careful to put ideophones also in appropriate material dictated word by word without benefit of tape recorder) how ideophones function in connected discourse of the mythic and dramatic-narrative types. In this discussion I use the terms Given and New information (and Theme and Rheme) as in Halliday (1985).1

1.

Relevant syntactic and discourse aspects of Yir-Yoront

The unmarked, and perhaps underlying, order of elements in a Yir-Yoront clause is Subject–Object–Verb.2 This order is attested without exception in participial and purposive clauses (Alpher 1991: 57–63), and it is the order in which things are usually given in elicited (de-contextualized) main clauses, as from English The dog bit the child. To be sure, the normal stress pattern of such a clause in English puts the highest stress on the last word, in this case child, and this stress pattern would signal child as the carrier of New information in connected discourse. In YirYoront, New information is generally given as the item with the highest stress level

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Barry Alpher

in the clause, the center of intonation; this usually comes immediately before the verb. The elicited translation of ‘the dog bit the child’, Kurtuwl lerren puy, places lerren ‘child’ in this position, identified as New information just as in the English prompt. In connected discourse in Yir-Yoront, the placement of New at the center of intonation just before the verb regularly overrides subject–object–verb order as needed. Examples: minh ‘meat’ (A92), line ‘fishing line’ (C17), minhl-kothrr ‘a crocodile’ (C18), par-warrch ‘prohibited cousin’ (A22) oq+arr ‘right here’ (A59), ngorto+warr ‘you alone’ (A60), pan ‘sleep’ (a noun; A89); other nominal examples are at A94 and 97, C5–9, 11, 12, 14, and 20, and D44, 48, 50, 56, and 99. The verb is generally unstressed relative to what precedes. If the verb itself is the carrier of New, it is (in the absence of an ideophone) preceded by the particle a (A98, C18, D40),3 glossed “EMPH”, which is the center of intonation. Change or reassertion of the Theme (topic) is typically accomplished with pronouns, most usually in construction with a noun: olo warrchiwirrl ‘the woman [for her part]’ (A98; note that New in this example is the verb); other examples are at A22 (reasserted), D45, D48 (pronoun alone), D53, D58 (reasserted), C19 (pronoun alone). To contrast the use of a pronoun as Theme with the use of one as New, compare any of these with ngorto + warr ‘you alone’ in A60. Yir-Yoront ideophones have the following properties: a.They most usually occur in one of two positions. The first is immediately before the verb, in which case the verb carries New and ideophones are mutually exclusive with the particle a (A21, A93, B3, B67, D98) and with modal particles. There are occasional exceptions, as in line 12 of text A, in which the male protagonist calls to his wife, who has demanded he swim back from mid-river, “Puy ngalq yungr yirr; lilq — ” ‘let (ngalq [the hortative particle]) [me] swim (yungr [non-past tense]) on (yirr), by myself (lilq), puy! Two lines later this is repeated as Ngoyo [I] ngalq yungr yirr; lilq.’ I hypothesize that there is in effect an intonational break after the ideophone puy here, as evidenced by the alternate ngalq (vs. alq) of the hortative particle, which is the usual clause-initial alternate and which clause-internally usually follows forms ending in vowels. The other frequent placing of ideophones is after the verb and separated from it by a terminal intonation contour, usually comma (short pause and half-fall [A92, D56]; sometimes none [D91]). When the ideophone follows the verb, New can be carried by the verb (coincidentally, as with worrngvlhnh ‘sniffed’ in A98–99) or by some other element (pethvl ‘with the fishing rod’ in C20, kenerr ‘on top’ in D56). b.They associate semantically and in co-occurrence with verbs or sets of verbs, or more precisely with parts of the event sequences that verbs denote. For example, the ideophone puy (of sudden departure) co-occurs with the ‘go’ verbs wu ‘went’ (D58, D98) and yaw ‘went’ (B1), with the component + awrrnh ‘went and…’ of yuwlawrrnh

Ideophones in interaction with intonation

‘went and got’ (A92), and with yamlnh (A21) and yim (D95), both ‘carried’, in regard to the motion aspect of carrying. Also co-occurring with yuwlawrrnh ‘went and got’ is chawárrq (of picking something up), but here in regard to the ‘get’ (yow ~ yuw) part of the verb (D93). See Alpher (1994: 167–168) for further details. Ideophones do not combine with inflecting verb stems to derive new lexical verbs, and although there is a verb tha (roughly, ‘do’) that will combine with English words to form new verbs (start=tha ‘to start’, election=tha ‘to have an election’), it does not combine with ideophones (*chawárrq=tha ‘to pick something up’, *wirr=tha ‘to drag’, etc.). There is no use of a verb ‘say’, ‘do’, or ‘go’ to carry ideophones syntactically. Ideophones also occur in the absence of verbs, but they usually imply a particular verb, for example lak (of knocking someone down) in B66, later spelled out in full together with its verb in B67.4 Only rarely, as with wirr (of dragging) in D91 and 92, does an ideophone precede, with no intonational break, a verb or other predicate which it does not imply semantically (with which it is not conventionally associated). The total number of ideophones recorded for Yir-Yoront is not much more than 100 (Alpher 1991); from this fact and from the semantics of usage as described above, it can be seen that ideophones in this language function rather differently from those of a number of African languages discussed in this symposium. An example is Yoruba (Awoyale Ms.), in which for each verb of color — ’to be red’, for instance — a rich and different array of ideophones is available to indicate shade, saturation, and condition. c.They are absent from subordinate clauses (the adjoined relative clause, which is not syntactically subordinate, as well as clauses of the participial and purposive type, which are truly subordinate). They are absent from clauses of recapitulation, which are uttered with a flat intonation and end with a drawn-out mid-front vowel written “e-” (C9 second line, C11, D46, D94; A19 and 20 are clauses of this type that presuppose material omitted here). Ideophones typically occur in declarative clauses in one of the past tenses. Nonetheless, they do occur with non-past tenses (see above) and, contra Alpher (1994: 172), they do occur with imperative verbs in Yir-Yoront, and they are attested in such contexts in Uw-Oykangand as well: puy! err artil urr ‘puy! you fellows [urr] go out [artil] away [err]!’ (Sommer 1986: 256, line 11).

2.

Typology of representation of new information in languages of this area

Common to the languages of Yir-Yoront’s region is the marking of New, if nominal, as the most highly stressed element (center of intonation) of the clause, typically positioned just before the verb. In some of these languages (Yir-Yoront, Yirrk-Mel, and the Wik languages), the center of intonation is so saliently stressed that a

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following verb undergoes phonological reduction of some kind. In Yir-Yoront, the historical reduction of verb-final stops to their corresponding glides (Alpher 1988: 190) is a product of conditioning of this kind. In Wik-Ngatharr the result is a sporadic (synchronic) loss of the initial consonant of a verb; an example is the verb went ‘fall, jump down’ in the story “Dutchmen at Cape Keerweer” (text F below), which is realized phonologically intact in F77, 78, and 80 but with its initial consonant dropped, as entanh ‘dived’, in F75. In other area languages of the area, (Olkola and Koko-Bera, for example), the center of intonation (also marking New) is also stressed relative to its context, but more gently so. Some of the strongly stressing languages (Yir-Yoront and its sister dialect Yirrk-Mel) normally use a particle to carry the stress and mark a following verb when it signifies New; in the others, the verb itself, if New, is the center of intonation. A typological variable among the languages discussed here is the presence or absence of pronominal subject- and object-marking clitics. In Olkola and UwOykangand, there are no pronominal subject and object clitics that are distinct from full pronouns. In Yirr-Yoront and Yirrk-Mel, on the other hand, clitics are distinct from full pronouns but optional and relatively free as to position in the clause, and in some of the Wik languages, as exemplified here by Wik-Ngatharr, they are distinct from full pronouns and to at least some extent obligatory in presence and fixed in position. In Wik-Ngatharr clitics (which are not fully obligatory, as E78 shows) are postposed to the word before the verb, which is frequently a tense-aspect auxiliary like œyam (imperfective) as in F77, 79, 80, and 84, but which can be an ideophone if no auxiliary is present: F75 (chupchupchupa-n ‘chup [of diving]-they’), F76 (wupa-n ‘[of entering]-they’). When an ideophone (with or without a following auxiliary) precedes a verb in Wik-Ngatharr, the verb is New: F75 entanh ‘fell/dived’, F76 ngee’anh ‘entered/ jumped in’. (It is not clear whether an auxiliary with no preceding ideophone, as in the third line of F77, signals that a following verb is New.) A noun (blanket in F84) or adverbial (thilamala ‘again’ in F80) in center-of-intonation position represents New. As in Yir-Yoront, an ideophone can be the sole signal of a predicate, as with erm (of arriving) in F83, and as in Yir-Yoront, ideophones occur post-verbally, as with kap ‘thud!’ in F80. Uniquely in this text in this language, among those I am aware of from this area, an ideophone is attested apparently acting as a nominal in the relation of direct object of the verb: tuw … ngeethana ‘heard the tuw! [gunshots]’. Olkola (text E) clauses have a much less pronounced difference in stress level between the center of intonation and what follows. The verb, if it is representing New and if there is no ideophone, bears the highest stress and is usually clause initial, as with udnal ‘lay’ in E3202; other examples (excluding directly quoted material) are E3207, 3302, 3304, 3403, 3405, 3410, 3505, 3506, 3508, and 3511. Marking of pronominal subject is optional, with a free pronoun after the verb: edn


‘they’ in E3202, il ‘he’ in E3502. Ideophones can follow the verb, as with buuubh (of falling) in 3506 and tharr (of grabbing) in 3609 (uttered without a preceding pause), but the most favored position is directly before the verb, and in these cases the verb represents New: wirr odnderr ‘wirr! pulled’ in E3306, buwbh: errmbenhambarr ‘pup! knocked down’ in E3403, pir udnydjarr ‘pir! bashed’ in E3610; other examples are E3307, 3308, 3309, 3407, 3408, 3502, and 3510. As is not apparent from this text but appears to be the case from material in Olkola’s sister dialect Uw-Oykangand published by Sommer (1986: 255–259), an ideophone preceding a verb can be separated from it by an adverbial: puy! awar igurr anhdhan ‘puy! we [anhdhan] went [igurr] east [awar]’ (Sommer 1986: 257, line 47). This text contains several more examples, and the Olkola text under consideration (E) as dictated back during tape transcription contains similar examples. I hypothesize that these are stressed at the same level as the following verbs and are in effect compounded with them — “incorporated”; for a discussion touching on this phenomenon in Yir-Yoront, see Alpher (1991: 53–54). Nominals (including adverbs) and particles representing New are stressed, preverbal, and usually clause initial in Olkola: arrg ‘daylight’ in E3203, uk arram ‘another tree’ in E3310, omel ‘tail’ in E3609, adni ‘up’ in E3209 and 3303, and ana ‘ready’ in E3204.

3.

Summary and conclusions

Ideophones in the three languages illustrated in texts here are forms whose semantic contribution is largely a matter of presentation of New information, or focus — that is, whose study is part of the study of discourse. That this is so is apparent from the absence of ideophones from intonation units (clauses) in which anything other than a verb is the carrier of New information and their restriction to clauses in which the carrier of new information is the verb. Exceptions of two kinds noted above are by hypothesis a matter of micro-intonational breaks between ideophone and following material (Yir-Yoront; see Section 1) or of incorporation of intervening material into the following verb (Olkola and Uw-Oykangand; see Section 2). As for Yir-Yoront, although it is in fact possible and occasionally done to utter a clause with the verb itself as center of intonation, the preferred methods of foregrounding verbs are the use of the stressed particle a or use of an ideophone. There is a further method in Yir-Yoront with relevance to the use of stress for focus: this is the use of verbs of the phrasal type, for example ko-ngarrl…yam ‘to snore, lit. to carry snores’ in A90, with the noun component (here ko-ngarrl ‘snores’) bearing primary stress, and of a compound type in which the initial element is stressed, for example to + tharr ‘to put aside’; here the stressed element, to, is homophonous with the ideophone to (off flopping down; in D57 to could be construed as part of -

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the verb). The use of phrasal verbs is strikingly parallel to the use of English phrasal verbs with the same focusing function: look (the number) up (Halliday 1986).

Appendix: excerpts from texts5 A.

Yir-Yoront: from “Minh-Kiltin” [flying fox], told by Ngerr-Thuy.

Minh-kiltin kallnh ’l e- kana. flying.foxes speared he done

19

He was spearing flying foxes — done.

Wurl+nh ’l e- kana. cooked he done

20

He cooked them — done.

Minh manhthnh puy yamlnh ’l. meat cooked ! carried he

21

He carried the cooked meat off, puy!

Pam+olo par-warrch warngnhonnvnh; man+he prohibited was.chasing warrchuwrr; par-warrch; woman prohibited warr-mariyrr angan. cousin his

22

He was running after his poison cousin; a woman prohibited as a spouse, his cousin on his father’s side.

“Lerren lon ngethn oq+arr nhilin. children with weexpl here+only stay

59

“I always stay right here with the children.

Ngorto+warr yarrarr parr+thiwarrn.” you+only keep.going south.across.rivers

60

[While] you always go south across the river by yourself.”

%Pilin pan nh wunvnh#/ they sleep dc lay yamar awr nh#/ many those dc

89

They were sleeping,

Pan-maq-kith ko-ngarrl nh yamlnh. deep.sleep snores dc carried

90

In a deep sleep, they were snoring.

Ko-ngarrl, /ngan yamlnh pinn. snores dc carried they

91

They were snoring.

Olo ngolowr; he aforementioned minh yuwl+awrrnh parr+korr, ^puymeat get+went back !

92

He, the lover,

Chawárr yuwl+awrrnh ’l. ! get+went he

93

…

…

those many (people).

went back out and got the meat, puy! ChaWARR! he fetched it.


Parr-^thiwrr %yawrr+ônnvnh ’l esouthwards go+caused he

94

He took it off to the south.

Warrchuwrr @ warr-marvnhrr angvlam. woman cousin:dat his:dat

95

To his poison cousin.

Pam-el angan. girlfriend his

96

His girlfriend.

Minh, kowo tharrl+awrrnh. meat nose:dat put+went Olo warrchuwirr+l a worrngvlhnh. she woman+erg emph sniffed

97 98

He brought it in front of her nose. She, the woman, sniffed it.

“Mm Mm Mm Mm-” ! (sniffing)

99

Sniff! Sniff! Sniff!

“Nhan oyo; nhan oyo; nhan oyo.” here I

100

“It’s me here. It’s me here! It’s me here!”

B. Yir-Yoront: from “Alligator and Crocodile” [saltwater and freshwater crocodile], told by Machvlaw (J) and her son Wangarr-Kuwal (P); line 3 is the beginning of the narration. Puy yaw ’l. ! went he

3

J: Puy! he went off.

E; ngul olowr eyes; then aforementioned

65

J: Yes; then —

Yongn olo nhanganh lik! @ for.his.part he him ! lak!, kawrr Minh-Kanharr. ! east crocodile

66

He [Alligator], for his part, [threw] him [down], lik! lak! him of the east, Crocodile.

P:

67

P: Lak! he threw him down.

J: … J:

Lak lilhth ungnh. ! threw.down him

C. Yir-Yoront: from “Taken by a Crocodile”, by KochYawrronl (autobiographical) Ngul ngenn parr+kowl wuthen weexdu downwards went

5

Then we went down —

Petherr @ saltpan ngar-tha mom+nn ngenn emud codgrab+prt weexdu

6

To the salt pan —

Puq awr mum ngenn kana. bait that grabbed weexdu finished

7

We finished getting the bait.

Parr+kowl wu ngenndownwards went weexdu

8

Down we went.

we [were busy] catching mudcod [for bait] —

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Petherr wirnvnh ngenn; saltpan skated weexdu parr+kowl wu ngenn edownwards went weexdu

9

We slid on the salt-pan [playing]; down we went —

Ngul — wartuyuw parr+kowl thut inn+w. then to.river downwards ! sit+went

10

Then — down to the river we went and sat, thut!

Puq pirllnh. bait keep+gp

11

We were fishing with bait.

Aa-

12

And —

ngar-kurr+vngiy kuntarr+onvnh ’l. barramundi+dat float+causedhe

he was running [the bait] up and down [like a wobbler] for barramundi.

Kuntarr+onvnh e- ngulfloat+caused then

13

He was running it up and down — then —

Ngar-kurr peqerr winy parr+kin. barramundi small threw upwards

14

He landed a small barramundi.

Kana. Finished

15

Done.

Ngul eThen

16

Then —

Line mum ungnh; tharrline grab:p it !

17

[Something] grabbed the line, tharr!

Ngoyo nga yirrl, I emph said “A+waw, emph+might minhl-kothrr moml+w awr nh, croc:erg grab+came that dc line awr anqn awr.” line that your there

18

I said,

Olo, “Mapuwl an, yoqo.” he nothing this stick:erg

19

He said, “This was nothing — a stick [caught it].”

Ngul pethvl yikil, ^kikthen rod:erg poked !

20

Then [he] poked [it] with his fishing rod, kik!

“I think a crocodile came up and grabbed that one, that line of yours there.”

D. Yir-Yoront: from “Murrayl” [swamp srabs], told by Ngerr-Thuy. “Kuwa Kuwn pal, yaw e#/ come.on granddaughter hither come murrayl an moml+awrrv. crabs here catch+come

41

“Come on, Granddaughter, come here, I want you to come catch these crabs.


Inhqa yuw+kowl morr. right.here far+down very

42

Right here way down deep.

Anhth orto nga moml+aw.” try you emph catch+come

43

How about you come catch [them].”

Pal yaw. hither came

44

She approached

Olo lerrn-koponvmrr pal yaw. she granddaughter hither came

45

How about you come catch [them]?

Pal yaw ’l ehither came she

46

She approached

Olowr parr+kowl. aforementioned downwards

47

Down there [in the swamp].

Nholo puth momlnh; paml-kemerrl. she arm grabbed grandmother:erg

48

She grabbed her arm, the grandmother did.

Olowr parr+kowl e. aforementioned downwards

49

Downwards to that [hole; the grandmother pulled her].

Ngul ungnh par-poq olowrarr lunhin then her head af ’mentioned put.in ungnh parr+kowl; her downwards murrall awr. crab[hole]:loc that

50

Then, at that place, she put her head down in —

Trrt trrt trrt … parr+kowl, monwiny; ! downwardspushed parr+kowl thilalh awr nh. downwards hole:loc that dc

51

Trrt! Downwards, she pushed her; down into that hole.

Yaqar; yaqar; thel kulangrr; shins then shredded.grass warrq kenerr thup yinguy. grass atop ! closed

52

[With] her legs [kicking], her legs; then, shredded grass — she closed grass over the top, thup!

Lerrn olo ngi+kowl warrmll. child she there+down died

53

The child died in there.

I+kowl warrmll. there+down died

54

In there, she died.

Warrmll i+kowl. died there+down

55

She died in there.

Kulangrr kenerr yinguy; ^thupgrass.sp atop closed !

56

She closed kulangrr grass over the top, thup!

into that crab [hole].

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To thurr ’l ungnh. ! left she her

57

She left her there.

Nholo monqyow puy wu parr+kin. she old.woman ! went upwards

58

The old woman went up [out of the swamp], puy!

Wu|ng ’l ewent she

59

She went —

Murral+arr @ yoyrronn+w. crabs+only pick.up+went

60

She went picking up only the crabs.

Thel @ morr karrl+w ’l. then something see+went he

89

Then — he [the father] saw something.

“Koq iiinhqa lunhin orr.” so! right.here put.in aha!

90

“So it’s right here she put her in!”

Yaqar awr kunpirr iw’l+kowl wirrrshins those pulled outwards ! wirr wirr wirr kith ’l. ! dead she

91

He pulled her by the legs out from underground, wirr! wirr wirr wirr [dragging]; she was dead.

Wirr wirr wirr wirr purrthurr. ! put.down

92

Wirr….[dragging]; he put her down.

Low+arr paylnh. keening.wails cried

93

He cried.

Pay ’l e- kana. cried he finished

94

He cried — enough.

Puy yim ’l parr+kin kith nh. ! carried he upwards dead dc

95

Puy! he carried her up, dead.

Thunnonn+w. bring.in+came [The child’s mother says to her husband:]

96

[He] brought [her] in[to camp].

“Monqyow awr olo larr-ngonngorr nginm; old.woman that she nighttime vanished lunhnl ’l; larr-ngonngorr; yaw ’l.” ran she nighttime went she

97

“That old woman [my mother] vanished in the night; she ran; at nighttime; she went.”

Puy wu|ng ’l#/ ! went she

98

Puy! she went.

Larr-ngonngorr; thaluwnhamn wung ’l. nighttime darkness went she

99

Nighttime; in the darkness she went.

…

[Narrator:]

E. Olkola: from “Cough”, told by L. Y., 1996. My transcription is broad phonetic. Note that (i) the intervocalic consonant of words like /igu-/ ‘to go’, /igi-/ ‘to throw’ varies from a


voiced stop to a voiceless lengthened stop and is distinct from a voiceless aspirated stop not attested in this text; I have transcribed it as heard; (ii) vocalic length (“:”) is sound-symbolic only; (iii) acute and grave accents mark non-phonemic syllable stress within the word; (iv) parenthesized items were given during transcription only.. “Ngkóth u:^dnámpa#/” here let’s.camp

3201 “Let’s camp here.”

Udnál edn. camped they

3202 They camped.

A:rrg é:ngkél#/ daylight came

3203 Daylight came.

“Aná angkímp ambul. ready let’s.go.hunting we

3204 “Let’s go hunting now.

Iyá#/ ang^ká awár ikumpa. all.right here east let’s.go

3205 All right — let’s go east here.

Inhák angkìn inh-albmbu a:rríngk.” for.meat go.hunting possum will.kill

3206 We’ll hunt for meat and we’ll kill possums.”

A:ngkirr edn. went.hunting they

3207 They went hunting.

“Ôoo inh-albmbú orrwonyinggirr possums too.many orrwonyinggirr a– ” too.many

3208 “Ooo — very many possums — ”

%Adní ewàlup looked

3209 He looked up.

“’A inha a:ngká:ngk|a adní inàn a% animal here up sits

3210 “Ah — an animal is staying right up here —

Inh-albmbú’.” possum

3301 A possum.”

Ikurr edná#/ went they

3302 They went.

Adní a:dìrr#/ up climbed

3303 And climbed up.

Ewál#/ looked

3304 And looked

“Angká:mv%” here

3305 “Here!”

Wirrr odnderr a’! pulled

3306 Wirr! he pulled it out —

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Pir, pir unydjudnydjarr. ! bashed

3307 Pir, pir! he bashed it again and again [against the tree, to kill it].

A tarrp igìrr. ! threw

3308 Tarrp! he threw it [obmon (down)].

Púy% ’ikúnm a#/ ! went

3309 Puy! he went off.

Uk árram ewal#/ tree another saw

3310 He saw another tree.

“Ug árram àngká.” tree another here

3311 “Another tree here.”

“Arrín ambámp í.” where let’s.do

3312 “What shall we do with it?”

“Ulímpàmp.” let’s.knock.down

3313 “Let’s knock it down.”

Iyá; ulimbarr. all.right knocked.down

3401 All right; they knocked it down.

“Uk angka#/” tree here

3402 “Tree here — ”

’Buwbh:: ’errmbénh-ambàrr. ! knocked.down

3403 Pup! they knocked it down.

Ubhilubhirr#/ chopped.open

3404 They chopped it open.

Ewal#/ looked

3405 And looked.

“’A– inh (-almbu) angká.” animal (possum) here

3406 “Ah — a possum here.”

Wirr inggirr. ! pulled.out

3407 Wirr! he pulled it out.

Pir, pir, udnydjàrr. ! bashed

3408 Pir, pir! he bashed it.

Alimp(ap) o:djarr#/

3409 Cut (tree) again to see if any more in there.

Ewál#/ looked

3410 He looked.

“Arrám angká#/” another here

3411 “Another one here — ”

Pir abha; pir, pir, udnydjarr. ! ! bashed

3412 Pir, pir! he bashed it.


“Aná– inh angká aná.” finished meat here enough

3413 “Finished — enough meat here.”

“Ogény; onhdherramp agngkam.” what’s.happening let’s.hunt

3501 “No — we’ll hunt for more.”

Puy vmp igurr il#/ ! went he

3502 Off he went, puy!

“Angk a:dníy. here up

3503 “Up here.

#Aâ; angkamp|v, odjámp ampùl.” here let’s.cut we

3504 Ah — let’s cut here.”

(Ukú)u:límbarr#/ (tree) cut

3505 They cut the tree.

Ebmbenh-ambarr ukú ángkáw [..]#/ knocked.down tree here buuubh !

3506 Knocked down the tree here —

Aná. finished

3507 Done.

Ûbhílubhírrchopped.open

3508 They chopped it open.

“Angká:ng’ká.” right.here

3509 “It’s here all right.”

uBhiiirr odnderr. ! pulled.out

3510 Wirr! he pulled it out.

A:djirr. cooked

3511 They cooked it on the fire.

Aná. finished

3512 Done.

“Alímb a:yín ów.”

3513 “Let’s get more!”

Opúrabharr#/ lifted.cover

3608 [He] lifted the wood covering [the possum].

Omél arrbhirr thàrr. tail grabbed !

3609 He grabbed its tail, tharr!

’Pir udnydjàrr. ! bashed

3610 Pir! he bashed it.

pup!

F. Wik-Ngatharr: from “Dutchmen at Cape Keerweer”, told by Jack Spear Karntin, Wathanhiina (Peret Outstation), December 1976 (Sutton 1986: 82–107).

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Thana iny-iny-eya, they yonder-top inya mina-m yon good-abl

74

Those others [who had massacred the Dutchmen], were safe there.

Chup chup chupa-n enta-nh, ! -they fell

75

They [survivors of the Dutchmen’s punitive attack] dived into the water, swimming to the east bank,

umpa kaaw, side east ngampunm panhànych-inhth home our to.there-yon

heading for our homeland.

Wupa-n ngee’a-nh; !-they entered tuw! !

76

They jumped inside the scrub;

They been run away iny-eya … yon-top “Wenta-kà-mpa!” fall-imp-we œyamà-n iiykanh than-than p.impf-they said they(distr)

77

Kap œyam wentanh! ! p.impf fell

78

And they would throw themselves down, thud!

Wurr œyamà-n [thenngàn-0] ! p.impf-they [got.up]

79

Then they’d get up again.

Thilam-ula wuna tuw inhth again-seq lay ! yon œyama-n ngeethanhap.impf-they heard “Wenta-kà-mpa!” -kap! fall-imp-we !

80

Then they’d lie down again when

Panhth-inhth-ey nhikan-màngka … there-yon-top along-back inhà-nycha-m k aaw yonder-all-abl east

81

This happened all the way along their flight eastwards.

Kempiy Warpàng inhà-nych-ul-inhth on.top (place) yonder-all-seq-yon warra-n aampa-ny now-they climbed

82

They were now going up inland towards Warpànga.

Mookath erm, pak (place) ! down

83

They arrived safely at Mookath and sat down.

bang! [went the guns]. They ran away… “Everybody hit the dirt!” they would say to each other.

they heard a bang — “Everybody hit the dirt!” — Thud!


[In line 84 the time-setting shifts abruptly some 300 years; and the reference of nhula ‘he’, a full pronoun signalling a shifted theme, is apparently to Hugh Giblett, a sandalwood trader and entrepreneur of the early 20th century who used Aboriginal labor and was for people of a number of groups of this area the first European to enter into sustained relations with them (Chase 1988: 128–129). In some Yir-Yoront tales he merges mythically with Captain Cook of the eighteenth century.] Nhula blanket œyama-n thee’anh he p.impf-they gave thananta, to.them “Ngatha ngatha ngatha pala pala!” mine hither

84

He used to give them blankets;

Warr warr warr œyama-n amngàn ! p.impf-they ripped

85

They used to tear them up — rip rip rip!

Kungkunga-m, kungkung fragments-emph fragments

86

Just little pieces, tiny fragments.

“Mine mine mine here! Here!”

Notes 1. New is roughly equivalent to “focus”, and Theme to “topic”, in other terminological frameworks. 2. Within the noun phrase, it is Noun-Adjective, Noun-Demonstrative, Noun-Pronoun, NounAdjective-Demonstrative-Pronoun. 3. Pronounced nga after a word ending in a vowel. This particle is also routinely used with imperative verbs (D43). 4. Note that lik in B66 is probably an out-of-awareness blend of lak with the verb lilhth ‘to knock down’. 5. The interlinear “gloss” for, and identifier of, all ideophones is an exclamation point. Other abbreviations used in interlinear glossing: dc, dependent clause; emph, emphasis (in YY, following verb is New); p.impf, past imperfective; dat, dative case; erg, ergative case (including instrumental function); loc, locative (ending always homphonous with ergative in languages of this area); exdu, exclusive dual; expl, exclusive plural; prt, participle (‘while -ing’); top, topic (WikNgatharr); seq, sequential; all, allative (Wik-Ngatharr); abl, ablative (Wik-Ngatharr). Other symbols: comma, short intonational fall and continue; period or semicolon, full intonational fall; @, speaker hesitates; | (vertical stroke), the following is present for phonological reasons only; #/, fall-rise final intonation; ^, high-tone onset (continuing); %, mid-level onset; /, rising onset; ‘ (straight apostrophe, preceding), highest stress in clause. Phonemic glottal stop is represented q in Yir-Yoront and straight apostrophe (postvocalic) in Wik-Ngatharr.

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References Alpher, B. 1988. “Formalizing Yir-Yoront Lenition”. Aboriginal Linguistics 1: 188–197. Alpher, B. 1991. Yir-Yoront Lexicon: Sketch and dictionary of an Australian language. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Alpher, B. 1994. “Yir-Yoront ideophones”. In L. Hinton, J. Nichols, and J. J. Ohala (eds), Sound Symbolism, 161–177. Cambridge: CUP. Awoyale, Y. “The form-meaning interface in Yoruba ideophones”. Paper presented at the International Symposium on Ideophones, Sankt Augustin, January 1999. ms. Chase, A. 1988. “Lazarus at Australia’s gateway: The Christian mission enterprise in eastern Cape York peninsula”. In T. Swain and D. Bird Rose (eds), Aboriginal Australians and Christian Missions: Ethnographic and historical studies, 121–139. [Special Studies in Religions 6]. Adelaide: Australian Association for the Study of Religions. Halliday, M. A. K. 1986. Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Edward Arnold. Sommer, B. 1986. “The Bowman incident”. In L. Hercus and P. Sutton (eds), 241–263. This is What Happened. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. Sutton, Peter. 1986. “Dutchmen at Cape Keerweer”. In L. Hercus and P. Sutton (eds), This is What Happened. 82–107.Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies.

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Ideophones and the nature of the adjective word class in Ewe* Felix K. Ameka Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and Leiden University

1.

Introduction

In his overview of African ideophones, Childs (1994: 197) notes that one of the issues that remains “[Still] to be scrutinized is the exact nature of the relationship between ideophones and the rest of the language, as well as the place of ideophones in a language.” The present paper seeks to contribute to this topic of research by examining the consequences the place given to ideophones in a language description has for typological generalizations about that language. I argue that one cam arrive at different generalizations about the nature of the adjective word class in a language depending on the place of ideophones in the language. I illustrate the point with data from Ewe, a Kwa language of West Africa. I explore the implications of ignoring ideophones for our understanding of the structuring of conceptual domains such as color in the language. Furthermore, I argue that contrary to being peripheral elements, ideophones form an integral part of the languages in which they occur and they should therefore not be ignored, but should be considered in their typological characterizations. Research on ideophones is beset with problems of finding a cross-linguistically valid definition for the term ‘ideophone’ and its progress has been hampered by emphasizing the peripheral and the irregular nature of ideophones. A way forward, it seems to me, is to attempt to discover correlations between the properties that have been documented for ideophones in specific languages and the linguistic type of these languages. In other words, it appears that some of the properties of ideophones that have been noted in the literature apply only to certain language types and others to languages of other types. To give a rather trivial example, a morphological property that has been noted for ideophones in description after description is that “ideophones display very little morphology” (Childs 1994: 185).

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Sometimes ideophones are said to be uninflected words (cf. Schultze-Berndt this volume). However, such statements are only applicable to languages that are of a certain morphological type, namely the inflecting ones. Such a feature is irrelevant for an isolating language (with agglutinative features) such as Ewe. I suspect that many of the features that have been noted for ideophones co-vary in similar ways with the typological properties of the languages in which they occur. I assume that ideophones are a phonosemantic class of words with expressive and imaginistic semantics (cf. Kita 1997). They are first and foremost a type of words — a lexical class of words — which need not belong to the same grammatical word class in a particular language nor across languages (cf., e.g., Newman 1968). In this sense they are like deictic words with a particular semantic function but which can fall into different grammatical word classes — nominal, adverb, verb, or adjective etc. — in a particular language. The question of the nature of the relation between ideophones and the rest of the language arises because they have been marginalized and treated as extrasystematic mysterious words (cf. Newman this volume; Matisoff 1994). Ideophones have been defined and assumed to be peripheral to language because they tend to have peculiar structural linguistic properties. It is the contention in this paper, however, that we cannot understand the nature of the relation of ideophones to the rest of the language if we do not take seriously the observation made by a number of people that languages differ in the extent to which ideophones are integrated into the grammar (Moshi 1993; Childs 1994; Dumestre 1998; McGregor this volume; among others). As Childs (1994: 188) put it: “Ideophones can be variably assimilated into a language and this fact determines their diffusion into other word classes or their isolation in their own word class”. It seems that different salient properties of ideophones that have been identified in the literature correlate with whether all ideophones in a language belong to one syntactic class or they are distributed over a number of syntactic classes in the language. A cursory survey of descriptions shows that languages where ideophones are said to be grouped in a word class or are a subclass of one word class only are those in which individual ideophones tend to collocate exclusively with specific words. They tend to be syntactically independent in a clause and carry special sentence stress or intonation patterns and are used only in affirmative declarative utterances. This seems to be the case in some Bantu languages such as KiVunjo-Chaga (Moshi 1993) and also in Fulfulde (Breedveld 1995). At the other end of the continuum are languages in which ideophones are found in many more classes and they tend not to have any special intonation, individual ideophones have wider distribution both in terms of co-occurrence with other words and in terms of the utterance types in which they occur. Kwa languages like Dangme (Dakubu 1998) and Ewe seem to occupy this end of the scale. In Ewe, as we shall see below, ideophones are found in several word classes, and are used in declaratives, questions, imperatives and also in

Ideophones and the adjective class in Ewe

negative sentences. Languages can be plotted in between these two points. Bambara provides a nice illustration of this gradation. Dumestre (1998) indicates that Bambara ideophones generally belong to a class of expressive adverbs. As members of this adverb class they occur only in affirmative sentences; they tend to occur sentence finally, and are produced on a high pitch. However, when they function as noun or verb they lose the special high pitch and can occur in negative sentences as well (Dumestre 1998: 331). Another parameter for distinguishing among languages in which ideophones are found is whether in a particular language ideophones are introduced in an utterance by a demonstrational quotative verb or form. In the first place distinctions can be made with respect to the number of such forms that are used in a particular language. Secondly, a correlation can be made with respect to whether the ideophones belong to one class or several classes in the particular language. For instance, in Zulu where ideophones reportedly constitute a class of their own the form thi ‘do’ is used to introduce ideophones (Childs 1994; Poulos and Msimang, this volume).1 However, Quechua in which ideophones also presumably fall into one class does not have any such introducing demonstrational lexical item (Nuckolls 1996). Similar differences occur in languages where ideophones fall into more than one class. In Kana, a Kegboid language of Nigeria, which has ideophonic adjectives, ideophonic nouns and ideophonic adverbs, the ideophonic adverbs have to be introduced by a form dòò ‘do, like’. The same form is used to verbalize some of the nominal ideophones (Ikoro 1996: 296–301). In Ewe, by contrast, the adverbial ideophones are used in a clause like any other adverb without any such demonstrational quotative form, and ideophonic words can be complements to the verb wf ‘do, make’ just like non-ideophonic nouns and adverbs can. I should add that the collocation of ideophones with the verb wf ‘do, make’ is linked to the use of the verb to predicate qualities of other entities (Westermann 1930: 93; Ameka 1994: 71). In this usage, any nominal or adverbial word that has a quality component in its meaning can function as the complement to give a predicative quality interpretation. Consider the following example.2 (1) É-wf tsi / túkúí-2é / legbee 3sg-do water small-adv long noun adverb ideophonic adverb ‘It is watery/small/long.’

Similar correlations can be attempted for the distribution of ideophones across discourse genres or types. It is usually claimed that ideophones are only used in narrative genres or rather that they tend to be restricted to narrative genres. For example, Schaefer (this volume) notes that ideophonic manner adverbs are not used in conversation in Emai (Benue-Congo, Nigeria). However, Tassa (this volume) observes that ideophones occur frequently in Tetela (Bantu, Democratic Republic

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of Congo) conversation. The same can be said for Ewe where ideophones occur in different kinds of interactional discourse including telephone conversations. Here is an excerpt from a recent telephone conversation involving the author (FA) and another speaker (FT). The excerpt is taken from the “how are you enquiry” segment of the interaction. It is significant, I think, that ideophones can be introduced into routine exchanges of this kind. (2) FA: Alékê ‘How (is it)?’ FT: Me-le dzí buta buta buta 1sg-be:pres upper-surface ideo ideo ideo ‘I am on it and it changes by leaps and bounds.’

Does this distribution have anything to do with the degree of integration of ideophones in the grammar of a language? The rest of the paper is concerned with how the way ideophones are viewed can affect typological generalizations with respect to the adjective word class. In Section 2, I pose the problem that ideophones present to the characterization of the adjective word class in African languages. Section 3 is a description of the salient properties of ideophones in Ewe. This is followed in Section 4 by a scrutiny of the nature of the adjective class in Ewe in relation to ideophones and from a crosslinguistic typological perspective. Section 5 considers some of the consequences for excluding ideophones from consideration for the description of the conceptual domain of color. The paper ends in Section 6 with some concluding remarks.

2.

A paradox

References abound in the literature concerning the fact that many African languages have a closed class of underived adjectives (e.g. Welmers 1973). Many of the studies upon which such claims are based tend not to consider ideophones. For instance, Madugu (1979) argues that adjectives have merged with verbs in Yoruba and that the adjective class is a small closed one. He concedes that “Although it is conceivable that ideophonic expressions, particularly those employed to describe physical objects (e.g. roboto ‘round’) are an important source of adjectives in the language, ideophones are not considered in this study” (Madugu 1979: 85–86). Welmers and Welmers (1969) also claim that there are only eight adjectives in Igbo with no due regard to ideophones. Bot Ba Njock’s (1977: 207) rhetorical question: “y-a-t-il des adjectifs qualificatifs dans votre langue?” also assumes that adjectives are rare in African languages. One may well wonder if these claims would be maintained if ideophones or rather ideophonic adjectives were taken into account. This becomes especially


pertinent in the context of the other widespread view that many African languages have ideophones which are a set of “descriptive or qualificative words” (Newman 1968: 107). This means that at least some ideophones code qualities. And if adjectives code qualities or property concepts then it would seem to me that ideophones have to be considered in the description of the adjective class in these languages. Furthermore, since it is generally agreed that ideophones are an open and productive lexical class in the languages in which they occur (cf. e.g. Childs 1994) then one suspects that languages that have ideophonic adjectives cannot be said to have a closed class of adjectives. In fact those who take an evolutionary view of the way ideophones get integrated in the grammar argue that ideophones are a source of adjectives in some languages. For instance, Moshi (1993) thinks that when ideophones start out from a class of their own “in time some ideophones … become grammaticalized like adjectives and adverbs and acquire a refined or attenuated lexical meaning” (Moshi 1993: 190). Similarly, Westermann (1930: 189) asserted long ago with respect to Ewe that “It is unquestionable that many words (substantives, verbs, adjectives) have their derivation in these picture words [i.e. ideophones]”. Implicit in these statements is the assumption that once ideophones have become grammaticalized they lose ideophonic status. But this need not be the case. Rather, the ideophonic words augment the class into which they are integrated. In addition this does not necessarily involve derivation on a synchronic level. Hence such forms cannot be thought of as derived elements. Besides, given the tendency for ideophonic words not to participate in overt morphological processes and the tendency for ideophones to have multiple categorization in some languages, it is hard to talk of the form in one category as being derived from the other. This is more so the case in a language like Ewe where word classes are defined on the basis of syntactic distributional properties of word forms. Moreover, this is not inconsistent with a perspective on the adjective class as an emerging class, at least in some West African languages (Ameka 1986, 1991; Schaefer and Egbokhare 1993; and cf. Lindsey and Scancarrelli 1985 on Cherokee). Schaefer and Egbokhare (1993: 174) suggest that “the Emai property concept system is undergoing a change” in which at an earlier stage “verbs were the dominant, and perhaps only, means for coding property concepts. The presence of adjectives and nouns in the present system is thus an innovation.” It should be evident then that one cannot ignore ideophones in the discussion of adjective classes in the languages in which they occur. Yet this is what the practice has been in many studies. I will show in Section 4 that different conclusions are arrived at about the nature of the adjective class in Ewe depending on whether ideophones are included in the discussion or excluded from it. Before turning to this, I present an overview of Ewe ideophones in the next section.

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3.

Properties of Ewe ideophones

Westermann (1930: 187) draws attention to the fact that a large part of the Ewe lexicon is made up of ideophones which he called “picture words” He writes: The language is extremely rich in means of translating an impression into sound. This wealth arises from an almost irrepressible desire to mimic and to describe by one or more sounds everything heard or seen, or any impression however received. These expressions we call picture words.

These ideophonic words can be identified on the basis of phonological, morphosyntactic and semantic properties (see e.g. Westermann 1927, 1930, 1937; Ansre 1966; Geraldo 1980; Awuku 1992; Duthie 1996). Phonologically, some ideophonic words contain non-canonical CVV or CVN syllable structure. For example, kpóó ‘quietly’; glfmff ‘crooked, uneven’; ké] ‘completely’; kpam ‘sound of a collision between surfaces’. Similarly, some of them have syllabic ‘r’ as in words like prrrr ‘sound of a whistle’ and gbrrr ‘sound of thunder’. Furthermore, the phonotactic constraint in the language where [r] does not occur after grave sounds is violated in some ideophones as prrrr ‘sound of a whistle’ and gbrrr ‘sound of thunder’ illustrate. The deviations from the canonical phonological patterns noted here are not exclusive to ideophones. Some loanwords and non-ideophonic interjections exhibit such properties too (cf. Ameka 1992). Other phonological properties typical of ideophones include the use of phonation types, such as breathy voice or growl, in the production of some ideophones which are not otherwise used in the main sound system. Similarly, word final vowel lengthening is used for expressive purposes in ideophones but rarely, if ever, in non-ideophonic words. For instance, the words fu˜u˜ ‘a lot’ and lotoo ‘big and round’ can have their final vowels lengthened for intensity as in fu˜u˜u˜u˜u˜… ‘pleee…nty’ and lotoooo… ‘very big and round’. The tonal register of ideophonic words can also be varied to symbolize different kinds of meaning. Thus a bad smell can be simply described with the word ku˜u˜ ‘bad smell’ with regular low tone. The same word can however be produced on an extra low register to indicate that the smell is a very bad one. Furthermore, High and non High tones may be varied on the same sequence of segments to symbolize different values of various properties. High tone or register is symbolic of nice, pleasant, sweet, good and small. Low tone or register is used to indicate bad, unpleasant, sour and big dimension. Compare the following pairs of words: (3) l½Fl½Fl½Fl½Fl½F … ‘nice good sweet smell’ pótópótó ‘sound of a small drum’

lı˜lı˜lı˜lı˜ … ‘very bad smell’ potopoto ‘sound of a big drum’


The syllables of some disyllabic ideophones can be permuted. The semantic nuances between the two variants in most cases are so subtle that they are hard to capture. Consider the following pairs: (4) tsaklii dzahlii kflii nyadrii kpfdzff nogoo

klitsaa hlidzaa likff drinyaa dzfkpff gonoo

‘rough surface’ ‘tough and plumpy’ ‘black and thick smoke’ ‘tough’ ‘thick and round’ ‘round’

In other cases, however, such permutations can lead to wider semantic differences. For example, (5) lfbff bflff

‘long’ ‘soft’

It is not immediately obvious how this process should be accounted for. Ann Senghas (p.c.) suggests that it might be the result of reduplication followed by truncation. On this view a form like tsaklii is reduplicated to form tsaklitsaklii and then there is the deletion of the first and the last syllables yielding klitsa. Then final vowel lengthening has to take place after the truncation to make the form fit the template. This is a very plausible scenario given the fact that the reduplicated form is a well formed ideophonic word. It is also consistent with Steriade’s (1988) formal account of reduplication. For Steriade, reduplication begins with total reduplication of the base followed by pruning of the reduplicated material to meet the wellformedness conditions on the template. The formal as well as the semantic properties of these ideophonic constructions require further investigation. For instance, ideophonic forms comparable to those in the first column in (4) do not undergo this process (see 6). (6) tsralaa glfmff

*latsraa *mfglff

‘tall and thin’ ‘crooked’

It is thus not clear what the formal restrictions on the input to the process are. Suffice it to say that, non-ideophonic words do not undergo such permutation of their internal structure. Few ideophonic words in the language have an inherently repetitive structure with no corresponding monosyllabic form. Thus there is no form *nya which could be the base of the triplicated form used in the following example (7). Note, however, that the repetitive structure is in most cases iconic with the semantics of the form. (7) dflá-wó ƒú du kplé dzodzo nyanyaanya servant-pl move course with red-jump trembling-ideo ‘… the servants run with much trepidation trembling.’ (Obianim 1990: 36)

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Typically, ideophones undergo syntactic iteration (i.e. word repetition) rather than morphophonological reduplication or triplication (see Ameka 1999) (8) gbf dzi blewuu blewuu breathe heart ideo ideo ‘Be patient in a calm and soft way.’

There is no grammatical word class of ideophones as such in Ewe. Ideophonic words can fall into any syntactic class of the language. Thus there are nominal, adjectival, intensifier, verbal, adverbial as well as interjection ideophonic words. Many ideophonic words have multiple categorization and their conversion from one class to the other, so to speak, is by zero derivation (see below on verb-adjective-adverb forms). Thus an ideophone like atuu ‘embrace’ can function either as an interjection or an adverb (Ameka 1992). Similarly, some words such as f½uu½ ‘plenty’ and ké] ‘completely’ function either as Intensifiers (in the NP) or as adverbs (Ansre 1988; Duthie 1996). Some ideophones function only as adverbs, for example, ƒíó; or ƒíóƒíóƒíóƒíó ‘completely’, hóyíhóyíhóyí ‘bitter sharp taste’. Ideophonic nominals such as ]ee]é ‘baby’, laxaláxa ‘saw’ and kétéke ‘train’ also occur. Such ideophonic nominals function just like any other nominal in the language. In example (9a) below the ideophonic nominal occurs preposed to the verb in an imperfective aspect construction. This is one of the tests of argumenthood of verb complements (see Essegbey 1999 for justification of this test). However, in example (9b) the form gbudugbudu functions as an adverb and occurs after the temporal noun which cannot function as an argument. (9) a.

b.

Wó-le gbùdùgbùdù wf-m ´ 3pl-be-pres ideo do-prog ‘They are causing tumult.’ Wó-nf avu wf-m ´ etsf gbùdùgbùdù 3.pl-be.n.pres fight do-prog yesterday ideo ‘They were fighting yesterday in a tumultuous way.’

As noted earlier, ideophonic words in Ewe are used in all sentence types in the language as illustrated in (10). (10) a.

b.

c.

Mi-zf minyaminya … (imperative) 2pl-walk ideo ‘Walk stealthily …’ (a line from a dirge) Mi-ga-wf gbùdùgbùdù o (prohibitive) 2pl-rep-do ideo neg ‘Do not engage in tumultuous behavior.’ … mé-wf-a ba fanyafanya o. (negative) 3.sg.neg-do mud ideo neg ‘… it does not become very clumsily muddy’ (Nyaku 1958: 11)


d.

È-nya-e wò-fu títítítítí-a? 2.sg-wash-3.sg 3.sg-become white ideo-q ‘Have you washed it immaculate white?’

(question)

Ideophones can be used quotatively as if they were representing a sentence in context as in (11a). The ideophone could also be embedded in a quotative clause and introduced by the complementizer bé ‘that’ as in (11b). Furthermore, in contexts where the ideophones are used demonstrationally, they can be embedded as complements to the nominal demonstrational word álé ‘like this’. In this case the ideophones do not behave differently from other gestures or demonstrations which depict the form of what is being talked about. (11) a.

b.

c.

É-ƒú así nu bóbóbó 3sg-strike hand mouth ideo ‘S/He raised an alarm and went “bóbóbó”.’ É-ƒú así nu bé bóbóbó 3sg-strike hand mouth comp ideo ‘S/He raised an alarm and went “bóbóbó”.’ Tsi lá fá (á)lé míámíámíámíámíá water def be-cold like-this ideo ‘The water is very pleasantly cold and soothing.’

As noted earlier, ideophones are used in Ewe in different kinds of discourse — conversational including telephone conversations, radio and television broadcasts and narrative etc. The functions of ideophones in the different types of discourse deserve more systematic study. Initial ideas on the functions of ideophones in Ewe narrative discourse are presented in Konrad (1994). She comments on the use of ideophones in the performance of folk tales as follows: … ideophones are … literary devices used to heighten dramatic tension, to accentuate certain actions and to draw attention to certain images and deemphasize others…. Ideophones are in effect an enormously affective and efficient tool performers have at their disposal to develop the privileged relationship shared between narrator and audience in a culturally defined context. (Konrad 1994: 108)

Konrad found that in one of the tales in her corpus eleven different ideophones were used. A cursory glance through the texts recorded in the book shows that ideophones occur in each of them. Thus Ewe ideophones are indeed used in narratives but they are not restricted to such genres alone.

4. What is the nature of the adjective class in Ewe? Although Ewe grammarians agree that there is an adjective class in the language,

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there are differing views on the constitution of the class. Before examining these views, let us consider what it means to say that a language has ‘a class of adjectives’? According to Lyons (1977: 440–1) When we say that there are adjectives […] in such and such a language, we mean that there is a grammatically definable class of expressions whose most characteristic syntactic function is that of being the modifier of the noun in an endocentric construction and whose most characteristic semantic function is to ascribe properties to entities. It does not follow […] that all (or indeed any) of the adjectives […] will be lexemes; it is in principle possible that some (or indeed) all of these should be formed by productive grammatical processes belonging to other parts-of-speech.

Dixon (1982: 56), on the other hand, asserts that an adjective class “is a set of lexical items distinguished on morphological and syntactic grounds from the universal classes of Noun and Verb [….] Semantically, an adjective describes some important but non-criterial property of an object” [emphasis added F. A.] In fact, in Dixon’s analysis he makes a distinction between ‘deep’ or ‘basic’ adjectives, i.e. lexical items defined by the above criteria, and ‘surface’ adjectives, i.e. words that function as adjectives but are derived from other word classes. In making decisions about the nature of the adjective class of a language, Dixon only considers the size of the ‘deep’ or underived adjectives. Different findings will be made in respect of the adjective class in a language depending on whether one follows Dixon’s or Lyons’ definition. Essentially, by following Dixon the only items that one will consider as adjectives are roots whereas by following Lyons one will consider both roots and derived items. Different positions have been taken on the nature of the adjective class in Ewe, which reflect these views. Westermann (1930: 183) suggests that all the members of the adjective class in Ewe, if there is one, are derived from other classes. In his words There are no words which are adjectives pure and simple. All expressions which serve as adjectives are either (1) also substantives or formed from substantives or (2) actually verbs or formed from verbs or (3) combinations of verbs and substantives or (4) also adverbs or (5) picture words [i.e. ideophones F. A.]

Evidently, Westermann thinks that there are no adjectival roots in the language and that all forms that could behave syntactically and semantically as adjectives on occasion were either derived or belonged to another word class. If one were to interpret Westermann’s claim in terms of Dixon’s definition one would have to conclude that Ewe does not have a class of adjectives. On the other hand, if one were to apply Lyons’ views then one would have to conclude that Ewe has an adjective class, even if according to Westermann they are all derived. Significantly


for our present purposes, Westermann acknowledges that ideophones belong to the adjective class. He assumes however, that there is a class of ideophones which form a subclass of adverbs in the language.3 In my view, there are ideophonic adjectives as well as ideophonic adverbs and the one need not be derived from the other. Ansre (1966: 213) presents another view and rightly points out, albeit in a footnote that: “The assertion by Westermann that ‘there are no words which are adjectives pure and simple’ is inaccurate and must be attributed mainly to lack of sophistication in tonal analysis and too great a tendency to etymologize.” Ansre sets up two structural classes of adjectives: the simple — monomorphemic, presumably, the underived adjectives — and the non-simple, the polymorphemic, or the derived forms. He does not make any statements about the size of these sub-classes. Nor does he say anything about the possibility for some of the simple adjectives to have multiple categorization. Interestingly, two of the three simple adjectives that Ansre (ibid.) cites are ideophonic words which can also function without any additional material as verbs or adverbs. (see example [15] below). This means that Ansre considers ideophonic adjectives as underived forms contra Westermann. Primarily, the adjective class in Ewe has to be defined in terms of distributional properties. An adjective in Ewe can be described as an item that immediately follows the noun head and precedes other modifiers if there are any in an endocentric NP. It serves to describe a property of the noun. The order of elements in a simple noun phrase is: identifier noun adj quantifier det1–det2/dem plural intensifier

Example (12) below is a simple NP in which all the slots have been filled. Notice that there are three adjectives in this example. In (13) further examples of NPs are given with different types of modifiers together with adjectives. id n adj adj adj (12) neném ny¢fnu k¢fk¢f tralaa dzetugbe such woman tall slender beautiful qt dem pl int int eve má- wó kó¢] ko two that pl just only ‘only those same two tall slender and beautiful women’ (13) a.

b.

awu >í/>é lá garment white def ‘the white garment’ tf ga½, gogloˇ má river big deep dem ‘that big deep river’

The above examples contain different features of adjectives in Ewe. Adjectives can occur in sequence in one NP. In (12) the three adjectives belong to different

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subclasses: k¢fk¢f ‘tall’ is derived from the verb k¢f ‘be(come) tall’. On the other hand, dzetugbe ‘beautiful’ is derived by the compounding of a verb dze ‘make contact’ and the property denoting noun tugbe ‘beauty’. Unlike these two, tralaa ‘slender, tallthin’ is a simple underived ideophonic adjective. The forms g¢a ‘big’ and >í/>é ‘white’ which occur in (13) are also simple adjectives but they are non-ideophonic. While the form goglo ‘deep’ in (13b) looks like a derived form because of its reduplicated nature, there is no synchronic verbal base *glo for it. Such forms are diachronic derivations which have become lexicalized (see Ameka 1991). The elements that fill the adjective slot may thus be simple or underived, derived transparently or diachronically derived forms. The adjectival forms are used only attributively. The predicative function of the attributive adjectives is performed by verbs, nouns or adverbs. The sentences in (14) below illustrate the morphosyntactic expression of the property concept ‘big’ both attributively and predicatively. (14) a.

b.

c.

Máwú g½a God big ‘Supreme God’ Máwú nyé gã¦ God cop big ‘God is (the) big/great (one)’ É-le g½a-2é 3sg-be-at.pres big-adv ‘S/He /it is big’

(adjective, attributive)

(predicate nominal)

(adverb, predicative)

The verb lolo ‘be large, big’ that is synonymous with g½a ‘big’ can be used as its verbal counterpart in predicative function as in (13d). (14) d.

Máwú lolo God be-large ‘God is great’

In the rest of the paper we will be concerned with the class of underived adjectives mainly because this is the class whose existence crosslinguistically and in African languages has been in doubt. As noted earlier, two subclasses of underived monomorphemic adjectives can be distinguished in Ewe. The classification is based on the ability of an item to convert to other classes by overt morphological means or by zero derivation (cf. Duthie 1996: 57). This corresponds, by and large, to whether they are ideophones or not. In examples (14a–c) we saw that the simple adjective g½a ‘big’ converted to other categories namely, noun and adverb, by overt morphological means. Compare the forms of tralaa ‘slender, tall-thin’ in (15) to the forms of the property concept words in (14) as well as (16). (15) a.

[]útsu lá´]NP [tralaa]VP. [man def [thin-tall ‘The man is tall and thin ?lanky.’


b.

c.

(16) a.

b.

c.

[]útsu tralaa lá]NP vá]VP. [man thin-tall def come ‘The tall and thin (?lanky) man came.’ []útsu lá]NP [k¢f]VP [tralaa]AP. [man def [be-tall [thin-tall ‘The man is tall in a tallish-thinly (lanky) manner.’ [2eví lá]NP [nyó]VP [child def [be-good ‘The child is good.’ [2eví nyúí lá´]NP [xf]VP [fetú]NP. [child good def [get [pay ‘The good child got a prize.’ [2eví lá]NP [háyá]VP [nyui-é / nyoe-2é]AP [child def [recover [good-adv good-adv ‘The child recovered well.’

The word tralaa in example (15) is one of Ansre’s simple adjectives. It can be seen from the example that in addition to functioning as an adjective in (15b) it can also function as a verb as in (15a) and as an adverb as in (15c) without any change in form. Some support for this can be found from a comparison of the forms with those in (14) and (16). In (16b) nyuí ‘good’ is an adjective and it is derived from the verb nyó ‘be good’ which occurs in (16a). The adverbial form nyuíe (or nyoe2é) ‘well’ in (16c) is derived from the adjective form by the suffixation of -e or -2é ‘adverbializing suffix’ depending on one’s dialect. In this case the difference in grammatical function is overtly marked. Thus the form g½a ‘big’ in (14a) and tralaa in (15b) are both simple adjectives but they each belong to the two different subclasses. The former to the class of those underived adjectives that convert to other categories by overt morphological means and the latter to the class of those underived adjectives that convert to other categories by zero conversion. The two subclasses correspond largely to a difference between the non-ideophonic (overt conversion) and ideophonic (zero conversion) adjectives. A useful framework for talking about the nature and typological patterning of adjectives is provided by Dixon (1982, 1994) (see also Madugu (1979), Thompson (1988), Schaefer and Egbokhare (1993)). The discussion of the features of simple adjectives in Ewe will be cast in this framework after its relevant tenets are described. 4.1 Dixon’s semantic types for adjectives Dixon distinguishes three levels of description; a universal semantic level, a basic or ‘deep’ level and a surface level. At the universal semantic level concepts represented by dictionary items in a language are grouped into ‘semantic types’

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such as age, color, kin, motion, etc. The members of a semantic type have a common semantic element, and they also tend to behave in similar ways morphosyntactically. For example, English red belongs to the type color and walk to the type motion. At the basic level, the semantic type to which a lexical item belongs is associated normally with a single part-of-speech in the language. For example, in English, motion is linked to the class Verb, kin to the class Noun, and color to the class Adjective. Thus red is a ‘deep’ adjective and walk is a ‘deep’ verb. The surface level is the one at which items can undergo conversion to other categories. Thus the deep adjective red could become a surface verb redden while the ‘deep’ verb walk could yield the surface noun walker. The semantic types which constitute the word class adjective are listed below with English examples (cf. Dixon 1994): 1.dimension — big, large, little, small, long, short, narrow, wide, 2.physical property — hard, soft, sweet, sour, rough, smooth, hot 3.color — black, white, red, green, yellow, blue … 4.human propensity — jealous, happy, kind, rude, proud, cruel … 5.age — new, young, old …. 6.value — good, bad, precious, delicious, atrocious …. 7.speed — fast, quick, slow …. 8.position — high, low, near, far …. 9.origin — English, American, Australian, Ghanaian, Polish 10.purpose — dining table, drawing board, hunting dog … 11.composition — wooden chair, plastic bag, golden box … The first seven of these were the basis of the cross-linguistic comparison of the adjective word class. Two typological dimensions were set up on the basis of the survey. The first has to do with whether a language has an open or a closed adjective class. Those languages in which all the seven semantic types were associated with one part-of-speech are said to have an open class. In this case either they fall into a class different from the class of motion, and of objects etc., that is, they form an adjective class. Dyirbal is an example of such a language. Or the seven types belong to the same class with the motion and affect types, that is a verb class, as is the case, for instance, in Yurok, Chinese, and Samoan. In addition to these two possibilities that Dixon outlined, one might add a third where the seven types could belong to the same class as the members of the kin and objects types, that is a noun class. This seems to be the case in Quechua (Schachter 1985: 17) and Walpiri. The languages with a closed adjective class are those in which some of the seven types are associated with one word class, the adjective class, and some with other parts-of-speech to which other semantic types belong, for example, noun, or verb. Typically, in these languages, the dimension, value, age and color types are associated with the adjective word class. physical property has the tendency to


belong to the verb class and human propensity tends to go with the noun class and speed is grouped with adverbs. Dixon’s examples of such languages include Hausa, Igbo and Hua. The second dimension has to do with whether the language is verb dominated or adjective dominated. strongly adjectival languages such as Dyirbal are those in which the seven types are exclusively associated with a single part-of-speech, the adjective class. In such a language, the polar opposites all belong to the same class. In strongly verbal languages the marked pole of many adjectival oppositions are realized by a verb (cf. raw vs. cooked, whole vs. broken or by a noun. Hausa and Alamblak are examples of such languages. neutral languages have both poles of most oppositions expressed by adjectives but for a few which involve a state resulting from an action the marked pole may be realized by a verb. English is the clearest representative of this with respect to pairs such as raw and cooked. Dixon’s findings are based on the deep or basic level which is not without problems (see Ameka 1991: 100–102 for a discussion). However, it is a useful heuristic for talking about property concepts and their class membership in general and for examining ideophonic words that code properties from that point of view. 4.2 Semantic classes of Ewe simple adjectives 4.2.1 Non-ideophonic simple adjectives There are five non-ideophonic adjectival monomorphemic items which have to be overtly marked for conversion to other categories, for example, adverbs. g½a v½f >í/>é

‘big’, ‘bad’, ‘white’

ví

‘small’

dzı˜/dz«e

‘red’

(dimension) (value) (color)

If one does not consider ideophonic adjectives then one can conclude that Ewe has a closed class of five adjectives.4 Note that they fall within the semantic types that Dixon predicts. In fact the behavior of the non-ideophonic forms that express property concepts conform to Dixon’s cross-linguistic findings. This is demonstrated in Ameka (1991, Chapter 5) where it is argued that the age and physical property semantic type notions are expressed by basic verbs which convert to adjectives on the surface. human propensity concepts are expressed by nouns and speed by adverbs. All this is consistent with Dixon’s findings. However, such a picture is incomplete and misleading because, ideophonic simple adjectives are associated with each of the seven semantic types as I demonstrate in the next section. The conclusion that would have to be drawn there is that Ewe has an open adjective class even at the deep level.

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4.2.2 Ideophonic monomorphemic adjectives I assume that ideophones that express property concepts associated with the semantic types are basic and simple adjectives which convert to other parts-ofspeech without any overt modification. In Table 1, I give a sample of ideophonic adjectives and their semantic type association with an indication as to whether they can function in the same form as verbs and/or adverbs as well. As is evident from the Table, there are ideophonic adjectives associated with each of the seven core semantic types. From this point of view, Ewe has an adjective class. Since many more items could be added especially to the ideophonic sub-class, it can be argued that the class is an open one. If this proposal is accepted then it could be said that Ewe has a large open class of underived or deep adjectives. However, if ideophones are ignored in the classification and treatment of adjectives, then the characterization would obviously be different. The implication for Ewe in that case is that it has a very small class of basic adjectives consisting of five items as noted above. This shows that the kind of data considered in the analysis affects the characterization of the adjective class in a language. Apart from these underived adjectives, however, Ewe also has a number of productive processes for forming words to express property concepts (see Ameka 1991, 1999). Taking the two classes of underived and derived adjectives together, it is clear that Ewe indeed has a large open adjective class whether à la Dixon or à la Lyons. Ideophones play a central role in this class. One of the clear ways in which ideophones are central in the adjective class in Ewe is evidenced by the fact that ideophonic adjectives enter into systematic oppositions with non-ideophonic adjectives. Consider these pairs (17) a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

f½e gbadzaa gbadzaa gbóbgoˇ blíbo múmuˇ kpekpeˇ

‘young’ ‘flat, wide’ ‘flat, wide’ ‘unripe’ ‘whole’ ‘raw’ ‘heavy’

tsitsıˇ lúbuí xáx´7 2i2ıˇ gbagbaˇ 2a2a wódzóé

‘old’ ‘narrow’ ‘narrow’ ‘ripe’ ‘broken’ ‘cooked’ ‘light’

Observe that except for the last pair (17g) all the others have an ideophonic form as the unmarked term in the pair. The term for ‘flat/wide’ has both an ideophonic and a non-ideophonic polar opposite (see (17b, c)). The marked term for five out of the seven pairs are deverbal adjectival forms. In Dixon’s terms these will be deeper basic verbs. Significantly two of the marked terms in the pairs are ideophonic adjectives (see 17b, g). This is not trivial because the patterning of antonymic oppositions with respect to basic category membership of the terms is one of the parameters in Dixon’s typology. This is the feature that contributes to the characterization of a language as strongly adjectival or strongly verbal or neutral. For this characterization,


Table 1.Multiple categorization potential of ideophonic adjectives adjective

verb

adverb

age f½e yéye kányá

‘young’ ‘new’ ‘early’

– – –

– –

color yibff (mú)mu(i) kpii

‘black’ ‘green’ ‘grayish’

– – ?

? –

– – –

dimension kpfdzff lfbff legbee lúbúi gbadzaa lekpelekpe

‘fat, thick’ ‘long’ ‘long’ ‘narrow’ ‘flat/wide’ ‘fat’

– – – – – –

– – –

– – – – –

value ba2a vávã ]áná]áná

‘bad’ ‘real’ ‘sweet’

– – –

–

– – –

physical property blíbo gb¢flo nyadrii tsaklii nogoo wódzóé múmuˇ

‘whole’ ‘empty’ ‘tough, hard’ ‘rough’, ‘round ‘light, not heavy’ ‘raw/fresh’

– – – – – – –

– – – – –

human propensity 2f 2ú2fe

‘dull/slow/lazy’ ‘stupid/foolish

– –

– –

speed kpata

‘sudden’

–

Legend:

– –

– – – – – – –

(2f2f2f ‘slowly’)

–

– = can function as … ; ? = marginally possible to function as … blank = cannot function as

Dixon looks at the way the underived terms pattern in the antonymic oppositions involving actions (raw vs. cooked) and non-action (e.g. sharp vs. blunt) oppositions. An examination of the oppositions manifested by the underived adjectives in Ewe (ideophones included) reveals the following:

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action opposition unmarked — marked Adj — V

non-action opposition unmarked — marked V — V/Adj

In terms of this parameter, Ewe is somewhere between strongly verbal to neutral languages. It manifests the kind of mixed syndrome described for Emai by Schaefer and Egbokhare (1993). The point to note here is that if ideophones were excluded from the analysis the picture will be different. Ewe in that case will come out as a strongly verbal language because the non-action oppositions will turn out to be expressed by verbs or deverbal adjectives which in Dixon’s framework will be considered basic verbs. Apart from the arguments presented so far there are other formal reasons for considering ideophonic adjectives as core members of the adjective class in Ewe. One of these is the fact that the conversion to other classes by zero conversion is not restricted to ideophones alone. Some deverbal forms can also function as adjectives or adverbs without any overt change in form as in (18). (18) Verb kf bfbf s½e

‘become clean’ ‘become soft’ ‘become strong’

Adjective kf-kf-e ‘holy’ bfbf-e ‘soft’ sés½ı e ‘strong’

Adverb kf-kf-e bfbf-e sés½ı e

‘holy’ ‘easy’ ‘strong’ (dialectal)

Similarly, there are some verbs which function as adjectives without any overt change in form just like the ideophonic words. In some dialects the adjectival forms carry a high tone suffix indicated in brackets in the examples below. (19) Verb víví ‘be(come) sweet’ lolo ‘be(come) large, big’

Adjective víví(í) ‘sweet’ lolo(ó) ‘large, big’

From a diachronic perspective, it is possible that these verbs used to have a monosyllabic counterpart which has been lost. The current reduplicated verbal form could have been an intensive form and at that stage there could have been an adjectival form derived by reduplication from the CV verb (Ameka 1999). Synchronically, however, there is no CV form and there is homonymy between the adjectival and verbal forms. Furthermore, like some derived adjectives (20a), some ideophonic adjectives (20b, c) also take the diminutive suffix, to signal expressive intensity: (20) a. b. c.

Verb fá ‘become cold’

Adjective fáfá ‘cold’ yibff ‘black’ tsralaa ‘tall’

Adjective+Dim fáf7¢ ‘pleasantly cool/cold’ yib´fé ‘nicely black’ tsralˇ7 ‘pleasantly tall’


Thus some of the formal properties of ideophonic adjectives are not necessarily unique to them but are features of members of the adjective class in Ewe. Hence any generalization about the class must take ideophones into consideration.

5.

Ideophonic adjectives and the domain of color

One of the semantic types of property concepts à la Dixon is color. It was shown in Section 4.2.1 that Ewe has two non-ideophonic underived color adjective terms namely, >í/>é ‘white’ and dzı˜/dz«e ‘red’. The term for ‘black’ is an ideophone — yibff. These terms are basic in the sense of Berlin and Kay (1969) because they are general — they apply to different classes of objects — as well as salient, i.e., they are readily elicitable, shared and used consistently by speakers. They do not refer to composite colors. Descriptors for other color concepts come from different sources such as circumlocutive descriptions, e.g. avu-mí-k´fla literally, dog-shit-color, ‘brown’, or derived by metonymic associations, e.g. múmui ‘green’ related to múmu ‘raw’; or from borrowing such as blû from English blue. It is thus fair to say that Ewe has a three basic color term. As such it is a Stage II language where the terms pattern as predicted by Berlin and Kay (1969) and Kay et al. (1997). (21) >í/>é

‘white’

(non-ideophonic)

yibff

‘black’

(ideophonic)

dzı˜/dz«e ‘red’(non-ideophonic)

However, such a characterization is only possible if the ideophonic term is considered part of the basic color system. If the ideophone was excluded, then Ewe would be a two term language with an anomalous structure since both terms would be warm colors — white and red. Universally, in a two term language — a Stage I language there are two terms, one for white and one for black, or one for white plus warm colors, i.e., red and yellow and the other for black plus cool colors, i.e., green and blue. Apart from this, native speakers’ responses to the terms in a Word Association test (125 Ewe stimulus expressions) supports the view that the three terms are perceived to belong to the same domain and to be related. Some speakers gave the superordinate term amadédé ‘color’ for the three terms showing they are thought of as hyponyms to the same hyponym. Interestingly, >í/>é ‘white’ as stimulus triggered yibff ‘black’ while dzı˜/dz«e ‘red’ also produced yibff ‘black’ and vice versa. Speakers who responded in this way explained that the relation between the terms was one of an opposition or contrast either globally or with respect to specific domains such as the dye of cloth. It is significant that the two non-ideophonic warm color terms triggered the ideophonic cool color term as their complement. This shows that

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speakers view both types of words as belonging to the same system. The exclusion of the ideophonic terms would create an asymmetry in the system. Similarly, if the ideophone yibff ‘black’ is excluded from the basic color terms of the language, there would be an incongruity between the color adjectives and the color verbs. In Ewe there are three color verbs which correspond to a three basic color system namely, fu ‘become macro white’, (n)y«f ‘become macro black’ and biã ‘become macro red’. The use of the word ‘macro’ in the glosses is meant to show that these verbs have general meanings and denote the macro field of the colors. Their meanings are made more specified by an adverbial term. (22) a.

b.

c.

(23) a.

b.

c.

(24) a.

b.

É-fu >í-e / >é-2é 3.sg-become_white white-adv white-adv ‘It is (focal) white.’ É-fu kpiii 3.sg-become_white gray ideo ‘It is gray / gray(ish) white.’ É-fu títítítí 3.sg-become_white white ideo ‘It is immaculate white (like snow/cotton).’ É-biã dzı˜e / /dz˜e-2é 3.sg-become_red red-adv red-adv ‘It is (focal) red.’ É-biã h˜e˜e˜e 3.sg-become_red reddish ideo ‘It is rather red.’ É-biã gbánágbáná 3.sg-become_red red ideo ‘It is shining red.’ É-y˜f yibff 3sg-become_black black ‘It is (focal) black.’ É-y˜f kpékpékpé 3.sg-become_black deep black ideo ‘It is pitch black’

The discussion of the structuring of the color domain in Ewe thus shows that the incongruity that might be observed in the non-ideophonic basic part of the domain disappears once the ideophonic color term is brought into the picture as a complementary term in the system. This further shows that ideophones ought to be thought of as an integral part of the languages in which they occur, otherwise our account of and understanding of the nature of conceptual domains will be impoverished.

DEST "ame-n*">


6. Conclusion In this paper, I have attempted to show that even though ideophones may deviate from the canonical phonological and morphological and morpho-syntactic properties of a language, they are part and parcel of the languages in which they occur. I have suggested that ideophones research would be free from the bottlenecks that hinder it at the moment if an attempt is made to discover correlations between clusters of properties of ideophones and language type. This can pave the way, in my view, for a better understanding of the phenomenon of ideophony in natural language. In short, what I am asserting is this: ideophones are an integral part of the languages in which they occur. It is time for linguists and linguistic anthropologists not only to describe them as a curiosity of these languages but to go further and include them in the data they consider in making typological generalizations about specific parts of the languages or of the languages as a whole. In this paper I have attempted to demonstrate the biased effect the neglect of ideophones may have on characterizing the nature and content of the adjective class in a language like Ewe.

Notes * Parts of the material discussed here were presented at the International Symposium on Ideophones January 25–27, 1999 at St Augustin, Germany, and to the Language and Cognition Group of the Max Planck Institute of Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen. I am grateful to the participants at both meetings for their comments and encouragement. I am also grateful to Bill McGregor, David Wilkins, Melanie Wilkinson and Eva Schultze-Berndt for discussions I had with them on aspects of the topic. 1. Tom Güldemann (Ms.) reports that the form ti in Shona (a cognate of the Zulu thi) is not only used among other things to introduce ideophones and ideophonic constructions in predicative use but also “ideophones can be attributed to a noun when the ti-clause is in the relative form.” (p. 13). 2. The following abbreviations are used in the interlinear glosses: npres =non-present, adj =adjective pl =plural marker, adv =adverbializing suffix, pres =present, cop =copula, prog =progressive, comp =complementizer, red =reduplicative, def =definiteness marker, rep =repetitive, dem =demonstrative, sg =singular, det =determiner, q =question marker, dim =diminutive, qt =quantifier, id =prenominal identifier, 1 =first person, indef =indefinite, 2 =second person, int =intensifier, 3 =third person. n =nominal, neg =negative,

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High tones are marked throughout with an acute accent in addition to the low tones that are customarily marked in the traditional orthography with a grave accent. The hatchek marks a rising tone. Ewe orthographic ƒ and v are the voiceless and voiced bilabial fricatives respectively which should be distinguished form ‘f ’ and ‘v’. Unfortunately, the distinction between ƒ and f is lost when the forms are represented in italic. 3. Cf. his statement that “From their function they must be classed as adverbs for they all describe the action of a verb; but most of them may be used as substantives or adjectives” (Westermann 1930: 187) 4. A common property of these underived adjectives is that they convert to a nominal by the prefixation of a low tone. The interesting thing is that the transparently derived adjective nyúí ‘good’ illustrated above is the only derived adjective that behaves in similar fashion. This may be the language’s response to the hole in the pattern of the simple adjectives. This is also an indication that the adjective class as such may be an emerging rather than a disappearing class. That is to say new members are added to the core in the course of history.

References Ameka, F. K. 1986. “Have all the adjectives gone or are they emerging: Evidence from Ewe”. Australian Linguistic Society 1986 Conference, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide. Ameka, F. K. 1991. Ewe: Its Grammatical Constructions and Illocutionary Devices. PhD. Thesis, Canberra: Australian National University. Ameka, F. K. 1992. “The meaning of phatic and connative interjections”. Journal of Pragmatics 18(2/3): 245–271. Ameka, F. K. 1994. “Ewe”. In C. Goddard and A. Wierzbicka (eds), Semantic and Lexical Universals: Theory and empirical findings, 57–86. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Ameka, F. K. 1999. “The typology and semantics of complex nominal duplication in Ewe”. Anthropological Linguistics 41(1): 75–106. Ansre, G. 1966. The Grammatical Units of Ewe. PhD. Thesis, London: University of London. Amsre, G. 1988. “Towards the semantics of intensifiers in Ewe”. 18th West African Languages Congress, Université de Niamey, 1988. Awuku, A. S. 1992. The Nature of Picture Words in Anlo Ewe. MA. Thesis, Boulder: University of Colorado. Berlin, B. and P. Kay. 1969. Basic Color Terms: Their universality and evolution. Berkeley: University of California Press. Bot Ba Njock, H. M. 1977. “L’adjectif qualificatif dans trois langues bantu du Nord-Ouest: duala, basaa, bulu”. In P.F.A. Kotey and H. Der-Houssikian (eds), Language and Linguistic Problems in Africa, 207–225. Columbia: Hornbean. Breedveld, A. 1995. Form and Meaning in Fulfulde. Leiden: CNWS Research School of Asian, African and Amerindian Studies. Childs, G. Tucker. 1994. “African ideophones”. In L. Hinton et al. (eds), Sound Symbolism, 178–209. Cambridge: CUP. Dakubu, M. E. Kropp. 1998. “Ideophones in Dangme and their place in linguistic semantics”. Papers in Ghanaian Linguistics 11: 1–18. Dixon, R. M. W. 1982. Where have all the adjectives gone? And other essays on syntax and semantics. Berlin: Mouton.


Dixon, R. M. W. 1994. “Adjectives”. In R. E. Asher and J. Simpson (eds), Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Oxford/Aberdeen: Pergamon Press/Aberdeen University Press. Dumestre, G. 1998. “Les idéophones: le cas du bambara”. Faits de Langues (les langues d’Afrique subsaharienne) 11–12: 321–334. Duthie, A. S. 1996. Introducing Ewe Linguistic Patterns. Accra: Ghana Universities Press. Essegbey, J. 1999. Inherent Complement Verbs Revisited: Towards an understanding of argument structure in Ewe. PhD. Thesis, Leiden: Leiden University. Geraldo, E. 1980. Ewe ideophones. BA long essay, Legon: University of Ghana. Güldemann, T. “The Bantu quotative marker ti in Shona: More than a problematic lexicon entry”. Leipzig: University of Leipzig. Ms. Ikoro, S. M. 1996. The Kana Language. Leiden: CNWS Research School of Asian, African and Amerindian Studies. Kay, P. et al. 1997. “Color naming across languages”. In C. L. Hardin and L. Maffi. (eds), Color Categories in Thought and Language, 22–36. Cambridge: CUP. Kita, S. 1997. “Two-dimensional semiotic analysis of Japanese mimetics”. Linguistics 55(2): 379–415. Konrad, Z. 1994. Ewe Comic Heroes: Trickster tales in Togo. New York: Garland. Lindsey, G. and J. Scancarelli. 1985. “Where have all the adjectives come from: The case of Cherokee”. BLS 11: 207–215. Lyons, J. 1977. Semantics. Cambridge: CUP. (2 vols). Madugu, I. G. 1979. “Yoruba adjectives have merged with verbs: Or are they just emerging?” Journal of West African Languages 11: 85–101. Matisoff, J. A. 1994. “Tone, intonation, and sound symbolism in Lahu: Loading the syllable canon”. In L. Hinton et al. (eds), Sound symbolism, 115–129. Cambridge: CUP. . McGregor, W. This volume. “Ideophones as the source of verbs in Northern Australian languages”. Moshi, L. 1993. “Ideophones in KiVunjo-Chaga”. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 3(2):185–216. Newman, P. 1968. “Ideophones from a syntactic point of view”. Journal of West African Languages 5(2): 107–117. Newman, P. This volume. “Are ideophones really as weird and extra-systematic as linguists make them to be?”. Nuckolls, J. B. 1996. Sounds like Life: Sound symbolic grammar, performance and cognition in Pastaza Quechua. Oxford: OUP. Nyaku, F. K. 1958. Kofi Nyamekf ]utinya. Ho: E. P. Church Book Depot. Obianim, S. J. 1990. Agbezuge. Accra: Sedco. Poulos, G. and C. T. Msimang. This volume. “The ideophone in Zulu — a reexamination of descriptive and conceptual notions”. Schachter, P. 1985. “Parts of speech systems”. In T. Shopen. (ed.), Language Typology and Syntactic Description Vol. 1, 3–61. Cambridge: CUP. Schaefer, R. P. This volume. “Ideophonic adverbs and manner gaps in Emai”. Schaefer, R. P. and O. F. Egbokhare. 1993. “On the typological character of property concepts in Emai”. In S. S. Mufwene and L. Moshi (eds), Topics in African linguistics, 159–176. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Schultze-Berndt, E. This volume. “Ideophone-like characteristics of ‘co-verbs’ in Jaminjung (Australian)”. Steriade, D. 1988. “Reduplication and syllable transfer in Sanskrit and elsewhere.” Phonology 5: 73–155. Tassa, O. This volume. “La formation des radicaux verbaux déidéophoniques en tetela (dialecte ewango)”.

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Thompson, S. 1988. “A discourse approach to the cross-linguistic category ‘adjective’”. In J. A. Hawkins (ed.), Explaining LanguageUniversals , 167–185. New York: Basil Blackwell. Welmers, W. E. 1973. African Language Structures. Berkeley: University of California Press. Welmers, W. E. and B. Welmers. 1969. “Noun modifiers in Igbo”. International Journal of American Linguistics 35: 315–322. Westermann, D. 1927. “Laut, Ton und Sinn in westafikanischen Sudansprachen”. In Festschrift Meinhof, 315–328. Hamburg: J. J. Augustin. Westermann, D. 1930. A Study of the Ewe Language. Oxford: OUP. Westermann, D. 1937. “Laut und Sinn in einigen westafrikanischen Sprachen”. Archiv für vergleichende Phonetik 1: 154–172; 193–212.

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Ideophones and compound verbs in Wolaitta* Azeb Amha Leiden University & Addis Ababa University

1.

Introduction

In this chapter I discuss the structure of ideophones in Wolaitta, an Omotic language spoken in the southern part of Ethiopia. Though many Omotic languages of Ethiopia have a large inventory of ideophones, until now no attempt has been made to study this aspect of the languages. In fact, as Dhoorre and Tosco (1998) point out for Cushitic languages, in Omotic studies too, the existence of ideophones was hardly noticed. The present contribution focuses on the similarities and differences between ideophones and other lexical phenomena in Wolaitta. The aim is to show that, though phonologically aberrant, ideophones in Wolaitta do not constitute a separate word class; they are part of the basic lexicon. Concerning the use of ideophones in Wolaitta we observe that existing written materials (school text books and Bible translations) have few ideophones. It seems that people in the towns use ideophones less frequently than those in the countryside. However, speakers from all walks of life seem to have comparable knowledge of ideophones, since differences in understanding and interpreting ideophones are minimal. In spite of this shared knowledge, some people are very reluctant in using ideophones (and also proverbs). Some use ideophones quite extensively. Sometimes, the latter people are liked as good speakers and humorous companions; sometimes they are resented as people ‘who are too critical or negative about others’. Based on their phonological shape and syntactic function, Wolaitta ideophones are divided into two: Group I and Group II ideophones. In Section 2 below, Group I ideophones are described. Section 3 deals with Group II ideophones. In Section 4, the syntactic category of both types of ideophones in contrast to other major lexical categories is discussed.

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2.

Group I ideophones

Group I ideophones typically involve reduplication. Two major types of reduplication are involved: full and partial reduplication. Interestingly, there is a limited pattern of reduplication (i.e., consonant and vowel combinations), nine to be specific, and all ideophones fall into one or the other of these patterns. Both in full and partial reduplication cases, there are base forms which do not have a lexical meaning. This raises the question whether reduplication is a phonological characteristic of ideophones or a morphological means for deriving these words from already existing lexicon. Though it is possible that some (but not all) group I ideophones such as k’imbiriíra ‘well mannered’ are derived from group II ideophones such as k’imbír g- ‘looked good’, or vice versa, no ideophones derived from other categories are found. Another question which stems from the lack of meaning in base forms is: how do we determine the base and the reduplicated part? In other words, in ideophones such as miik’-i-miík’-a, is it the first underlined part (miík’) or the second part which is to be taken as the base? Knowing that Wolaitta is a purely suffixal language, it is plausible to consider the first miík’ as the base. Extending this analysis to arguably prefixing type of reduplication, such as gaagaáno ‘very big’, we claim that the base form gaáno, undergoes internal reduplication, by repeating the first syllable, gaa to the right. Except in the word k’ak’k’abbá ‘emotionally weak, undetermined’, all group I ideophones have high tone-accent on the penultimate vowel. 2.1 Full reduplication Full reduplication involves base forms which have the segmental structure of CVCC or CVVC, as in miik’-i-miík’-a ‘disagreeable’, wapp-i-wápp-a ‘very generous’ in which two exactly identical forms are found within the same word. The base and the reduplicated part are connected with the vowel -i-; and a terminal vowel -a is added at the end of the reduplicated word. In Wolaitta all non-verbal categories end with one of the terminal vowels -e, -o, or -a. Group I ideophones take only the terminal vowel -a. More examples of ideophones with CVVC base: C1VVC2+C1VVC2 Æ

C1VVC2+i+C1VVC2+a

(1) yook’iyoók’a ‘sympathetic, emotionally weak ‘ tiit’itiít’a ‘one with a hasty manner of walk, especially of teenagers or of a slim person (mainly associated with women)’ toot’itoót’a ‘one with a hasty manner of walk, especially of a fat person’ miik’imiík’a ‘disagreeable, short tempered (mainly of women and young girls)’ looc’iloóc’a ‘hasty to speak or to judge, curious’ liifiliífa ‘thin, soft, flat’ lookiloóka ‘long, thin’

Ideophones and compound verbs in Wolaitta

In base forms with a CVCC structure, the second and the third consonants of the base can be identical (geminated) or they can be different (consonant clusters), as the forms in (2) and (3) below show respectively: Æ

C1VC2C2+C1VC2C2 (2) jabbijábba k’ap’p’ik’áp’p’a

Æ

C1VC2C3+C1VC2C3 (3) panjipánja

C1VC2C2+i+ C1VC2C2+a

‘restless, not careful in action, also of talking about unnecessary subjects’ ‘fast and ambitious but non-effective’ C1VC2C3+i+ C1VC2C3+a

‘not tasty (very weak tea, coffee, beer)’ also pronounced as fanjifánja ‘touchy, one who is easily irritated and turns violent’ ‘agile’ ‘very thin’

firk’ifírk’a puskipúska wuyt’iwúyt’a

What the forms in (1)–(3 above) share in common is that they have the same ‘connecting vowel’ -i- and an identical terminal vowel -a. There are some ideophones which lack the connecting vowel and thus result in an otherwise nonexisting consonant cluster type in the language. (4) k’ip’k’íp’a

‘one who is too hasty in doing things, not thorough, also pronounced as: k’ap’p’ik’áp’p’a’ ‘greedy, one who can not part easily with money or any other possession’

k’ap’k’áp’a

2.2 Partial reduplication Partial reduplication of ideophones involves reduplication of final VC or of initial CV of the base form. 2.2.1 Reduplication affecting final VC of the base This type of reduplication involves monosyllabic and di-syllabic base forms. Examples of the latter include bases such as, k’imbir- and kicir- from which ideophones such as k’imbir-iír-a ‘quiet and reserved’ and kicir-iíra ‘stubborn’ are derived by reduplicating the right most vowel and consonant (VC) of the base and lengthening the vowel of the reduplicated (VC). Further examples: C1ViC2 (C3)ViC4 (5) k’imbiriíra binjiliíla

Æ

C1ViC2 (C3)ViC4+Vi Vi+ C4+a

‘quiet and reserved, well mannered; well tied and fixed in place of a load’ ‘too smart, unrespectful person (mainly young people); also in reference to very sour lemon’

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k’up’uluúla

‘one who looks up for other people’s reaction, of children, of a person with no selfconfidence’ kosoroóra ‘one who is careless and breaks things often’ (also: kororoósa) kiciriíra ‘stubborn; dry (of objects)’ wikiriíra ‘shabby, inelegant (short and badly dressed) kuncuruúra ‘inelegant (short and with bad complexion (dry skin)’

In monosyllabic base forms which undergo partial reduplication, we observe two patterns: they lengthen the vowel of the reduplicated VC(C) or they geminate the consonant. When the base ends in a consonant cluster, the second member of the cluster is reduplicated. Example (6) below illustrates VC reduplication of monosyllabic base forms and lengthening of the reduplicated vowel. C1ViC2C3 (6) wurk’uúk’a murk’uúk’a

Æ

C1ViC2C3+ViVi+C3+a

‘very dirty (of bigger children)’ ‘for babies with dirty (messy) face, running nose’

The following are examples of monosyllabic base forms which reduplicate the last VC of the base, and which geminate the consonant of the reduplicated VC. Notice that the final vowel -a is a terminal vowel. C1ViC2 Æ C1ViC2+Vi+ C2C2+a (7) gawáwwa lowówwa kuwúwwa k’azázza lakákka sakákka

‘weak, slow and unhealthy’ ‘quiet and tactful ‘ ‘vengeful, mysterious’ ‘handsome/beautiful, (specially of people with big straight nose)’ ‘agreeable, decent’ (of manner and speech)’ ‘very beautiful’

The same phenomenon of VC reduplication plus consonant gemination, but one which involves consonant clusters, is shown in example (8) below. In such forms, it is the second consonant of the cluster that is reduplicated. C1ViC2 C3 Æ (8) mirk’ík’k’a t’orsóssa karbábba sampáppa bort’ót’t’a pirc’íc’c’a milt’ít’t’a

C1ViC2 C3+Vi+ C3C3+ a

‘one who looks down upon others’ ‘very slow person’ ‘wide, of ear’ ‘very wide, of leaves, bed, seat (flat objects)’ ‘big and multiple, of eyes, some grain types e.g. maize’ ‘small and several, e.g. of rush, chicken-pox’ ‘impudent, bold’


2.2.2 Partial reduplication affecting initial CV(V) of the base As mentioned above, this type of ideophone is interpreted here as involving internal reduplication. C1ViViC2 (V2) (9) gaagaáno loolloósa t’et’t’éla wununuúk’a k’ak’k’abbá

Æ

C1+ViVi+C1Vi Vi C2+(V2 )

‘very big’ ‘beautiful’ ‘smart, witty’ ‘very, very small ‘emotionally weak, undetermined’

2.2.3 Other types The following ideophones do not fit into the recurring reduplication patterns described above. (10) k’onk’ólla ‘very tall and clumsy’ bunduruúk’a ‘dirty, messy (of babies)’ pucilánco ‘restless (referring to babies)’

3.

Group II ideophones

Group II ideophones obligatorily occur with the verb /g-/ ‘say’ when they are intransitive and with ‘oott- ‘do’ when they are transitive. These two verbs in this context are ‘dummy’ or ‘introductory’ verbs (cf. Childs 1994: 187). In section (4) we will show that in Wolaitta the use of dummy verbs is not restricted to group II ideophones. There are other compound verbs in which the second of the verb + verb compounds is bleached of its lexical meaning and functions as a bearer of inflectional markers or as an adverbial modifier (cf. 4.2.1 below). Semantically, group II ideophones are characterized by simultaneously expressing a state/event as well as manner. All group II ideophones end in one of the vowels i or u. These final vowels are not part of the reduplication. Rather they are vowels connecting the ideophone with the ‘dummy’ verb. There are two kinds of group II ideophones: (a) The first involves reduplication of the final syllable and denotes motion verbs, as illustrated below. C1ViC2 Æ (11) kúrúru gc’úrúru gtólólu gsáláli gp’áp’álk’i g-

C1ViC2+Vi+C2+u/i ‘to move, of small children, and as insult for a short adult person’ ‘to spill, of liquid coming out in a slow consistent manner’ ‘to boil over, liquid suddenly pouring out in up-ward direction’ ‘to move in a slow, easy manner’ ‘description of lightning’

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(b) Ideophones with the same syntactic restriction of necessarily occurring with ‘dummy verbs’, but without reduplication. This type of group II ideophones typically involves consonant clusters and express punctual or non-iterative actions as examples in (12) below demonstrate. (12) láwhu gfúttu gwóttu gwóppu g-

píwhu gjóllu gzoppu gwóppu gpóggu g-

típpi gpáwki gjábbi g(jábáli g) k’ílt’i gc’íppi gmílt’i gdíppi gzírt’i gkírk’i g-

‘to leave quickly or to pass by quickly’ ‘to come, to appear unexpectedly’ ‘to stand up abruptly’ ‘to stop, to rest after an intense activity which is not approved by the speaker (e.g., children noisily playing; stop movement of an angry or mentally ill person’ ‘to desert, to run away and disappear completely’ ‘to become motionless and absentminded also: tóllu g-’to stand still’ ‘to fall of something heavy and dry’ ‘to spill at once, in large quantity’ ‘to shine, to brighten suddenly, e.g. electric light unexpectedly turned on; also to tease somebody dressed with bright color clothes’ ‘to become suddenly and completely dark ‘ (sudden extinguishing of fire, light) ‘to be happy suddenly or momentarily’ ‘to temporarily lose control of mind, to become disoriented ‘to become very full, of liquid’ ‘to become very full, of solid things, e.g. grain container’ ‘to be bold headed, to lack disguise, to be completely empty’ ‘to be completely finished’ ‘to be alert’ ‘to refuse completely’

As the above examples show, group II ideophones are typically disyllabic and they involve consonant gemination and consonant clusters. High tone-accent occurs on the first vowel. These ideophones have vowel assonance of the type u-u, o-u or i-i, which involves the front-back dichotomy. Group II ideophones also include words with ž which again is absent in the (synchronic) inventory of consonant phonemes of Wolaitta. Examples: (13) dúžgu gdóžžu g-

‘to experience instant shock; sudden pain of, e.g., electric shock’ ‘to hear a persistent buzzing sound, continuous sound or pain’

Like group I ideophones, group II ideophones involve sound symbolism. High vowels are associated with smallness/lightness and mid vowels with bigness/ heaviness.


(14) k’úlc’u gdólc’u gtúlku gtólku gpóŠŠu gpíŠŠi gc’úruru gwóppu gzóppu gt’úl‘u gt’óttu g-

‘to fall, of something small in water’ ‘to fall, of something big in water’ ‘to break easily, suddenly of some thing small’ ‘to break easily, suddenly of some thing big’ ‘to tear suddenly, of thick cloth’ (e.g. garment: kúta) ‘to tear suddenly, of thin cloth (e.g. light shawl: nat’alá) ‘to spill little, of liquid coming out in a slow consistent manner’ ‘to spill at once, in large quantity’ ‘to fall of something big and dry’ ‘to fall, of something small’ ‘to fall, of something wet and big’

Notice that in many languages, including English, the association of small-big and vowel qualities involves the features front and back (cf. Maduka 1988: 93) whereas in Wolaitta the relevant parameter in such phono-semantic associations is vowel height. Also in languages which use the same parameter, the semantic association may not be identical. For instance, in contrast to Wolaitta, in Korean, “lower vowel height has a symbolic value of smallness and/or intensity.” (Maduka 1988: 94) Transitive forms of group I ideophones combine with the verb ‘oott- ‘do’, as shown below. (15) k’órc’u ‘oottpúsku ‘oottwóppu ‘ootttúlku ‘oottpóggu ‘oottháwhu ‘oottkáwhu ‘oottcáwhu ‘oottwóttu ‘oott-

‘to swallow something quickly’ ‘to scatter completely (of small things, e.g. coins, grain) ‘to spill at once, for a large quantity of liquid’ ‘to break easily, of something small’ ‘to make light, unexpectedly’ ‘to leave wide open, e.g. of door, mouth’ ‘to hit a hard object with a stick (e.g. stick on the head)’ ‘to slap very hard’ ‘to lift something or somebody quickly’

4. Categorial status The question whether ideophones are a sub-category within one of the major lexical categories such as nouns and verbs or form their own independent word class has been a major subject of discussion in (African) linguistics. Concerning this, Kulemeka (1994: 77) states that: “The study of ideophones in Africa can generally be characterized as being preoccupied with determining the grammatical category to which ideophones belong.” The problem of the categorial status arises because of the different syntactic functions of ideophones in different languages. In some languages ideophones function as nouns; in others ideophones function as verbs and/or adverbs. In this section we will outline the similarity and difference between the major

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lexical categories and the two types of Wolaitta ideophones shown above. But first, for comparison, a short random list of illustrative words of the other lexical categories of Wolaitta is given below: Nouns waáwwa ‘roasted grain’ ‘ec’eré ‘rat’ keettá ‘house’ t’ap’ó ‘root’

Adjectives c’íma ‘old’ buúk’a ‘rotten’ keéha ‘kind’ t’úma ‘dark’

Verbs we‘‘urinate’ zaar‘return’ keet’t’‘build’ t’ámm‘suck’

Adverbs zíno ‘yesterday’ bollá-n ‘up there’ ha‘‘í ‘now’ digín ‘later’

Ideophone I wapiwáppa

Ideophone II wóppu g-

binjiliíla

binjílli g-

kuwúwwa

káwhu g-

t’orsóssa

t’óttu g-

4.1 The categorial status of group I ideophones Group I ideophones mainly occur as modifiers of noun phrases and they share syntactic and semantic properties of descriptive or qualificative adjectives. Parallel to other adjectives, group I ideophones occur as nominal modifiers, attributive predicates and inchoative verbs. The following examples illustrate the use of ideophones and other adjectives in the attributive function: (16) Non-ideophonic a. dúre ‘asa rich person b. míno na‘a strong child (17) Ideophonic a. gawáwwa ‘asa ‘a weak person’ ideo person b. k’ap’k’áp’a na‘a ‘a greedy person’ ideo child

The following are examples of ideophones and regular adjectives used in elliptic constructions. (18) a.

b.

Non-ideophonic: ‘í míno-t-a dos-eesi he strong-pl-acc like-3.m.sg.impf ‘He likes the strong ones.’ Ideophonic: gawawwa-t-í y-iídosona weak-pl-nom come-3.pl.pf ‘The weak, sickly ones came.’


Both regular adjectives and ideophones are used predicatively: (19) a.

b.

Non-ideophonic: gallásso-y dúre G.-nom rich ‘Gallaso is rich.’ ideophonic: galláso-y k’ap’k’áp’a G.-nom ideo ‘Gallasso is greedy.’

Verbal inflectional markers are attached to simple and ideophonic adjectives to form the inchoative form. (20) a.

b.

Non-ideophonic: galláso-y mínn-iisi G.-nom strong-3.m.sg.pf ‘Gallaso became strong.’ Ideophonic: gallásoy boljojj-iísi G. ideo-3.m.sg.pf ‘Gallaso became stout and light colored.’

Examples (12)–(20) above show that, counter to the claim that (African) ideophones display little morphology (cf. Childs 1994: 185), Group I ideophones in Wolaitta take all nominal and verbal inflection which other adjectives take. Based on such morphological characteristics and the syntactic function shown above, we categorize Group I ideophones with adjectives. However, the following slight phonological and semantic differences can be noted between simple and ideophonic adjectives. While simple adjectives end in any of the terminal vowels -e, -o or -a, group I ideophones only take -a as their terminal vowel. Secondly, unlike the regular adjectives which are maximally tri-syllabic, these ideophones often involve three or more syllables (exceptions to this are discussed at the end of this section). Semantically, group I ideophones tend to be more ‘expressive’ and ‘specific’ than simple adjectives. Thus, for most of the ideophonic adjectives there is a simpler, less expressive variable belonging to the class of simple adjectives. For example, parallel to the very general adjective malanca ‘handsome/ beautiful’ (derived from mala ‘appearance’), there are specific ideophonic adjectives: (21) k’azázza boljójja

‘handsome/beautiful (especially of people with big straight nose)’ ‘handsome/beautiful, (one with light colored, fatty and full face)

Furthermore, group I ideophones involve a phono-semantic correlation between vowel quality and size or weight, whereas in simple adjectives no such sound– meaning correspondence can be observed. For example, ideophones referring to

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‘light and/or small’ things are formed with high vowels, whereas those referring to ‘heavy and/or big’ things are formed with mid-vowels. The following are examples: (22) bort’ót’t’a pirc’íc’c’a toot’itoót’a tiit’itiít’a wununuúk’a k’onk’ólla

‘big and multiple, of eyes, some grain types e.g. maize’ ‘small and multiple, e.g. of rush, chicken-pox’ ‘one with a hasty manner of walk, especially of a stout person’ ‘one with a hasty manner of walk, especially of a slim person’ ‘very small’ ‘very tall and clumsy’

As mentioned above, one of the diagnostic means for differentiating ideophonic and non-ideophonic adjectives is the number of syllables in the word. Ideophones are multi-syllabic, while simple adjectives are mainly di-syllabic, with a few trisyllabic adjectives. However, such phonological differences in isolation cannot be taken as defining criterion. For instance, there are words which, based on semantic and syntactic grounds, are classified as adjectival ideophones. However, from a phonological point of view these look like regular adjectives or nouns of Wolaitta. (23) sása leéla dúm‘a múlt’a 'ánk’a

‘very cold’ ‘very dark’ ‘very black’ ‘very white’ ‘very sour’

(regular: ‘írt’a (regular: t’úma (regular: karétta (regular: boótta (regular: c’aála

‘cold’) ‘dark’) ‘black’) ‘white) ‘sour’)

Compared to their respective regular adjectives (given in brackets above), the ideophones in (20) are more expressive. These ideophones are syntactically dependent on the non-ideophonic adjectives since they are used in combination with their respective simple adjectives. The following are illustrative sentences. (24) a.

b.

ha tukke ‘irt’a sasa this coffee cold ideo ‘This coffee is very cold.’ ‘i ‘issi karetta dum‘a boora wamm-iisi he one black ideo ox buy-3.m.sg.pf ‘He bought a very black ox.’

The above disyllabic ideophones should not be interpreted as degree specifiers. These two differ structurally. While the degree specifiers must precede the adjective they modify, the di-syllabic ideophones follow the adjective. That is, the ideophones occur in the head position. Compare the following examples with those in (24) above. (25) a.

dáro ‘irt’a a lot cold ‘very cold’


b.

dáro c’aala a lot cold ‘very sour.’

4.2 The categorial status of group II ideophones Most Group II ideophones include in their meaning the verbal expression as well as the ‘manner’, ‘duration’, ‘intention’ etc. which are expressed in many languages through adverbs. In this way, these ideophones behave syntactically and semantically in the same way as one class of verbs i.e., converbs. In this section, we will show the structural and semantic relation between group II ideophones and converbs and briefly discuss the similarity between these two categories. 4.2.1 Group II ideophones and converb verbs The term ‘converb’ here refers to a dependent verb, the main function of which is to mark adverbial subordination. The subject of the main verb and the converb is necessarily coreferential. As Haspelmath (1995: 4) correctly hypothesizes, the converb is not a verb plus a complementizer or subordinator. Rather, it is an inflectional paradigm of the verb. Accordingly, all verbs in Wolaitta can be turned into converb verbs by taking the suffix -ádá or -ídí, depending on the person and gender of the subject. The following paradigm represents the inflection of the verb root wot’t’- ‘run’ for the converb in Wolaitta. (26) táání wot’t’-ádá nééní wot’t’-ádá ‘í wot’t’-ídí ‘á wot’t’-ádá núúní wot’t’-ídí ‘ínté wot’t’-ídi ‘etí wot’t’-ídí

‘I having run’ ‘you having run’ ‘he having run’ ‘she having run’ ‘we having run’ ‘you (pl) having run’ ‘they having run’

When expressing series of events, the converb verb markers -ídí and-ádá can be shortened to -í and -á respectively as illustrated below: (27) naatí keetttáa fítt-í mítta mit’-í haattta tíkk-ídí giyáa b–iidosona child house sweep- wood gather water draw market goplnom dacc cnv cnv cnv 3.pl.pf ‘Having cleaned the house, having gathered firewood and having brought water, the children went to the market.’

There is morphological parallelism between converbs and group II ideophones: unlike other verbal categories, these two lack morphological marking of tense and mood. Syntactically, both converbs and group II ideophones are dependent, because they always need a supporting verb or a main verb which carries aspect and

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mood information. However, there is a crucial difference between the converb verb type shown in (27) above, and group II ideophones. In the ‘converb + main verb’ construction the basic essence of the sentence depends on the ‘main verb’ and the ‘converb’ is a modifying element. On the other hand in ‘group II ideophone + supporting verb’ construction, the basic meaning relies on the ideophone and not on the ‘supporting verb’. Hence the name ‘dummy verb’ for the verbs co-occurring with ideophones. Interestingly, however, there are some ‘compound verbs’ which are formed on the basis of converbs, in which verb1 of the ‘verb1+verb2’ contributes the main meaning while verb2 is simply an adverbial modifier or an auxiliary verb carrying verbal inflection. Verb1 of such compounds is either a converb or an infinitive verb whereas Verb2 is a fully inflected verb. Depending on the semantic contribution of verb1 and verb2 we can divide compound verbs in Wolaitta into three. a.

Some of the verbal compounds are ‘exocentric’ compounds, in which the meaning of the compound (underlined) differs from the meaning of the input. That such compounds are based on converb verbs can be seen from the final vowel of verb1 which changes according to gender and person of the subject, and is identical in form to the shortened converb marker discussed above. (28) a.

b.

c.

hargáncay ‘aá22-í wo22-iisis patient.m.nom pass-cnv descend-3.m.sg.pf ‘The patient (M) turned over.’ hargánciya ‘aá22-á wo22-aasu patient.f.nom pass-cnv descend-3.f.sg.pf ‘The patient (F) turned over.’ hakímee hargánca ‘aatt-í yeggiisi doctor.nom patient.acc pass.caus-cnv add.3.m.sg.pf ‘The doctor turned over the patient.’

b. In some compounds verb2 seems to be central to the meaning of the compound. However, analyzing verb1 as ‘modifier’ would be incorrect: (29) a.

b.

c.

hage súre néna bak’k’-í ‘oyk’-iisi this.m trousers 2.sg.acc slap-cnv hold-3.m.sg.pf ‘This trousers is tight on you’ (lit. This trousers holds you tightly). naa-t-í haattáa ‘ekk-í yiíd-osona child-pl-nom water.acc take-cnv come-3.pl.pf ‘The children brought water’

In some ‘compound verbs’ the main meaning is contributed by verb1, while verb2 functions as an adverbial modifier or as an auxiliary. Verb1 occurs only as a converb or as an infinitive verb and its slot can be filled by any verb of the language whereas verb2 represents a closed class of verbs: only about fourteen verbs (cf. also Adams 1983). Most of the verbs in verb2 slot are associated with a fixed adverbial notion. For instance, any converb verb immediately followed

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by the verb ‘agg- ‘give up’ expresses that the state/event expressed by the converb verb is carried out immediately (cf. Adams 1983 who analyses ‘agg‘give up’ as ‘immediacy aspect’ marker). On the other hand, a converb verb immediately followed by the verb bay- ‘disappear’ expresses that the action is carried out with determination, while ‘ekk- ‘take’ expresses ‘certainty’. The following are examples: (30) a.

b.

c.

márz-iya ‘úy-ídí haík’k’-i ‘agg-iisi poison-acc drink-cnv die-cnv give up-3.sg.pf ‘Having taken the poison, he died instantly.’ ‘asáy b–íyo wode tá néna t’eég-a ‘ekk-ana people.nom go-rel time 1.sg.nom 2.sg.acc call-cnv take-tma ‘When the people go, I will certainly call you.’ k’úmaw mat’iné gid-ída-kko m-á be‘-a food.dat salt.nom be enough-pf-cond eat-cnv see-imp ‘Taste if there is enough salt in the food.’

The above compound verbs are similar to ‘explicator compound verbs’ in Asian languages in which “[a] conjunctive participle is followed immediately … by a finite verb, the two forming a unit in which the main verb is the participle, the finite verb acting as a modifying auxiliary.” (Masica 1976: 141).1 As Masica observes for such verb compounds in Asian languages, in Wolaitta too, the main difference between a ‘converb+main verb’ construction and a ‘converb+verb’ compounds is that in the latter there is: “a shift in the semantic center of gravity from V2 to V1, with concomitant lexical emptying or grammaticalization of V2” (Masica 1976: 141). This is exactly the case with group II ideophones and the co-occurring ‘say’ or ‘do’ verbs. Here, the main verb is the ideophone while the co-occurring ‘say’ or ‘do’ verb is the bearer of inflectional and derivational information (i.e., transitivity, causation, etc.) which the ideophone, characteristically, can not carry. In this way, the ideophone and the ‘dummy’ verb constitute a compound verb.

Notes * An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 8th Italian Meeting of Afroasiatic (HamitoSemitic) Linguistics, held between January 25–27, 1996 in Napoli. I would like to acknowledge with gratitude the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek in de Tropen (WOTRO) for providing financial support which enabled me to participate in that conference. Data on Wolaitta are based on the author’s speech, who speaks Wolaitta as a first language, and on the speech of the author’s mother, W/o Nigatwa Adaye. I would like to thank my mother, who, after an initial protest against discussing ideophones in public, enlarged my list considerably. My thanks go also to Abebe Bekele and Data Dea, for sharing their native speaker’s intuitions about the translations. I am very grateful to Gerrit Dimmendaal for his comments on the paper. All remaining errors are mine.

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1. In his area map which shows the distribution of explicator-compound verbs, Masica (1976) puts Ethiopian languages with those that have ‘explicator compound verbs, somewhat aberrant types’. This, I guess, is because of the failure of earlier studies of Ethio-Semitic languages, which are used as sources in Masica’s typological study, to distinguish ideophonic and non-ideophonic compound verbs.

References Adams, B. A. 1983. A Tagmemic Analysis of the Wolaitta Language. Ph.D. thesis, University of London. Childs, G. Tucker. 1994. “African ideophones”. In L. Hinton et al. (eds), Sound Symbolism, 178–204. Cambridge: CUP. Dhoorre, C. S. and M. T. 1998. “Somali ideophones.” Journal of African Cultural Studies. 11(2): 125–156. Haspelmath, M. 1995. “Introduction: The converb as a cross-linguistically valid category”. In M. Haspelmath and E. König (eds), Converbs in Cross-Linguistic Perspective. Structure and meaning of adverbial verb forms — adverbial participles, gerund. [Empirical Approaches to Language Typology 13]. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Kulemeka, A. T. 1995. “Sound symbolic and grammatical frameworks: A typology of ideophones in Asian and African languages”. South African Journal of African Languages 15(2): 73–84. Maduka, O. N. 1988. “Size and shape ideophones in Nembe: A phonosemantic analysis”. Studies in African Linguistics 19 (1): 93–113. Masica, C. P. 1976. Defining a Linguistic Area: South Asia. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

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Research on ideophones, whither hence? The need for a social theory of ideophones* G. Tucker Childs Portland State University

1.

Introduction

This paper considers issues in the ecology of ideophones in an attempt to better understand their status vis-à-vis other word categories, even their status as language itself (see Wescott 1975). The purpose is to make the general point that ideophones are quintessentially social: they are grounded in communicative interaction. Because or concomitant with this feature, ideophones locate an individual within a particular community, even a particular group. To understand ideophones, therefore, one must understand their social and cultural context more so than with other words. This paper synthesizes some earlier work on ideophones suggesting how those connections can be demonstrated, and points the way to further inquiry. It specifically reports on research on ideophones in African pidgins and creoles (Childs 1994b) and comparable urban varieties (Childs 1997) and reports on an extensive variation study (Childs 1993b; Childs 1996). Those survey and quantitative findings are supplemented with insights gained from more ethnographic investigations, some of which have been gleaned from the literature, others of which come from personal investigations. The paper concludes with some suggested research directions, based on the crucial social function of ideophones. In the following section I briefly sample the work has been done in the past twenty years, primarily with regard to the study of African ideophones but also with regard to the study of ideophones in other languages. Many of the works cited, especially the theses, contain extensive reviews of the literature, which the reader interested in further details may wish to consult. The references I mention are those that I feel most relevant to the future direction of ideophone studies (see Nuckolls 1999 for a recent review of sound symbolism).

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2.

Recent work on African ideophones

A survey article on African ideophones (Childs 1994a) was the first to appear since a comparable survey of Bantu ideophones more than twenty years earlier (Samarin 1971c). Much has been done since the 1994 article was written (some five years before its publication date!), and it is that literature that will be selectively assayed here. As many commentators have noted, perhaps starting with Samarin (1967), ideophones are often disdained, given superficial treatment, or ignored. This is true as much today as it has been in the past. For example, no ideophones can be found in an otherwise fine Wolof dictionary, Munro and Gaye (1991), despite the fact that ideophones are prolific in the language, e.g., Dialo (1985); Fal, Santos, and Doneux (1990). Although the lexicographic problems facing the analyst are considerable (Childs 1993a), their intractability is no excuse for excluding them from treatment. On the other hand, ideophones often form the focus of an inquiry: languagespecific studies have continued unabated. One often has the impression that analysts are re-inventing the wheel on the less descriptive side as they encounter and treat the same issues that engaged analysts many years earlier, issues such as categorization, e.g., Newman (1968). Often these are studies with short bibliographies based on a single language. A number of recent theses have taken African ideophones as their focus, e.g., Wendland (1979), Mphande (1989), Kulemeka (1993), Kilian-Hatz (1997). Work on ideophones outside of Africa can also be found, as the detailed bibliography in Mok (1993) shows, particularly with regard to Asian languages. A thorough discussion of Quechua ideophones is contained in Nuckolls (1996), a book that is also praiseworthy in seeing ideophones as being culturally grounded. Similarly, new interest has been generated in Australian ideophones, as attested by papers given at this colloquium, and papers elsewhere, e.g., McGregor (1998), Schultze-Berndt (1998). Very few studies of African ideophones, however, have looked beyond a single language. Virtually no one has considered ideophones from a comparative point of view, e.g., Lanham (1960). The exception is Bartens (1998), which does not focus on ideophones per se but rather on the substratal influence of African languages on New World creoles (see discussion below). The long tradition of psycholinguistic inquiry on onomatopoeia and sound symbolism, e.g., Wissemann (1954), Brown (1958), Jakobson and Waugh (1979); (Araujo and Hata 1986 for an update) has not been extended to African forms. Although Mphande (1989) is a thorough exploration of ChiTumbuka ideophone phonetics, to my knowledge the only experimental study on African ideophones is one that looks at the acoustic correlates of ‘big’ and ‘thin’ in Kujamatay (Greenberg and Sapir 1978). More work on African ideophones needs to be done in this vein.

Research on ideophones, whither hence?

Africanists would also do well to explore the more cognitively oriented work represented in Kita (1997), and the finding that sound symbolism has “evolutionary adaptive value” (Ciccotosto 1991). Variationists have also neglected African ideophones, with the exception of Samarin (1991) (and the earlier Samarin 1971b; Samarin 1971a), and an article on Jamaican Creole found in DeCamp (1974). Below I illustrate one way in which those techniques may be applied. In summary, there are many promising directions in which the study of ideophones could be taken, represented by the less structurally oriented subdisciplines of anthropological linguistics, psycholinguistics, cognitive linguistics, and variation or sociolinguistics. The general point that I will conclude with is that it is in these directions that our inquiry should be directed.

3.

Ideophones in pidgins and creoles

Pidgins and creoles provide an excellent crucible or “keyhole” (Aitchison 1987) in which to examine linguistic phenomena for the resolution of broad theoretical issues, e.g., Wekker (1996). Because pidgins and creoles telescope processes of language change and concentrate situations of language variation, they provide important sources for issues in language variation and change, e.g., Ramat and Hopper (1999). If indeed we see such processes as socially conditioned, e.g., Labov (1980); Milroy (1992), and pidgins and creoles as representing the quintessence of socially conditioned language, then the social import of ideophones should be dramatically displayed there as well. Such is the general finding in both Childs (1994b) and Childs (1997), which look at the variable presence of ideophones in African pidgins and urban vernaculars. The first of these two papers concluded that ideophones will persist into the contact variety from the substrate but only functionally, i.e., there are few if any identifiable cognates. If cognates do exist, they are found only at the level of onomatopoeia and are likely universals (Childs 1994a). This transfer of function will occur, however, only when the contact variety has become the everyday language of its speakers and represents the identity of those speakers. Roughly speaking, the variety has become nativized or Africanized (see the discussion of West African Pidgin English as a “neo-African language” in Gilman 1979). A study that differs with regard to the etymological point in the paragraph above is found in Bartens (1998), which explicitly treats ideophone cognates. This study shows how prolific ideophones (and ideophone-derived words) are in (mainly) Caribbean creoles. She claims direct etymological relationships between the ideophones in African languages and ideophones in Atlantic creoles. Despite the differences with the findings claimed here, her work underscores the more important

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point of the study, namely, that the function of ideophones will persist from the substrate into the contact variety when that variety is a language of focal identity, an “MCS” a “medium for community solidarity” (Baker 1998). Although only peripherally discussing ideophones, the latter paper (Childs 1997) identified a quantitative and qualitative difference between Isicamtho, a South African urban variety, and Zulu, the language on which Isicamtho is based. Mfusi (1990) quite correctly identifies Isicamtho as “Soweto Zulu Slang”, for on a linguistic basis the differences between Isicamtho and Zulu are only lexical. Socially, however, the varieties contrast more sharply; Isicamtho (and related varieties) have become the vernacular of most urban youth (Ntshangase 1993). The crucial finding with regard to ideophones is that in Isicamtho speakers use ideophones sparingly, if at all. When ideophones are incorporated into Isicamtho, they change their word category, as demonstrated by the examples in (9), to become less expressive verbs, nouns, or adjectives in a process that has been labeled “deideophonization” (Msimang 1987). (1) Deideophonization in Zulu (Mfusi 1990: 39ff). ukugidla

verb

‘to sleep’

< Zulu gidli for falling heavily

mca

adjective

‘beautiful, pleasant, delicious’

< Zulu nca of abundant harvest

ivum

noun

‘car’

< [onomatopoeic] Zulu [?] sound of moving car vu-u-um

The reason for their being shunned by Isicamtho speakers, just as they are elsewhere, is that ideophones mark local identity, a theme that will be elaborated in the following section. Ideophones mark one as being rural, non-urban, as something of a country hick. Young Zulu speakers want no part of that identity and strictly eschew the use of such words. Ideophones are quintessentially the mark of local identity but an identity of continuity with an ideophone past. It would be predicted that ideophones would be more likely to be found in creoles that came from pidgins that were only gradually creolized (Mühlhäusler 1997), ones that went through an “extended pidgin” phase (Todd 1974) and underwent no sharp break with the speakers’ social-cultural past. It would also be predicted that ideophones would persist in maroon colonies, as they do in Ndyuka (Huttar and Huttar 1994), Sranan and Saramaccan (Norval Smith 1998, personal communication). Furthermore, ideophones would more likely prosper in situations were the non-ideophone-bearing superstrate no longer exerts a normative presence. I now turn to the mirror situation, the effect of urbanization on ideophones in


Zulu. We have already seen how ideophones are shunned in the derivative variety Isicamtho; what is even more surprising is that there are disappearing in Zulu itself.

4. A variation study of ideophones This section reports on an extensive study of the knowledge of ideophones among Zulu speakers in South Africa, involving over a 140 native speakers of Zulu of varying social characteristics. Partial results were reported in Childs (1996), and I have reported on the complete findings in several orally delivered papers, e.g., Childs (1998a). The basic conclusion of this study is that ideophones are disappearing in Zulu as they are found in the speech of the old but not in the speech of the young, even the non-urban young, i.e., those who do not have Isicamtho as their common vernacular. The first point to be made is that this not a case of language change in the sense of what might loosely be termed “grammaticalization”, the diachronic process by which ideophones are more directly involved in the grammar. For example, many Kanuri verbs are derived from ideophones (Hutchison 1981; Hutchison 1989; see Childs 1989 for a process going in the opposite direction), much as seems to have been the case in Australian languages, e.g., McGregor (1996); Schultze-Berndt (1998). The loss of ideophones in Zulu is decidedly different; it is a process that can be seen in the synchronic distribution of forms, likely presaging their complete loss in the language. Part of the loss of ideophones may be taking place through “deideophonization”, as described above. Ideophones use their distinctive “ideophony” marking them as a class: “a certain class of words distinguished phonologically (and possibly both morphologically and syntactically) from other words in the language whose semantics has to do with qualities, states, events, and so forth” (Samarin 1970). This process cannot, however, account for the complete loss of ideophones in Zulu, since not all ideophones are changing class; younger speakers simply do not know them. It should not surprise us that a language loses its ideophones, just as it should surprise us that a language gains ideophones. It is undoubtedly the case that ideophones can be created, despite protestations to the contrary after a claim in Innes (1964): “New ideophones are sometimes coined by a story teller, and the coining of striking and appropriate ideophones is regarded as one of the marks of a skilled narration” (see Samarin 1967a: 40 for the protest). On a grander scale, numerous authors have shown how ideophones arise diachronically, e.g., Louw (1984) for Southern Bantu, and Childs (1989) for an Atlantic language. Thus the claim that Zulu is losing its ideophones should not be regarded as an impossibility, despite its taking place in such a truncated period of time. The social forces at work are powerful, primarily urbanization and the maintenance of at least

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one prestige language without ideophones (perhaps with the change in power in South Africa ideophones will once again flourish in Zulu). What I will document below is one case of a language losing its ideophones. If indeed we can see language change in language variation (e.g., Labov 1981), then Zulu is in the process of losing its ideophones. I turn now to a brief summary of that study. That the knowledge of ideophones is unevenly distributed among Zulu speakers is relatively uncontroversial, and the data show this clearly. Ethnographic interviews suggested this and questionnaires confirmed it. What this study shows is the highly skewed nature of this distribution with regard to age and no other factor. Surprisingly sex was not statistically significant, nor was level of education, although with regard to the latter the tendency was for uneducated speakers to know more ideophones than educated speakers. Other factors were assessed to determine their role: “Residence” and “Rusticity”. Residence quantified the living patterns of Zulu speakers as to their degree of urban-ness. It also turned out to be non-significant, likely because of the mass urbanization that has taken place as the apartheid government took more and more land away from the Africans and turned them into guest laborers. Rusticity was designed to measure a person’s orientation to traditional Zulu culture, e.g., the paying of lobola (‘bride price’) and the practice of hlonipha, the language of respect. This factor was not significant although the results tended to support the hypothesis that the more traditional a person’s orientation the more likely that person would know more ideophones. From these results using the apparent time construct (e.g., Bailey et al. 1991), one can extrapolate into the future and predict that ideophones will soon disappear in Zulu. This prediction is controversial and even unsettling, especially to those invested in the preservation of “Zulu”. The interpretation that can be put on these results is that the paucity of ideophones in the speech of a native Zulu speaker signals a renunciation of a traditional Zulu identity and portends language change. That ideophones signal a rural and traditional identity for Zulu speakers cannot be disputed. That urban vs. rural, educated vs. uneducated, and young vs. old speakers wish to disown that identity also seems plausible. It is their shunning of ideophones, likely because of their absence in the target culture (speaking English and perhaps Afrikaans), that at least partially signals this change in identity. In the same way marked variants or expressive language encodes a certain identity, so may the absence or avoidance of such forms signal a denial of that identity. A more theoretically oriented paper (Childs 1998b), following the lead of, e.g., Labov (1963) and Kroch (1978) (see Guy 1988 for some relevant discussion), drew parallels between the distribution of ideophones and larger social forces. This study looks not at the knowledge of ideophones but rather variation in tokens. I give some examples below. The examples below show different types of sound-meaning


correspondences; in some cases the meanings are identical (as in (2)) while in others ((3) and (4)) they vary, presumably denoting different words. (2) Clusterings of sound-meaning correspondences. Hausa lip/rip ‘smooth, flat’. buzuu-bùzùu/muzuu-mùzùu ‘hairy’. cik/cif ‘stopped completely’ (Moore 1973: 19). Kisi càm-càm/cá]-cá] ‘lukewarm (of a liquid)’. kˆfcù/dˆfcù ‘knocking’ (Childs 1988: 175). Zulu ndrr/drr/mbrr/bhr ‘birds flying’. cosu/cusu/nonsu/nosu/thosu ‘tearing away’. to/nto/tho ‘dripping’ (Fivaz 1963).

The Yoruba examples in (3) show partial lexicalization; the Ijo examples in (4) represent complete lexicalization. (3) Partial lexicalization in Yoruba (Courtenay 1976: 25). rogodo ‘bulging (as eyes)’. rugudu ‘small and spherical (as buttocks)’. rúgúdú ‘small and spherical (as buttocks)’. rógódó ‘large, round (as yams)’. rogbodo ‘fine and plump’. robotyo ‘fat — much more than rugudu’. (4) Complete lexicalization in Ijo (Williamson 1965: 24). geen ‘of an even, unblinking light’. ge» en » ‘of a steady light, brighter than geen’. goon ‘of a light which is brighter than geen, but does not bother one like geen’. go» on » ‘of a light brighter than geen or geen’.

No explanation had as yet been advanced for this variability. The paper attempts an explanation using the model of Labov, e.g., Labov (1974), appealing to “change from below” marking local identity for the interior classes. Ideophones exhibit strong local associations (Samarin 1991), and their grammatical features are just those typically found in the codes of the interior classes. Furthermore, with the social stratification of urbanization, ideophones are eschewed by the elite, in the same way marks of the lower classes are resisted by the elite (Kroch 1978). Ideophones thus are shown to fit a profile for marking local identity on the basis of both negative and positive evidence. The combination of studies presented in the preceding sections demonstrates the strong social associations of ideophones, a fact that should form the basis for future inquiry. In the conclusion I indicate some directions that inquiry could take.

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5.

Conclusion

Ideophones are quintessentially social, the mark of local identity and solidarity, as has been argued here. What this fact calls for, then, are more studies of ideophones as a socially grounded phenomenon and perhaps more generally a theory of expressive language (see Samarin 1970 and Samarin 1972). Clearly a functionally oriented approach seems best, either at the local (single language) or global level. One could look at how the expressive function is handled cross-linguistically. Such investigations would contribute insights as to language universals, especially as to the ways languages exploit iconicity as a linguistic resource. Perhaps irresolvable but nonetheless provocative questions are also of interest, e.g., Why are Japanese ideophones psychological in their orientation and African ideophones so perceptual or sensual? What about the functions of ideophones in other parts of the world? Chinese? Australian? Meso-American? Are there different diachronic sources, e.g., from cries of pain or pleasure vs. imitations and interpretations of and reactions to sounds in nature? Cross-linguistic studies could also take the form of psycholinguistic experiments, e.g., What is the psychological status of ideophones vis-à-vis their matrix language? Can ideophones be created ex nihilo? Are there other universals besides size sound symbolism (Ohala 1984)? One direction a locally oriented inquiry can take is represented in the work of Nuckolls (1996), an ethnography with a cognitive orientation. Much can also be learned from the study of ideophones actually being used or performed, as in, e.g., Noss (1975), Noss (1988). With the refinement of field techniques and the digitization of field data, much can be accomplished. Finally, the work must be put in the hands of native speakers for it is they who have the deep cultural knowledge necessary to fully understand ideophones. I applaud the conference organizers for inviting so many such scholars to the colloquium and hope that these invitees will continue their fine work.

Notes * My thanks to the colloquium organizers, Erhard Voeltz and Christa Kilian-Hatz (and their benefactors), for inviting me and so many other wonderful participants to the Colloquium on ideophones. What made it so stimulating and profitable was the presence of so many scholars working on languages outside of Africa. Truly the study of ideophones has come of age!


References Aitchison, J. 1987. “Other keyholes: Language universals from a pidgin-creole viewpoint”. In S. Modgil and C. Modgil (eds), Noam Chomsky, Consensus and Controversy, 93–103. Philadelphia: The Falmer Press. Araujo, L. R. and K. Hata. 1986. Three Experiments in Phonetic Symbolism. Phonology Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley. Bailey, G., T. Wikle, J. Tillery, and L. Sand. 1991. “The apparent time construct”. Language Variation and Change 3: 241–264. Baker, P. 1998. “Towards an integrated theory of pidginization and creolization”. Paper delivered at Degrees of Restructuring in Creole Languages (University of Regensburg, Germany; 24–27 June). Bartens, A. 1998. “Ideophones and sound symbolism in Atlantic creoles”. Ms. Brown, R. W. 1958. Words and Things Glencoe. Illinois: Free Press. Childs, G. T. 1988. “The phonology of Kisi ideophones”. Journal of African Languages and Linguistics 10: 165–90. Childs, G.T. 1989. “Where do ideophones come from?” Studies in the Linguistic Sciences 19:57–78. Childs, G. T. 1993a. “Lexicography in West Africa: Some problems and issues”. Lexikos 3: 13–28. Childs, G. T. 1993b. “Under-reporting the use of expressive language: The case of Zulu ideophones”. Paper presented to the Annual Meeting of the LSA, Los Angeles, 7–11 January. Childs, G. T. 1994a. “African ideophones”. In L. Hinton et al. (eds), Studies in Sound Symbolism, 247–279. Cambridge: CUP. Childs, G.T. 1994b. “Expressiveness in contact situations: The fate of African ideophones”. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages 9: 257–282. Childs, G. T. 1996. “Where have all the ideophones gone? The death of a word category in Zulu”. Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics 15: 81–103. Childs, G. T. 1997. “The status of Isicamtho, an Nguni-based urban variety of Soweto”. In A. K. Spears and D. Winford (eds), Pidgins and Creoles: Structure and status, 341–370. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Childs, G. T. 1998a. “Explanations for the social distribution of ideophones”. Paper delivered to the Cognitive Anthropology Group, Max Planck Institute, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, August 8. Childs, G. T. 1998b. “Ideophone variation is tied to local identity”. In M. K. Verma (ed.), The Sociolinguistics of Language and Society: SelectedpPapers from SS IX, 36–46. London: Sage Publishers. Ciccotosto, N. 1991. Sound Symbolism in Natural Languages. PhD. thesis, University of Florida. Courtenay, K. 1976. “Ideophones defined as a phonological class: The case of Yoruba”. Studies in African linguistics Supplement 6: 13–26. DeCamp, D. 1974. “Neutralizations, iteratives, and ideophones: The locus of language in Jamaica”. In D. DeCamp and I. F. Hancock (eds), Pidgins and Creoles: Current trends and prospects, 46–60. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. Dialo, A. 1985. Éléments expressifs du wolof contemporain, gestes, signaux oraux, units significatives nasalisées, interjections, onomatopées, impressifs. Les langues nationals au Sénégal, 27 Dakar: Centre Linguistique Appliquée de Dakar. Fal, A., R. Santos, and J. L. Doneux. 1990. Dictionnaire wolof-français. Suivi d’un index françaiswolof. Paris: Karthala. Fivaz, D. 1963. Some Aspects of the ideophone in Zulu. Hartford, Connecticut: Hartford Seminary.

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Gilman, C. 1979. “Cameroonian Pidgin English, a neo-African language”. In I. F. Hancock (ed.), Readings in Creole Studies, 269–280. Ghent: E. Story Scientia. Greenberg, S. and J. D. Sapir. 1978. “Acoustic correlates of ‘big’ and ‘thin’ in Kujamutay”. BLS 4: 293–310. Guy, G. R. 1988. “Language and social class”. In F. J. Newmeyer (ed.), Language: The socio-cultural context, 37–63.Cambridge: CUP. Hutchison, J. P. 1981. “Kanuri word formation and the structure of the lexicon”. In M. L. Bender and T. C. Schadeberg (eds), Nilo-Saharan Proceedings, 217–237. Cinnaminson, NJ: Foris. Hutchison, J. P. 1989. ?The Kanuri ideophone?. Paper presented at the ideophone Colloquium, 20th Conference on African Linguistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 19–22 April 1989. Huttar, G. L. and M. L. Huttar. 1994. Ndyuka. London: Routledge. Innes, G. 1964. “Some features of theme and style in Mende folktales”. Sierra Leone Language Review 3: 6–19. Jakobson, R. and L. R. Waugh. 1979. The Sound Shape of Language. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Kilian-Hatz, C. 1997. “Die Baka-ideophone: Ihre Struktur und Funktion in narrativen Texten”. Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere 50: 123–167. Kita, S. 1997. “Two dimensional semantic analysis of Japanese mimetics”. Linguistics 35: 379–415. Kroch, A. 1978. “Toward a theory of social dialect variation”. Language in Society 7: 17–36. Kulemeka, A. T. 1993. The Status of the ideophone in Chichewa. PhD thesis, Indiana University. Labov, W. 1963. “The social motivation of a sound change”. Word 19: 273–309. Labov, W. 1974. “Linguistic change as a form of communication”. In A. Silverstein (ed.), Human Communication: Theoretical explorations, 221–256. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Labov, W. 1980. “The social origins of sound change”. In W. Labov (ed.), Locating Language in Time and Space , 251–65. New York: Academic Press. Labov, W. 1981. “What can be learned about change in progress from synchronic description?” In D. Sankoff and H. Cedegren (eds), Variation Omnibus, 177–199. Edmonton: Linguistic Research. Lanham, L. W. 1960. The Comparative Phonology of Nguni. PhD thesis, University of the Witwatersrand. Louw, J. A. 1984. “Word categories in Southern Bantu”. African Studies 43: 231–39. McGregor, W. B. 1996. “Sound symbolism in Gooniyandi: A language of Western Australian.” Word 47: 339–364. McGregor, W. B. 1998. “An ideophone source for verbal complexity in Australian languages”. Word. Mfusi, M. J. H. 1990. Soweto Zulu Slang: A sociolinguistic study of an urban vernacular in Soweto. M. A., University of South Africa. Milroy, J. 1992. Linguistic Variation and Change. Oxford: Blackwell. Mok, W. E. 1993. “Bibliography on sound symbolism”. University of Hawai’i at Manoa Working Papers in Linguistics 25: 77–120. Moore, M. J. 1973. The ideophone in Hausa. M. A., Michigan State University. Mphande, L. 1989. The Phonology of ChiTumbuka ideophones. PhD. thesis, University of Texas. Msimang, C. T. 1987. “Impact of Zulu on Tsotsitaal”. South African journal of African languages 7: 82–86. Mühlhäusler, P. 1997. Pidgin and Creole Linguistics [Westminster Creole Series 3]. 2nd ed. London: University of Westminster Press. Munro, P., and D. Gaye. 1991. Ay Baati Wolof: A Wolof dictionary [UCLA Occasional Papers in Linguistics 9]. Los Angeles: Department of Linguistics, University of California.


Newman, P. 1968. “Ideophones from a syntactic point of view”. Journal of West African languages 5: 107–118. Noss, P. A. 1975. “The ideophone: A linguistic and literary device in Gbaya and Sango with reference to Zande”. In S. H. Hurreiz and H. Bell (eds), Directions in Sudanese Linguistics and Folklore, 142–52. Khartoum: Khartoum University Press. Noss, P. A. 1988. “Speech, structure and esthetics in a Gbaya tale”. Journal of West African Languages 18: 97–115. Ntshangase, D. K. 1993. The Social History of Isicamtho. MA thesis, University of the Witwatersrand. Nuckolls, J. B. 1996. Sounds Like Life: Sound-symbolic grammar, performance, and cognition in Pastaza Quechua. Oxford: OUP. Nuckolls, J. B. 1999. “The case for sound symbolism”. Annual Review of Anthropology. Ohala, J. J. 1984. “An ethological perspective on common cross-language utilization of Fo of voice”. Phonetica 41: 1–16. Ramat, A. G. and P. J. Hopper (eds). 1999. The Limits of Grammaticalization. [Typological Studies in Language 37]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Samarin, W.J. 1967. “Determining the meaning of ideophones”. Journal of West African Languages 4: 35–41. Samarin, W. J. 1970. “Inventory and choice in expressive language”. Word 26: 153–169. Samarin, W. J. 1971a. “Appropriateness and metaphor in the use of ideophones”. Orbis 20: 356–369. Samarin, W. J. 1971b. “Measuring variation in the use of Gbeya ideophones”. In M. Houis (ed.) Proceedings of the Eighth Congress of the West African Linguistic Society, Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Vol.2, 483–88. Samarin, W. J. 1971c. “Survey of Bantu ideophones”. African Language Studies 12: 130–168. Samarin, W. J. 1972. Tongues of Men and Angels: A controversial and sympathetic analysis of Speaking in Tongues. New York: Macmillan. Samarin, W. J. 1991. “Intersubjective and intradialectal variation in Gbeya ideophones”. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 1: 52–62. Schultz-Berndt, E. 1998. “Potential origins of the Northern Australia complex verb construction”. Max Planck Institute (Nijmegen). Ms. Thomason, S. G. and T. Kaufman. 1988. Language Contact, Creolization, and Genetic Linguistics. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Todd, L. 1974. Pidgins and Creoles. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Wekker, H. (ed.) 1996. Creole Languages and Language Acquisition [Trends in Linguistics 86]. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Wendland, E. R. 1979. Stylistic Form and Communicative Function in the Nyanja Radio Narratives of Julius Chongo. PhD. thesis, University of Wisconsin. Wescott, R. W. 1975. “Allolinguistics, exploring the peripheries of speech”. In The Second LACUS Forum. Columbia, SC: Hornbeam Press. Williamson, K. 1965. A Grammar of the Kolokuma Dialect of Ijo [West African Language Monograph Series]. Cambridge: CUP in Association with the West African Languages Survey and the Institute of African Studies, Ibadan. Wissemann, H. 1954. Untersuchungen zur Onomatopoiie [1 Teil, die sprachpsychologischen Versuche]. Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitatsverlag.

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Setswana ideophones as uninflected predicative lexemes Denis Creissels Laboratoire Dynamique du Langage(CNRS & Université Lyon 2)

1.

Introduction

Like most African languages, Setswana has a category of words, usually termed ideophones, which does not correspond to any of the categories traditionally recognized in descriptions of European languages. In addition to their distributional characteristics, ideophones generally have phonological properties that set them apart from other categories, and this is commonly viewed as the manifestation of a semantic feature of expressivity. In Setswana, as in most African languages, the category of ideophones as a whole is characterized by phonological properties that however do not necessarily apply to the individual ideophones: certain phonemes and tonal sequences have a particularly high frequency among ideophones. But in addition to that, it is interesting to observe that, in Setswana, every ideophone has a phonological property that is found in no other category: the law of penultimate lengthening, which in the absence of ideophones applies without exception to Setswana sentences, does not apply to sentences ending with an ideophone. In this paper, I discuss the question of the grammatical status of Setswana ideophones. Traditionally, various kinds of uninflected words that do not fit easily in any other category are labeled as “adverbs”. This may suggest that ideophones be considered a particular type of adverbs. However, at least in the case of Setswana, the syntactic behavior of ideophones shows more affinities with that of verbs than with that of the types of units traditionally termed adverbs.

2.

Ideophones and sentence types

Given the obvious particularities of ideophones at the semantic level, it is worth emphasizing first (a) that ideophones participate in the construction of clauses

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(which clearly distinguishes them from interjections), and (b) that the sentences in which they occur do not constitute a distinct sentence type carrying a particular illocutionary meaning. In the transcription of the Setswana sentences quoted in this paper, I follow the convention of standard Setswana orthography in writing an exclamation mark immediately after every ideophone. This could suggest that ideophones occur in a particular type of sentences more or less similar to the exclamatory sentences of European languages, but, in fact, Setswana ideophones occur in sentences that have, in every respect, the properties of ordinary declarative sentences. Ex. (1) to (7) show that clauses including ideophones can occur as constituents of complex declarative sentences of the type commonly found in narrative texts, and can in particular be relativized — ex. (7). (1)

E r-ile legodu le re bona, l-a re dike! ka sc9 say-pft 5.thief sc5 o1p see sc5-cons say ideo with ¡Irílè l¡Ióòdù lI¢r¡Ib¢fnà làr¡I dìké ká lebotana 5.wall lI¢bf¡tànà ‘When the thief saw us he suddenly disappeared behind a wall.’

(2)

Batho ba ne ba tshub-ile naga, e ntse e re 2.people sc2 aux sc2 burn-pft 9.veld sc9 aux sc9 say bàth~¡ bánè bátshùbílé náóà ¢I n¢ tsI¢ ¢I rI¢ fii! ideo fìì ‘The people had burnt the veld and it was absolutely black.’

(3)

Dints‘a ts-a leleka phokoje a bo a re 10.dog sc10-cons chase 1.jackal sc1.cons aux sc1.cons say dì¡\twá tsál¡7l¡7kà ph~¢k~¢dŠé àbó ár¡I mosima golwe! 3.hole ideo m¡~sìmá óf¡lw7¢ ‘The dogs chased the jackal and it darted into a hole.’

(4)

Pula e ne y-a re gwaa! mme y-a feta 9.rain sc9 aux sc9-cons say ideo then sc9-cons stop púlá ¢I nè jàr¡I ówàà m ¡ mI¢ jáf¡Ità ‘The rain poured down and then stopped.’

Setswana ideophones as uninflected predicative lexemes

3.

(5)

Ke bonye selo se re nyedi! fale, e a bo e le s1s see.pft 7.thing sc7 say ideo there sc9 dsj aux sc9 be k¡Ibó\I¢ sI¢lf¡ sI¢rI¢ \èdí fálè, ¢I ábò ¢I lI¢ eng? what? ¡I]¢ ‘I saw something twinkling there yonder; what would it be?’

(6)

O ts-ile a taboga a tla a re kgo! fa sc1 come-pft sc1 run sc1.cons come sc1.cons say ideo prep pele ga me front 17.gen pro1s ~¢tsìlé átàb~¢óá átSà àr¡I qhó fá pI¢l¡I óám¡I ‘He came running and came and stopped abruptly in front of me.’

(7)

O ts-ile a kgweetsa kgomo e e bosweu sc1 come-pft sc1 drive 9.cow 9.attr sc9 14.whiteness ~¢tsìlé áqhwèétsá qhòm~¢ é ¢I b~¢swèú jo bo r-ile-ng twaa! 14.attr sc14 say-pft-rel ideo dŠó b~¢rìlé¢] twàà ‘He came driving a cow which was absolutely pure white.’

General remarks on the treatment of ideophones in descriptions of African languages

In descriptions of African languages, one finds mainly two ways of treating ideophones: either they are considered as a subclass of the class of adverbs, or they are considered as constituting a distinct category on a par with nouns, verbs, adverbs and others. As already indicated in the introduction, the first solution conforms with the traditional practice of labeling “adverbs” various kinds of uninflected words, but it is not really a solution to the problem of defining the grammatical status of ideophones, since the label adverb is in fact a default label that says almost nothing about the grammatical status of the units to which it applies: the only properties common to all adverbs is that they lack inflection and they do not fit easily in any other category. The second solution has the advantage of better accounting for the originality of the category of ideophones. It is adopted by most Bantu grammars following the descriptive tradition initiated by Doke, although Doke’s position concerning the grammatical status of ideophones is not entirely clear and seems to have fluctuated (see Kulemeka 1995). In particular, Cole’s reference grammar of Setswana has a

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chapter “The ideophone” distinct both from the chapter “The Adverb” and from the chapter “The Interjective”. The problem is that descriptions inspired by Doke’s tradition (and in particular Cole’s description of Setswana) do not state explicitly to what extent the contribution of ideophones to the construction of clauses resembles that of other categories or differs from it. After reproducing Doke’s semantic definition of ideophones, they generally give only very brief indications about the constructions in which ideophones occur and concentrate their attention on the phonological particularities of ideophones (in particular on their syllabic structure). What complicates the matter is that there are important cross-linguistic variations in the distribution of ideophones: –

–

–

It may happen that the occurrence of ideophones is conditioned by individual verbs, each ideophone combining only with a particular ver (or with a very limited set of verbs). It may happen that all the ideophones combine with a verb meaning ‘be’, ‘do’ or ‘say’. In such combinations, the verb in question loses the meaning and the subcategorization properties it has when it functions by itself as the predicative center of a clause, and the meaning as well as the subcategorization properties of the combination be / do / say+ideophone are entirely determined by the ideophone. It may happen that ideophones occur in verbless clauses in which they determine the semantic roles assigned to the noun phrases with which they combine.

In the first case, ideophones are in some respect similar to so-called “cognate objects” — with, however, the important difference that ideophones, in contrast with cognate objects, do not have any nominal characteristic. In the second and third cases, they have more affinities with verbs, since their function of roleassigners in the construction of the clause is identical to that commonly fulfilled by verbal lexemes.

4. The distribution of ideophones in Setswana In Setswana, the construction illustrated by ex. (8), in which the ideophone combines with the verb re ‘say’, is much more frequent than the other two mentioned in the preceding section. (8) Dikokwana ts-a re phatla! fa di bona segodi 10.chicken sc10-cons say ideo when sc10 see 7.hawk dìk~¢kwàná tsár¡I phàtSá fá díbf¡ná s¡Ióódì ‘The chickens suddenly scattered when they saw the hawk.’


The construction in which an ideophone combines with a verb other than re — ex. (9a) — and that in which an ideophone fulfills the function of predicative center of a verbless clause — ex. (10a) — exist too, but they are much rarer, and the reactions of informants clearly indicate that the constructions illustrated by ex. (9a) & (10a) are marked constructions the use of which has a strong stylistic value: whenever I proposed such constructions to speakers of Setswana, they either refused to accept them or declared that they consider them possible only with a very strong expressive value, and that variants with the verb re — ex. (9b) and (10b) — are more “correct”. (9) a.

b.

(10) a.

b.

Ka leuba naga e ne e setlhafetse with 5.drought 9.veld sc9 aux sc9 become yellow.pft ká lI¢ùbà nàóà ¢I nè ¢I s¡7tSháfétsI¢ setlhee!, go se na mafulo ideo sc17 neg have 6.pasture s7¢tSh¡7¡7 ó~¢sI¢ná máfùlf¡ ‘As a result of drought the veld became yellow and there was no pasture.’ Ka leuba naga e ne e setlhafetse with 5.drought 9.veld sc9 aux sc9 become yellow.pft ká lI¢ùbà nàóà ¢I nè ¢I s¡7tSháfétsI¢ e ntse e re setlhee!, go se na mafulo sc9 aux sc9 say ideo sc17 neg have 6.pasture ¢I n¢ tsI¢ ¢I rI¢ s7¢tSh¡7¡7 ó~¢sI¢ná máfùlf¡ ‘As a result of drought the veld became yellow and there was no pasture.’ Mosimane ngwee! le moratiwa 1.boy ideo with 1.sweetheart m¡~símànI¢ ]w¡7¡7 lI¢m¡~rátìwá ‘The boy absconded with his sweetheart.’ Mosimane o ne a re ngwee! le moratiwa 1.boy sc1 aux sc1.cons say ideo with 1.sweetheart m¡~símànI¢ ~¢nè árI¢ ]w¡7¡7 lI¢m¡~rátìwá ‘The boy absconded with his sweetheart.’

We can therefore conclude that, as far as their syntactic properties are concerned, Setswana ideophones are basically predicative lexemes that constitute the lexical element of compound predicates in which the function of auxiliary is fulfilled by the verb re. Section 5 describes the properties of predicates of the type re+ideophone, and in particular the behavior of re fulfilling the function of auxiliary in such constructions.

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5.

The Setswana verb re ‘say’ and its use as an auxiliary in combination with ideophones

The Setswana verb re ‘say’ is in many respects unique. Several properties distinguish it from any other Setswana verb, and in particular from two other verbs corresponding in certain contexts to English ‘say’ or ‘tell’: bolela ‘say’, ‘tell’, ‘report’ — as in ex. (11) — and bua ‘say’, ‘tell’, ‘speak’ — as in ex. (12), which are morphologically regular and have the syntactic behavior of ordinary transitive verbs. (11) O m-poleletse dilo tse di kgatlha-ng sc1 o1s-tell.appl.pft 8.thing 8.attr sc8 interest-rel ~¢m ¡ p~¢lélétsI¢ dílf¡ tsé díqhátShà¢] ‘He told me interesting things.’ (12) Bua nnete tell 9.truth búá n¡ nI¢t¡I ‘Tell the truth’

Morphologically, the possibilities of variation of re are similar to those characterizing the regular verbs of Setswana, but in these variations, re shows several irregularities: –

–

–

in its tonal behavior (re generally has the tonal behavior of a lexically toneless verb, but in the perfect tense, it may optionally behave like a lexically H-toned verb or like a lexically toneless verb); in its final vowel (in the perfect tense, it has the regular ending -ile, but in the other tenses, it invariably ends with — e [I], whereas regular verbs end with -e [I] in certain tenses only and take an ending -a [$] or -e [7] in other tenses)1; in the way its initial consonant alternates (in Setswana, r normally alternates with the in contexts triggering the alternation known as “consonant strengthening”, but the r of re alternates with t, and this alternation occurs in contexts in which the initial consonant of regular verbs is not strengthened).

Syntactically, re combines with a subject noun phrase in the same way as other Setswana verbs do, but in its relationship with its other arguments, it has properties that distinguish it from any other Setswana verb. Re is the only Setswana verb that can be directly followed by a complement clause showing the same form as an independent declarative or hortative sentence — ex. (13); the other verbs of saying, thinking, etc. require the use of a complementizer which is in fact the infinitive or a participial form of the verb re — ex. (14).


(13) a.

b.

(14) a.

b.

Ba tlaa tla kamoso sc2 fut come tomorrow bátSáátSà kám¡~s´f ‘They will come tomorrow.’ Ba r-ile [ba tlaa tla kamoso] sc2 say-pft [sc2 fut come tomorrow bárìlé [bátSáátSà kám¡~s´f ‘They said they would come tomorrow.’ O ya ko Kanye sc1 go prep Kanye ~¢jà kó kà\7¢ ‘He is going to Kanye.’ O re boleletse [gore [o ya ko Kanye]] sc1 o1p tell.appl.pft [that [sc1 go prep Kanye ~¢r¡Ib~¢lélétsI¢ ó~¢r¡I ~¢jà kó kà\7¢ ‘He told us that he was going to Kanye.’ (the complementizer gore ‘that’ is morphologically the infinitive of re ‘say’)

Re cannot take a noun phrase as its complement: apart from clauses and ideophones, its only possible complements are eng? ‘what?’, jaana ‘like this’ or jalo ‘like that’. In addition to that, re is monosemous only when followed by a clausal complement; when followed by eng? ‘what?’, jaana ‘like this’ or jalo ‘like that’, depending on the context, its subject may represent not only a person saying something, but also a person to whom something happens — ex. (15). (15) Ba r-ile eng? sc2 say-pft what? bárìlé ¡I]¢ ‘What did they say?’, or ‘What happened to them?’ (depending on the context)

Re presents also the following anomaly: it is employed in the -a consecutive2 with the meaning normally carried by the present — ex. (16). (16) Ngaka y-a re eng? 9.doctor sc9-cons say what? ]àkà jàr¡I ¡I]¢ ‘What is the doctor saying?’ (ya re is the a-consecutive of re with a SM of cl 9, i.e. a form which would normally be expected to mean ‘and then (s)hec9 said’, and not ‘(s)hec9 is saying’)

Another particularity that distinguishes re from any other Setswana verb is that the only extension with which it can combine is the passive extension. Note in particular that neither the applicative extension nor the causative extension can be added to re, which in other words means that in Setswana, ‘tell somebody that …’ or

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‘make somebody say that …’ cannot be expressed by means of a derived form of re. In addition to the function of predicative center of clauses, re has three different types of grammaticalized uses: – –

as already mentioned, in the infinitive or in the participial form of the present, re functions as a complementizer — see ex. (14b) above; in the construction illustrated by ex. (17), re can be analyzed as an auxiliary emphasizing the idea of happening;3 (17) E r-ile ba bangwe ba ya ko masimo-ng sc9 say-pft 2.attr 2.other sc2 go prep 6.field-loc ¡Irílè bá bà]wI¢ bájá kwá màsím~¢]` ene a sala mo gae 1pro sc1.cons remain prep home ¡7n7¢ àsálà mó óá¡I ‘It happened that when the others went to the field, she remained at home.’

–re functions as a predication auxiliary in combination with uninflected predicative lexemes, i.e. with ideophones. The combination of re with an ideophone constitutes a kind of compound equivalent in almost every respect to a verb form, the grammatical elements of a verb form (subject marker, object marker, TAM markers) being all attached to re, whereas the lexical meaning and the argument structure of such a compound are entirely determined by the ideophone. In its combination with ideophones, re loses the predicative properties it has when it functions as the predicative center of a clause: the selection of the subject and of the complements and the semantic roles assigned to them entirely depend on the ideophone. In particular, re constituting the predicative center of a clause never takes an object marker, since it cannot have a nominal complement, whereas re combined with an ideophone may take an object marker representing a noun phrase that semantically belongs to the argument structure of the ideophone, as illustrated by ex. (18) and (19). (18) O ne a tsaya mmidi a o re goro! fa fatshe sc1 aux sc1.cons take 3.maize sc1.cons oc3 say ideo prep ground ~¢nè àtsájá m ¡ mídí à~¢rI¢ ó¡~r¡~ fá fàtsh¢I ‘He then took the maize and poured it out on the ground.’ (the object marker prefixed to re represents the term A of the scheme A re goro (‘A pours out’) (19) Notshe y-a mo re po! mo tsebe-ng 9.bee sc9-cons oc1 say ideo prep 9.ear-loc nótsh¢I jám¡~r¡I pó mó tsèbé] ‘The bee stung him on the ear.’ (the object marker prefixed to re represents the term B of the scheme A re B po (‘A stings B’)


In such constructions, objects (i.e. noun phrases that can be represented by an object marker inserted between the subject marker and the stem re) always appear between re and the ideophone, whereas noun phrases in adjunct function and adverbs generally follow the ideophone, as in ex. (20). (20)

Monna a re nkwe ruthu! mo tsebe-ng ka 1.man sc1.cons say 9.leopard ideo prep 9.ear-loc with m¡~n¢ ná ár¡I ]kw¡7 rùthù mó tsèbé]` ká molamu 3.club m~¢làmú ‘The man hit the leopard ‘thud’ on the ear with a club.’

Conclusion The syntactic properties of Setswana ideophones can therefore be summarized by characterizing them as uninflected predicative lexemes that normally occur as the lexical part of compound predicates in which re ‘say’ fulfills the auxiliary function. In other words, Setswana has two types of lexemes specialized in the function of predicative center of clauses: inflected predicative lexemes, or verbs, which directly combine with the grammatical morphemes that accompany the main predicate of Setswana clauses (subject markers, object markers and TAM markers), and uninflected predicative lexemes, or ideophones, which fulfill the main predicate function in combination with an auxiliary to which the grammatical morphemes characteristic of main predicates are attached. (21) proposes a schematic representation of the two types of clause structure found in Setswana, depending on the choice of a verb or of an ideophone as the main predicate.4 (21) a. b.

N(S) s-o-verbtam N(O) N(X) N(S) s-o-retam N(O) ideo N(X)

An important contrast between these two types of clauses is that, with very few exceptions, Setswana verb forms occurring in intransitive constructions in which the subject refers to an entity undergoing some process are necessarily different from forms derived from the same root occurring in transitive constructions in which the subject refers to an agent making the object undergo the process in question. For example, in ex. (22a), the verb includes the intransitive reversive extension -og-, whereas in ex. (22b), the verb includes the transitive reversive extension -ol-. By contrast, ideophones are entirely devoid of voice-marking, but many ideophones can occur both in intransitive constructions in which the subject refers to an entity undergoing some process — ex. (23a) — and in transitive

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constructions in which the subject refers to an agent making the object undergo the process in question — ex. (23b). (22) a.

b.

(23) a.

b.

Bojalwa jw-a tshologela fa fatshe 14.beer sc14-cons pour prep ground b¡~dŠàlwá dŠwátsh~¡ l¡~ó¡7là fá fàtsh¢I ‘The beer poured out on the ground.’ Monna a tshololela bojalwa fa fatshe 1.man sc1.cons pour 14.beer prep ground m¡~n¢ ná átsh~¡ l¡~l¡7là b¡~dŠàlwá fá fàtsh¢I ‘The man poured out the beer on the ground.’ Bojalwa jw-a re goro! fa fatshe 14.beer sc14-cons say ideo prep ground b¡~dŠàlwá dŠwár¡I ó¡~r¡~ fá fàtsh¢I ‘The beer poured out on the ground.’ Monna a re bojalwa goro! fa fatshe 1.man sc1.cons say 14.beer ideo prep ground m¡~n¢ ná ár¡I b¡~dŠàlwá ó¡~r¡~ fá fàtsh¢I ‘The man poured out the beer on the ground.’

From a typological point of view, it is interesting to observe that Setswana clauses with an ideophone in the function of main predicate may be viewed as illustrating a type of clause structure in which the grammatical part of the predicate can be separated from the predicative lexeme by a noun phrase in object function. This type, rather different from the type illustrated by the verbal clauses of most Bantu languages, is very common in other groups of African languages, especially in Mande. The Setswana data shows that it may exist as a more or less marginal type in a language which is otherwise a typical SVO language. From a historical point of view, this suggests that clauses with an ideophone in the function of main predicate combined with an auxiliary may contribute to the development of historical processes leading to a shift from SVOX to SOVX.

Abbreviations List of conventions and abbreviations in the glosses of the Setswana examples: – a number not followed by s or p indicates a noun class; in order to facilitate the understanding of the syntactic structure of the examples, every noun is preceded by a number indicating its class, even if no overt prefix is present; fut = future; appl = applicative; gen = genitive; attr = attributive linker; ideo = ideophone aux = auxiliary; loc = locative; cons = consecutive; neg = negation; dsj = disjunctive;


ocx o1s o2s o1p o2p pft

= object marker of class X (X a number between 1 and 17); = object marker of 1st person singular; = object marker of 2nd person singular; = object marker of 1st person plural; = object marker of 2nd person plural; = perfect;

pro = pronoun; prep = preposition; rel = morpheme characteristic of relative verb forms; scx = subject marker of class X (X a number between 1 and 17); s1s = subject marker of 1st person singular; s2s = subject marker of 2nd person singular; s1p = subject marker of 1st person plural; s2p = subject marker of 2nd person plural.

Notes 1. Itse ‘know’ and lere ‘bring’ show the same irregularity. 2. The a-consecutive is a tense typically used in sequences of clauses referring to sequences of past events or to sequences of conditional events. 3. This construction is analyzed in Creissels 1997. 4. n(s) = noun phrase in subject function, n(o) = noun phrase in object function, n(x) = noun phrase in adjunct function, ideo = ideophone, s = subject marker, o = object marker, tam = inflected in tense-aspect-modality.

References Cole, D. T. 1955. An Introduction to Tswana grammar. London: Longmans. Creissels, D. 1996. “Disjunctive and conjunctive verb forms in Setswana”. South African Journal of African Languages 16.4: 109–115. Creissels, D. 1997. “The auxiliarization of re ‘say’ in Setswana”. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society. Doke, C. M. 1935. Bantu Linguistic Terminology. London: Longman, Green and Co. Doke, C. M. 1954. The Southern Bantu Languages. London: OUP. Doke, C. M. 1982. Outline Grammar of Bantu. Grahamstown: Department of African languages, Rhodes University. Kulemeka, A. T. 1993. The Status of the ideophone in Chichewa. PhD, thesis, Bloomington: Indiana University. Kulemeka, A. T. 1995. “Sound symbolic and grammatical frameworks: A typology of ideophones in Asian and African languages”. South African Journal of African Languages 15(2): 73–84. Kulemeka, A. T. 1996. “Determining the grammatical category of Chichewa ideophones”. Linguistic Analysis 26: 84–116. Marivate, C. T. D. 1985. “The ideophone as a syntactic category in the southern Bantu languages”. Studies in African Linguistics, Supplement 9: 210–214.

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Phonosemantic correspondences in Emai attributive ideophones* Francis O. Egbokhare University of Ibadan

1.

Introduction

The relationship between sound and meaning is believed to be conventional not natural. In ideophones as in other sound symbolic categories however, a more natural connection occurs (Hinton et. al. 1994; Childs 1988). It has been suggested that this connection has its basis in human neurology and cognition (Ohala 1994). In this study we attempt to demonstrate a natural connection between the soundmeaning correspondences in Emai ideophones.1 We argue that at a higher level, this connection reflects the way Emai speakers evaluate the physical world as being made up of geometric shapes with varying densities. Whereas consonants capture geometric propensities and material properties of entities, vowels capture their densities and molecular properties.

2.

Formal properties of Emai Ideophones2

Ideophones in Emai maintain the basic syllable composition for the language. They admit no close syllables and consonant clusters. They however show certain formal characteristics outlined below. 2.1 Phonological properties a.

Ideophones have a rigid tonal structure. Over 99% of them have an all-high tone pattern. The remaining 1% display a LH pattern. No other lexical class in Emai permits an all-high tonal pattern. b. Ideophones in Emai have a consonant-initial, minimal disyllabic and maximal quadrisyllabic structure. In this way they behave like Yoruba ideophones (Awoyale 1997).3

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c.

Segment co-occurrence in ideophones is highly restricted: A voiced consonant and its voiceless pair may not co-occur in an ideophone. It is possible to find consonants with opposing phonations as long as they do not share the same place and manner of articulation. d. Oral consonants and their nasal pairs may not co-occur. e. Fricatives do not co-occur within an ideophone irrespective of their places of articulation. But they occur freely with approximants and stops. f. The only exceptions to (e) above are the velar [ó] and [>ë] which are however restricted structurally to the second consonant position.4 g. Approximants may co-occur. But if we draw a distinction between liquid and non-liquid approximants, we obtain an interesting restriction. Liquids may cooccur only with non-liquids. h. Stops co-occur; but the bilabial position is mutually exclusive with the labialvelar and velar positions. i. Vowel identity is characteristic of Emai ideophones. But a few forms occur with non-identical vowels. One of the diverse vowels must however be a close one (i.e. either [i] or [u]). It is important to mention that the co-occurrence restrictions above are a function of the semantic properties of the segments. Segments with opposing meanings may not co-occur in a stem. 2.2 Morphological properties Reduplication and final vowel repetition or lengthening are characteristic. With respect to reduplication one may identify three classes: i.

Some ideophones occur only in their reduplicated or triplicated forms. Reduplication is obligatory (1) a. b. c. d.

rírírí (color) ‘red’ títítí (time) ‘prolonged’ kútúkútú (water) ‘boiling’ wózíwózí (body) ‘obese’

The number of reduplication is a function of the length of the root. Monosyllabic roots triplicate, disyllabic ones duplicate. Trisyllabic and longer roots do not reduplicate.

Phonosemantic correspondences in Emai attributive ideophones

(ii) Some ideophones exhibit optional total reduplication. Non-reduplicated alternants end up with final vowel lengthening or repetition, which is lacking in their reduplicated counterparts. (2) a. b. c.

híí / híhíhí (silence) ‘eerie’ yúú / yúyúyú (flow) ‘gushing’ lógóó / lógólógó (height) ‘lanky’

(iii) Some ideophones allow only partial reduplication as an optional process. Initial syllables are favored. (3) a. b. c.

3.

tókó / tótókó (sb.) ‘mushy’ yéghé / yéyéghé (phy.) ‘undersized’ kpúnyé / kpúnyényé (s.) ‘diminutive’

Meanings in ideophones

To arrive at the meanings deployed in Emai ideophones we have paid special attention to minimal and near minimal pairs. Approximate glosses are provided for each example and these glosses are reinterpreted in terms of their composite meaning units. By methods of recurrent partials, sound segments are matched with specific meanings. Examples in (4) below show consonants in interchanged structural positions. There is a significant shift in meaning occasioned by this. (4) a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

shékpé (pers.) ‘stunted’ kpéshé (sth.) ‘stubby’ gányá (pos.) ‘gaunt’ nyágán (pos.) ‘haggard’ géné (phy.) ‘curved’ négén (phy.) ‘wiry’ kótó (sb.) ‘mushy’

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h. i. j. k. l.

tókó (sb.) ‘blobby’ kédé (s.) ‘small-sized’ dédé (s.) ‘proportional’ góló (h.) ‘gangling’ lógólógó (h.) ‘lanky’

Minimal pairs and sets give us a better appreciation of meanings deployed in ideophones. Pairs and sets illustrating consonant and vowel meanings are presented below: (5) a.

kpúkú (sh.) ‘pointed/protruding’; small, compact and round, short. b. kpútú (s.) ‘stumpy’; small, compact and round, disproportional. c. kpúshú (sth.) ‘stubby’; small, compact and round, rough. d. kpódó (sh.) ‘round’; small, circular and supple, proportional. e. dúkú (sh.) ‘horny’; proportional, compact and round, short. f. gbúkú (sh.) ‘bulging’; big, compact and round, short. g. dúgbú (sh.) ‘pod-like/rotund’; big, compact and round, short. h. féghé (tch.) ‘very fine’; fine, thin thread, delicate i. héghé (w.) ‘very light’; light, flat, delicate. j. yéghé (phy.) ‘undersized’; haggard frame, thin, fragile. k. kpíríkpírí (sens.) ‘prickly’; small, compact, interspersed. l. kpízíkpízí (sens.) ‘creasy’; small, compact, undulating. m. fúyéfúyé (tch.) ‘fluffy’; fine, dense fibers, tickling. n. fúléfúlé (tch.) ‘wooly’; fine, dense, even long and thin fibers.


(6) a.

gbíkí (phy.) ‘stocky’; big, compact, short. b. gbúkú (sh.) ‘bulging’; big, compact and round, short c. gbókó (sh.) ‘oval’; big, circular and hollow, short. d. gbáká (sh.) ‘bogus’; big, very flat, short. e. kpókó (sh.) ‘swollen’; small, circular and supple, short. f. kpéké (st.) ‘petit’; small, thin, short. g. kpúkú (sh.) ‘pointed/protruding’; small, compact and round, short. h. kpéké (belly) ‘filled-up’; small, tight, not distended. i. tíkí (sb.) ‘highly viscous’; abnormal, thick, not mouldy. j. tókó (sb.) ‘mushy’; abnormal, circular and supple, not mouldy. k. téké (st.) ‘runty’; disproportional, thin, short. l. táká (sh.) ‘irregular’; disproportional, flat, short. m. kpúdú (sh.) ‘pellet-like’; small, compact and round, proportional. n. kpódó (sh.) ‘round’; small, circular and supple, proportional. o. kpédé (sth.) ‘proportionate’; small-sized, firm, proportional. p. bóbóghó (sh.) ‘oblong’; broad, hollow and firm, delicate. q. bébéghé (sh.) ‘oblong’; broad, flat, delicate. r. bábághá (sh.) ‘oblong’; broad, very flat, delicate. s. gébé (phy.) ‘husky’; tall, firm-muscular, broad. t. góbó (phy.) ‘beefy’; tall, fat, broad. u. gúbú (sh.) ‘bulbous’; long, compact and circular, broad. v. lúbú (sh.) ‘lumpy’; straight/even, compact and round, broad.

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w. x.

lébé (sh.) ‘lumpy’; straight/even, firm, broad. lábá (sh.) ‘lumpy’; straight/even, very flat, broad.

In the examples in (7) below, we present oral consonants and their nasal pairs. Emai has the following oro-nasal pairs. The nasal ones are allophones of their oral counterparts (l/n, vb/m, y/ny, w/nw). (7) a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.

lógólógó (phy.) ‘lanky’; erect-posture, fairly muscular, tall. négénégén (phy.) ‘wiry’; curved, thin, tall. góló (h.) ‘gangling’; tall, fairly muscular, bent over. géné (phy.) ‘curved’; tall, thin, bent over. yáyáyá (water) ‘seething’; bubbling, diffuse. nyányányá (light) ‘chromatic’; too bright, diffuse. vbióghó (sth.) ‘smooth’; smooth, circular and supple, delicate. mioghón (sth.) ‘slippery’; shiny, circular and supple, delicate.

In Tables (1) and (2) below, we present summaries of vowel and consonant meanings. Additional data has been used to arrive at these meanings, which we cannot include here for lack of space. Table 1.Vowel meanings Vowels

Meanings

Illustrating examples

i u

compact, dense. compact and round

6a, i. 6b, g, m.

e o

tight, firm circular and hollow, fairly muscular

6h, o, s, w. 6c, p.

e o

thin, flat circular and supple, fat

6f, k, q. 6j, n, t

a

very flat, diffuse

6d, r, x.


Table 2.Consonant meanings Consonant Stops

Fricatives

Meanings

Meaning class

Illustrating examples

p b

narrow broad

Width

6p–x

t d

disproportional, proportional

Measure

5b, 6i–l 5d, f; 6m–o

k g

short, low. long, high.

Length

5e, g; 6i–l 6s–u

kp gb

small big

Size

5a–d; 6m–o 5f, g; 6a–d

f (v)5

fine

Tactile

5h, m, n

Tactile

5l

Tactile

5c

Tactile

5h–ji 6p–r

(s) z Ú (z)

Approximants

creasy scruffy, rough.

(x) ë

fragile, delicate

υ

fused, clumped.

y

particulete, strung “ -up

w

loose, chunky

“

h

light

“

5i

l

straight, erect.

“

6v–x

Material cohesion 7q 5j, 7e

r Oro-nasal

Nasality abnormal, crooked pejorative

7b, f, h

4. A phonetic basis for consonant and vowel meanings Consonants capture the physical and material properties of entities. They are organized on the basis of their manners of articulation into three broad classes; stops, fricatives and approximants. Each of these defines a scale of meanings with places of articulation defining points along this scale. Phonation defines degrees of

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the same basic meaning feature. In table (3) below we attempt to establish naturalness in the phonosemantic correspondences already established in table (1) for consonants. In the table, we present the sound class and the definitive phonetic property connection. Table 3.Phono-semantic naturalness Sound class

Phonetic property

Natural meaning correlate

Stop bilabial alveolar velar labial-velar

Vocal tract shape broad vocal tract shape vocal tract halving high tongue position high tongue position+broad vocal tract shape

dimensionality width measure length/height size

Fricatives labio-dental velar alveolar palato alveolar

airflow+friction low friction noise dispersed friction/extremely low friction high friction noise in upper frequencies high friction noise distributed throughout the spectrum

tactile sensation fineness, smoothness delicateness creasiness roughness

Approximants Frictionless airflow labio-dental compressed airflow (over surface of grooved tongue) dispersed air (over humped front of tongue) palatal uncompressed airflow (in rounded mouth labial-velar area) glottal absolute free flow, breathiness extended tongue and lateral airflow lateral intermittent interruption r-sound

Material cohesion cohesiveness

Phonation

voice voiceless

intensifier down-toner

Nasal Oral

nasal air by-pass oral airflow

pejorative normative

particulate, strung up looseness, chunkiness etherealness, lightness straight, erect intermittence, discontinuity

Vowel meanings are best understood within a conceptual framework incorporating the notion compactness. Vowels represent the density or molecular properties of entities. Density is itself a function of the compactness of molecules. Compactness forms a scale. Entities may be compact along two axes. Along a vertical axis and a horizontal axis as the figure in (1) below indicates. Emai exploits compactness creatively by relating it to vowel height or size of orifice and lip posture. Different

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close (compact) half-close (tight, firm) half open (fairly diffuse, supple) open (diffuse)

unrounded

rounded

i

u

e

compact

o f

7 a

compact

diffuse

non-compact

Figure 1.Compactness scale for vowels

tongue heights are correlated to different degrees of compactness. Decreasing vowel height is correlated with a decrease in compactness, along a scale from compact, tight, supple to diffuse. There is an evident correlation between vowel height and size of orifice to the property characterized by compactness. The smaller the orifice the greater is the compactness. Emai ideophones also exploit rounding in vowels to indicate circularity, fatness and roundedness. This is an application of compactness on a horizontal axis. Unrounded vowels capture flatness or thinness. This is evidently a natural pairing of a phonetic feature with a semantic one. It is well known that lip rounding gets tighter as one moves up the height scale. There is therefore a corresponding progression in the related meaning. Thus [u] is always round, [o] is circular and hollow, [f] is swollen, moldy, fat or circular and supple.

Abbreviations h. = height; pers. = person; phy. = physique; pos. = posture; s. = size; sb. = substance; sh. = shape; st. = stature; sth. = something; tch. = touch; w. = weight.

Notes * This research was initiated during my stay at the University of Hamburg as a fellow of Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung. Preliminary findings were presented at various talks at the University of

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Hamburg and University of Ibadan. I am grateful to Joe McIntyre and Ludwig Gerhardt and my colleagues at Ibadan for their inputs. I am also grateful to the von Humboldt-Stiftung for giving me a fellowship opportunity. 1. Emai is a member of the ‘Ora-Emai-Iuleha’ dialect cluster of the North Central Branch of Edoid. Edoid is a New Benue Congo of Niger-Congo language. 2. Polysyllabicity, tonal patterning, reduplication, vowel repetition or lengthening are characteristic of ideophones (Awoyale 1983: 2). ideophones are sometimes phonologically anomalous in terms of their sounds, sound structure, tonal structure and phonological behavior (Welmers 1973). 3. Awoyale ascribes the Yoruba situation to the “bimoraic foot constraint.” 4. The following letters have the phonetic correlates listed against them: e [7], o [f], gh [>], kh [x], v[‚], ny [ñ], nw []w], sh [w]. Nasality in vowels is signified by an ‘n’ after the letter for the sound. After nasal consonants, nasality is not marked in vowels in the spelling used in this work. 5. The forms in parenthesis are unsolicited in attributive ideophones. Phonation is not semantically significant in the fricative class. It is however possible to substitute them. When this is done, meanings consistent with its use in the stop class are recorded.

References Awoyale, Y. 1997. “The phonological structure of Yoruba ideophones”. Paper Presented at the Second World Congress on African Linguistics, Leipzig, Germany. Awoyale, Y. 1983. “On the semantic fields of Yoruba ideophones”. Journal of Linguistics Association of Nigeria 1: 11–22. Childs, G. T. 1988. “The phonology of Kisi ideophones”. Journal of African Languages and Linguistics 10: 165–190. Diffloth, G. 1984. “I: Big, a: Small.” In L. Hinton et al. (eds), Sound Symbolism, 107–114. Cambridge: CUP. Egbokhare, F. O. 1990. A Phonology of Emai. PhD. thesis, Ibadan: University of Ibadan. Galadanci, K. 1971. “Ideophones in Hausa”. Harsunan Nijeriya 1: 12–26. Maduka, O. N. 1986. “Strategies for conveying pejoration in ideophones”. Paper read at 8th Annual Conference of the Linguistics Association of Nigeria, Port-Harcourt. Maduka, O. N. 1988. “Size and shape ideophones in Nembe: A phonosemantic analysis”. Studies in African Linguistics 19: 93–113. Maduka, O.N. 1991. “Phonosemantic rules and hierarchies: Evidence from roundness ideophones in Hausa.” Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere 26: 167–175. Marchand, H. 1959. “Phonetic symbolism in English word-formation”. Indogermanische Forschungen 64: 146–168. Markell, N. and E. P. Hamp. 1960–61. “Connotative meanings of certain phoneme sequences”. Studies in Linguistics 15: 47–61. Ohala, J. 1984. “The frequency code underlies the sound-symbolic use of voice pitch”. In Leanne Hinton et al. (eds), Sound Symbolism, 325–347. Cambridge: CUP. Sapir, E. 1929. “A Study in phonetic symbolism”. Journal of Experimental Psychology 12: 225–239. Schaefer, R. P. 1984. “Toward an understanding of some ideophones of color in Emai”. Journal of West Arican Languages 14(2): 125–134.

Defining ideophones in Mundang Stefan Elders Universiteit Leiden

1.

Introduction

What makes a word an ideophone in Mundang? There are descriptive and intensive words whose phonotactic structure is often different from an average word. I call them ideophones because they correspond to established ideophones in other African languages. When studying an almost undescribed African language, one has a certain expectation what would be an ideophone from what is known from other African languages. Though this expectation may prove to be right, what is an ideophone in Mundang has to be stated in the first place in language-internal terms. Only then one can proceed to the issue how ideophones in Mundang compare to ideophones in other African languages. I will restrict myself to a formal definition of ideophones. This paper brings together ideophonic adverbs, ideophonic verbs and ideophonic nouns. Other aspects of ideophones are discussed in the chapter on adverbs and ideophones of my Mundang grammar (Elders 2000): lexical semantics of ideophonic adverbs; phonesthetic associations; phonological features of ideophonic adverbs in discourse; syntax of ideophones. Tonal behavior of ideophonic adverbs in the sentence is discussed in the chapter on tone.1

2.

Ideophonic adverbs

Most ideophonic words are adverbs. Ideophonic adverbs constitute an open word class with certain phonological characteristics. These phonological characteristics are prototypical: a member of this category may represent all the characteristics of this category, while others only bear some of the characteristics (cf. Newman 1968; Childs 1988; Childs 1995).

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2.1 Non-canonical phonological characteristics Here follow non-canonical phonological characteristics of ideophonic adverbs that distinguish them from non-ideophonic words. a.different morpheme structures b.different tone patterns c.reduplication d.different distribution of consonants and vowels; different consonant and vowel qualities 2.1.1 Non-canonical morpheme structures Non-reduplicated ideophonic adverbs attest some morpheme structures that are not found in other word classes. (1) CLVC NCLVV CVCCVC CVVCVCVV

vr¢6m cláp mbr¾aa¾ gu` rzu´ k háát¢6ww½ı ¾e

‘extinguish a fire’ ‘fall into the water to the bottom’ ‘with a shameless look’ ‘die unexpectedly’ ‘sound of sneezing, sneeze (noun)’

2.1.2 Tone patterns Mundang is a three-tone language with three level tones High, Mid and Low. These level tones can be combined into contour tones. Though the three tones are distinctive, Mid is subject to restrictions in the various word classes. Ideophonic adverbs only attest High and Low as lexical tones. Tone patterns are often either High throughout or Low throughout, and this tendency distinguishes them from other word classes. Tone patterns often have a clear sound-symbolic value. (2) s¢6l¢6m s`6l`6m t¢6p´77´ cwà cwà

‘sound of small stone falling’ ‘sound of big stone falling’ ‘walk without making noise’ ‘walk while making noise’

2.1.3 Reduplication ideophonic adverbs as a word class are characterized by reduplication. Reduplication in other word classes is either non-productive (nouns) or non-existent (verbs). Reduplication can be either partial or total. Non-reduplicated ideophonic adverbs can occur with reduplication in discourse, while others occur with reduplication only. Reduplicated ideophonic adverbs also show the tendency towards isotonic tone patterns. Further, there are reduplicated ideophonic adverbs repeating a different tone pattern, like High–Low.

Defining ideophones in Mundang

(3) a.

b.

c.

Partial reduplication súu´ sààk ‘drive a bicycle slowly’ t`7y`7y ‘open-mouthed in surprise’ bàbíyò ‘shake the body to dry oneself (done by children after bathing)’ g´7r½7r½7 ‘walk in a crooked way’ c¢6kúmkúm ‘describes the walk of an elephant’ Total reduplication: ]´]´]´ ‘sound of bee, humming’ ‘y½a ‘y½a ‘walk without making noise’ c¾aa¾ ‘drive a bicycle rapidly’ híh¾f¾f híh¾f¾f ‘sound of a donkey, braying’ l¢6káy l`6kày ‘walk unsteadily’ tùkf½7k tùkf½7k ‘sound of a guinea-fowl’ Triplication: pláp pláp pláp ‘sound of sandals’

2.2 Different (distribution of) consonants and vowels in ideophones Some consonants are typical of ideophones: the labio-dental flap vb only occurs in ideophonic words (4a) and the fricative v is restricted to ideophones and loanwords (4b). These sounds signal also some nouns and verbs as ideophonic words, as will be shown below. (4) a.

b.

k`6vb`6m k`6nd`6m pávbám v¾aa¾t vík vr¢6m vr`6s

‘describes walking of elephant; introduces a folktale (Chadian dialect)’; (same meaning; northern dialect in Cameroon) ‘enormous’ ‘walk vigorously, quickly’ ‘sound of broom being waved in the air’ ‘extinguish a fire completely’ ‘describes emission of light’

Ideophonic adverbs admit more consonant qualities in word-final position than non-ideophonic words (5). Apart from loanwords, ideophonic adverbs are the only words that allow the obstruents p b f s word-finally. (5) p t. k. b. ' 1 f

káp káp f½7½7t grùzúk gùb g`6l`6' 1wà1 páf

‘sound made by clapping hands’ ‘all’ ‘die unexpectedly’ ‘breath with difficulty’ ‘fall with great noise’ ‘fall of water drops (from cloth or container)’ ‘bursting sound’

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100 Stefan Elders

s m ] l r

u` s p¢6l¢6m d¢6bá] d`6bà] k¢61ál 'àr

‘sound of breaking wind’ ‘sound of small stone falling’ ‘walk unsteadily’ ‘of same level (height, physical force)’ ‘cleaving of wood’

Some ideophonic adverbs with a CVC or CV.CVC structure have identical initial and final consonants (6). (6) b`6b p`6p p`6p tát tát k¢6ník

‘get up with a jump’ ‘sound of big object bursting (rifle or bigger arms)’ ‘corpulent’[ ‘ground very fine (flour)’

Ideophonic adverbs attest two nasalized vowels 7˜7˜ et f˜f˜ that do not occur in nonideophonic words (7). (7) f½7½7t ‘m½7½7 c½f½f híh¾f¾f

‘all’ ‘sound of goat or sheep, bleating’ ‘fill a container to the brim’ ‘sound of donkey, braying’

Ideophonic adverbs sometimes show an exceptional vowel distribution: long nasalized vowel in a closed syllable or a short nasalized vowel in an open syllable (8a). Nasalized vowels are normally either long vowels, diphthongs or short vowels in a closed syllable. Compared to other word classes, diphthongues of high vowel+mid vowel are rare; only ˜ı˜e is attested (8b). (8) a.

b.

f½7½7t v¾aa¾t v¾aa¾t k½aa½k k½aa½k ‘y½a‘ y½a c½ı ½7gòr½ı ½7 háát`6w½ı ¾e

‘all’ ‘walk vigorously, rapidly’ ‘sound of bicycle’ ‘walk without making noise’ ‘sound of hornbill’ ‘sound of sneezing, sneeze (noun)’

Some ideophones neutralize phonological distinctions (cf. Childs 1995): they show a free variation between i and I. In the case of vik, the ideophonic adverb has a different quality than the verb from which it is derived (9a). An alternation between velar nasal and vowel nasalization is also attested (9b); non-ideophonic words only attest an alternation between high vowel+velar nasal and a long nasalized vowel. (9) a.

b.

cík, cík c½ı c½ı , cí cí vík, vík vík ‘yá] ‘yá], ‘y½a ‘y½a

‘filled to the brim’ ‘at the same moment’ ‘sound of broom being waved in the air’; from vÌk shake, balance in the air’ ‘walk without making noise‘

Defining ideophones in Mundang

2.3 Ideophones following canonical patterns In another respect, vowels in ideophonic adverbs behave like vowels in nonideophonic words: the vowel in an initial CV syllable of polysyllabic word is often shwa, which suggests vowel reduction (10). (10) CVCVV CVCVC CVNCVC

s`6fyàà k¢61ál t`6ndí]

‘not homogeneous (of food)’ ‘of same height or physical force’ ‘grow enormously’

Ideophonic adverbs show a certain tendency towards vowel harmony (11a). Some schemes are not attested; it is not clear whether these gaps are accidental or systematic. Vowel schemes in which the vowels in subsequent syllables are different tend to have either shwa or a as first vowel (11b). Shwa probably results from the reduction of another vowel. (11) a.

7 –7 7˜ – 7˜ – 7˜ – 7˜ – 7˜ 6 –6 a–a u–u I –a 6 – wa " –i u–I u–a

t`7y`7y k½7k¾7r½7k¾7¾7 s`61`6m hárá] gùrzúk njílák s`6rwàl gwárí wúlík súu´ sàk

‘open-mouthed in surprise’ ‘sound of rooster, cock-a-doodledoo’ ‘rhythm of walking slowly’ ‘in good health, content’ ‘die unexpectedly’ ‘clear’ ‘in a lying position’ ‘quick, near’ ‘shine intensively’ ‘drive a bicycle slowly’

There are ideophonic adverbs whose morpheme structure could be that one of a regular noun or verb, but they differ from these regular words by the tone patterns they allow (12). (12) cík g¢6l¢6r g`6rí]

‘filled to the brim’ ‘sound of a hide being beaten’ ‘amazed’

Then there are ideophonic adverbs that are not distinct in their sound shape from any other non-ideophonic word (13). However, they show the same syntactic behavior as the adverbs with a non-canonical phonotactics and they can also occur reduplicated. Their lexical meaning also makes them resemble the more outspoken ideophonic adverbs. (13) ]gÌ] by¾aa¾ b`6l`6m fàtÌ

‘without moving, without effort’ ‘excessively, what is found everywhere’ ‘sound of a drum, sound made by feet on water while a person is swimming’ ‘not at all’

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2.4 Deverbal adverbs: Ideophones or regular adverbs? Some deverbal adverbs clearly have ideophonic traits, as in (14). The informant does not necessarily consider all verbs from which the deverbal adverbs are derived to be ideophonic. The deverbal adverbs can be reduplicated and some of them only occur in a reduplicated form. It is not clear if the tone of the deverbal adverb can be predicted from the tone class of the verb: verbs of the tone class Low have deverbal adverbs with Low as well as with High. The tone pattern is maybe conditioned by a phonesthetic association between the tone pattern and the meaning of the deverbal adverb. (14) 1I] 1I] k´7m, k´7m k´7m twàs twàs vík, vík vík

‘walking with a heavy load’; from the verb 1Í ~ ‘bend’ ‘in a begging way’; from the verb k`7m ‘beg’ ‘throwing sand’; from the verb twàs throwing sand (ideophonic verb)’ ‘sound of broom being waved in the air’; from vìk ‘shake, balance in the air’

A deverbal adverb can function as a cognate adverb with respect to the verb from which it has been derived (15a). This term is based on the term cognate adverbial from Andersen (1986), a description of verbal flexion in Moru (Central Sudanic). The cognate adverb in this language is however a flectional element indicating focus; Andersen (1986) does not observe a possible ideophonic value. The syntactic function of the cognate adverb in Mundang is not obligatory for deverbal ideophones: it can also occur with another verb than the one it has been derived from (15b). (15) a.

b.

Deverbal adverb as cognate adverb to verb: m`7 k`7m-ko¯ k´7m s.1s beg-spec in.begging.way ‘I have begged him.’ m`7 k`7m-ko¯ k´7m k´7m s.1s beg-spec in.begging.way red ‘I have begged him a lot.’ Deverbal adverb with other verb: ‘à ]w¾aa¾ t`6kúu´ twàs twàs s.3:im throw.plur sand sweep:everywhere red ‘She throws sand everywhere while sweeping.’

These deverbal adverbs resemble ideophonic adverbs in several respects. Like ideophonic adverbs, deverbal adverbs as a category are characterized by total reduplication. Adverbs derived from ideophonic verbs are of course ideophonic themselves, while adverbs derived from non-ideophonic verbs behave like ideophonic adverbs by their reduplication and by their intensive or descriptive meaning. A formal resemblance as well as a derivational relationship between verbs and ideophonic adverbs is known from Bantu languages (Samarin 1971: 141). Deverbal

Defining ideophones in Mundang 103

ideophonic adverbs are also known from Kera, a Chadic language spoken in the same region as Mundang. Ebert (1979: 101–103, 282) calls these deverbal ideophonic adverbs intensive forms and she notes their ideophonic character. The Ubangi language Gbaya also attests some deverbal ideophonic adverbs, but according to Noss (1981: 108) they are not productive.

3.

Ideophonic words in other word classes

ideophonic words in other word classes are only ideophonic in part: they are ideophonic by their sound symbolism, but they behave in all other grammatical aspects like the other members of their categories. These ideophonic words are ideophonic verbs, ideophonic nouns and the ideophonic adjectives, ‘white’ and ‘black’ and the ideophonic numeral ‘just one’. 3.1 Ideophonic verbs Ideophonic verbs are often onomatopoetic. Some of them indicate the action of emitting a sound (16a); others indicate an action resulting in a sound or an action which is accompanied by a sound (16b). Other verbs are not onomatopoeic, but their form is suggestive of sound symbolism (16c). Verbs are given here in their stem forms; there are two lexical tone classes, Low and High-Floating Low. (16) a.

b.

c.

Producing a sound: gàl ‘cackle’ h`7l ‘cough’ yí ~ yIí ‘cry, lament’ (litt. cry a cry) y¾ı y½ı ½ı rI ‘snore’ (litt. snore a snore) Action resulting in a sound or accompanied by a sound: '`71 ‘drop a hanging object’ 1ú` ‘pound (in mortar)’ lwà' ‘flog’ ]g`6lwà' ‘pound sth. humid’ Other ideophonic verbs: vI1yàk ‘wave to s.o.’ p´7]` ‘be(come) white, fade’ lwàl ‘be mute’

Ideophonic verbs sometimes have a particular consonant distribution, reminiscent of ideophonic adverbs. The only ver with v is an ideophonic ver (17a) and almost all verbs with v are ideophonic (17b). Furthermore, ideophonic verbs attest in stemfinal position consonants that are either not admitted in non-ideophonic verbs or rare in them (17c).

104 Stefan Elders

(17) a. b.

c.

vb¢f] g`6và v¾ı ¾ı g`6v`6r vI1yàk v`71 vIk final p: d`7p final t: hàt mbàt pàt final s: twàs

‘tan, make soft (hide)’ ‘lean forward, wither’ ‘fling (e.g. stone)’ ‘ventilate sth.’ ‘wave to s.o.’ ‘shake (tail, cloth)’ ‘shake or balance sth. in the air’ ‘shake (tail, child for play)’ ‘interrupt’ ‘dig out by making clods of earth, put aside’ (same meaning) ‘throw (sand)’

Some ideophonic verbs have a verbal derivative suffix (extension) (18); these suffixes are not restricted to ideophonic verbs. All extensions are non-productive. Most ideophonic verbs with an extension contain a pluractional extension, indicating an iterative action. There is no clear semantic distinction between the two pluractional extensions -(à)k and -r. (The term pluractional is taken from Chadic linguistics, Newman 1990; the terms separative and extensive are from Bantu linguistics, cf. Schadeberg 1982 and 1994). (18)

Verbal extensions in ideophonic verbs: Pluractional -(à)k, -r ‘iterative action, plurality of nominal argument of verb’: -(à)k 1ùk ‘hit (plur.), slaughter; destroy wood (by weevils)’ fì ~ 1yàk ‘take away wings of flying ants for preparation’ g`6d`6k ‘tickle’ -r g`6v`6r ‘ventilate sth.’ p`6r ‘sow sesame grains (by putting them into the mouth and spitting them out)’ b. Separative -l ‘movement away from a position or an original state’: h`7l ‘cough’ c. Extensive -] ‘extended position of subject or object of verb (or sometimes an action done with an object with an extended shape)’: vb¢f] ~ ‘tan, make soft (hide)’ d. Positional -k ‘absolutive argument of verb (subject of intransitive verb/object of transitive verb) is in a position or is put into a position’: a.

g`6lIk gIk

‘being stuck (between two persons or two objects)’ ‘stay in throat (of food)’


3.2 Ideophonic nouns An ideophonic noun is a noun with a sound-symbolic form. Ideophonic nouns occur as derived nouns, compound nouns and non-derived nouns. An ideophonic noun is sometimes derived from an ideophonic adverby adding a derivative prefix (19a, b) or suffix. De-nominal prefixes are highly productive, especially those with pa!- from pánÌ ‘father’, má- from mánÌ ‘mother’ and fà ‘thing’ from fànÌ ‘thing’. De-ideophonic nouns especially occur with the ma!- prefix. (19) a.

b.

Ideophonic nouns with de-nominal prefix: ma!-d´!ba!Nd´~ba~N ‘spider’ (mother-walking in a unsteady way like a spider or a drunkard) má-]gáá]gàà ‘crow’ (mother-sound of crow) pá-víívII ‘person with power to manipulate the wind’ (father-whirlwind) má-vb¢6ki~ ‘grass sp. used for thatching’ (mother-?) Ideophonic nouns with prefix t6. t`6.ky¢f]ky¢f] ‘whooping-cough’ (pfx-?) t`6.y½ı ½ı .rI ‘snore’ (pfx-snore.sfx)

Nouns with a derivative suffix are not productive. The suffix reflects an ancient noun class suffix. (Though Mundang does not have a functioning noun class system, traces of noun class suffixes can be found in derived nouns.) Some of these nouns combine a derivative suffix with a de-nominal prefix. Note that the quality of the suffix vowel is determined by the vowel in the syllable preceding it. (20) Ideophonic nouns with fossilized noun class suffix: .rÌ b`6l`6mì ‘type of drum; from b`6l`6m sound of this drum’ .rÌ kp½aa½.rÌ ‘nervous character; from kp½aa¾ enraged’ má- + .IÌ má-l`6'l`6'.ì ‘butterfly; from l`6' describes flight of butterfly, clustering everywhere on leaves and flowers’

Most compound nouns are noun phrases with an idiomatic meaning. A few compound noun contain morphemes that occur as ideophones, like ‘aimless’, or that resemble ideophonic adverbs by their form, like the first stem in ‘sardine’ (21). (21) b`6rà] dÌÌrÌ p´7lpílí ji~i~

‘rail of shelter (aimless-shelter)’ ‘sardine sp.’

Other ideophonic nouns do not bear a derivative suffix (22). I call them ideophonic because their form resembles an ideophonic adverb; some of these nouns are reduplicated. Ideophonic nouns are most often onomatopoetic, but others indicate a particular movement, like ‘slowworm’ or the gait of a camel.

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(22) b`6b`61áà b`6r`6mt`6l b¢6vbàw báz`6gíi~ b`6rb¢6r c½ı ½7gòr½ı ½7 ‘´7ryáw hááh`fm háát¢6w½ı ¾e hú¾fr`7 kI‘ ko!k½u¾f kp½aa¾ njÍlák nj¢f]nj`f] sárs`6lí`7

‘frog sp.’ ‘mason wasp’ ‘African buffalo, derby eland’ ‘frog sp.’ ‘horsefly’ ‘ground hornbill’ ‘cat; also /E!ra!w ‘yawn’ ‘sneeze’ ‘mosquito’ ‘vomit’ ‘fly’ ‘anger, unrest, thunder’ ‘clarity’ ‘camel’; also nj`f]nj`f] ‘slowworm’; its name indicates contortion, the snaking movement of this animal (cf. meselesele ‘lizard’ in the neighboring Chadic language Giziga; Lukas 1970: 129)

Then there are nouns for which I am not certain that they are ideophonic. I suggest they are because some of them are reduplicated and others have a CVCVC structure with an intervocalic liquid, a shape suggestive of sound symbolism. Their form is half-way between outspokenly ideophonic nouns and nouns whose form-meaning relationship is clearly arbitrary. I present all such problematic nouns in my data to show the difficulties in drawing a sharp boundary between ideophonic and nonideophonic nouns (23a). Intuition also plays a role here. The meaning of these nouns is sometimes suggestive of categories found among ideophones. Possible semantic features are: onomatopoetic; diminutive; typical shape, like ‘trunk of tree’. The list also contains several bird names (23b); these were elicited and determined by using the French names in Serle and Morel (1977). Though birdnames are often onomatopoeic or soundsymbolic in another form across languages, I hesitate to call these names ideophonic without having it tested with first language speakers. (23) a.

Ideophonic nouns? d`61ú1í ‘fine sand in stream’ dàd`6mí`7 ‘stinging red ant sp.’; also má-dàd`6mí`7 dàdàr¾ı ¾ı ‘rest of unsold beer’; also má-dàdàr¾7y 1wà1 s¢6mi~ ‘drop of blood’ (?-blood) f`6fy¾aa¾ hími~ ‘beer of which one has activated the fermentation to ferment the rest’ f¢6r¢6mi~ ‘smoke, soot, steam, piece of charcoal taken from burnt charcoal’ g¢6rá] ‘shard of pottery put over fire on which beer ferments in a pot’; also ]g¢6rá]


b.

g¢6ro!tí] ‘mumps’ gb`6gbúli~ ‘stump of tree’ gb`6gby¾aa¾ ‘chronically infected wound’ gÌ]gÌ] ‘fish sp. with a hard skull and stinging fins’ kp`6kpàà ‘foot of bird, (figuratively) person with frail legs’ kp`6kp¾ı ½ı ri~ ‘brains’ m`6mámí ‘wave’ má-f½aáf¾aa¾ ‘black ant sp.’ (mother-?); also má-fw½aa½fw¾aa¾ má-go!gúò ‘praying mantis’ (mother-?) má-k¢f]g¢6y`f] ‘small black ant’ (mother-?) nd¢6rwá' ‘not totally ripe state of fruit’; also má-nd¢6rwá' ]g¢6rI] ‘dwarf ’ p`6pùò ‘duiker’ wírIm ‘weak or sickly person’ s¢6lwál ‘paralysis’ wá-làlà ‘lizard sp.’ (male-?) ‘wî] ‘tastelessness (of porridge)’ ye!-k´~ka~a! ‘lastborn’ (child-?); also y´7-kààk¢6ri~ Ideophonic bird names? bi~i~zùm ‘owl (general term)’ j¾aa¾ ‘crowned crane’ k¢6rààmú ‘gray heron’; also má-k¢6rààmú k`6rák dw´77` ‘harrier-eagle’ k¢fr`f] ‘spoonbill’ kùrwàkÌ ‘owl sp. associated with sorcery’ làmlàmà ‘palm-nut vulture, bald eagle’ lyàkÌ ‘nightjar’ má-t¢6.kààlà ‘stork’ (mother-?) z`6záwrí ‘owl sp.’

3.3 Adjectives and numerals The adjectives p`7] ‘white’ and pùù ‘black’ are analyzed as ideophonic, because I assume that their form is suggestive of their meaning: front vowel+nasal for a bright color versus a long back vowel for a dark color. The adjectives derive from verbs: p`7] ‘be(come) white’ and pùù ‘be(come) black’. These color adjectives also combine with adjectival intensifiers: tál and ká]ká] ‘snow white’ and píppíp and kúrúm ‘pitch black’. The numeral pál ‘just one’ occurs as an alternative to the regular numeral búónó; pál is a borrowing from Fulfulde (cf. Noye 1989: 278): “idéophone renforçant l’expression de l’unité” (translated as: seulement un, d’un seul coup). It fits into a group of ideophonic words with initial p indicating intensity.

108 Stefan Elders

4. Conclusions Ideophonic words in Mundang can be found in all lexical word classes in Mundang. Most of them are adverbs. Ideophonic adverbs as a group show certain noncanonical phonological characteristics. Words with a comparable structure are found among verbs, nouns, adjectives and numerals. These non-canonical phonological words are suggestive of phonesthetic associations. The boundary between phonesthetic words and words with an arbitrary correspondence between form and meaning is however fluent, as is illustrated by nouns. Deverbal adverbs form another instance of the fuzzy boundary between ideophonic and non-ideophonic words: deverbal adverbs have the same grammatical behavior as ideophonic adverbs, but only part of the deverbal adverbs have an outspoken ideophonic character.

Abbreviations C V VV N L . plur spec s.3:im

consonant vowel long vowel nasal liquid morpheme boundary fossilized morpheme boundary pluractional verb stem specific determiner (also functions as 3sg object pronoun) 3rd person Imperfect

Notes 1. Mundang belongs to the Adamawa branch of Adamawa-Ubangi within the Niger-Congo family (Boyd 1989). It is spoken in the border area of Cameroon and Chad, with Kaélé and Léré as its major centers. The research is part of a Ph.D. thesis, the subject of which is a description of the northernmost dialect of Mundang (north of and in Kaélé). Data were collected during fieldwork in Cameroon (1991–1992 and 1993) and during additional fieldwork in Brussels (1995) and Leiden (1996). The project was funded by the Research School CNWS, School for Asian, African and Latin American Studies, University of Leiden. 2. The inventory of consonants and vowels is given in Table 1.


Table 1.Inventory of consonants and vowels Consonant inventory

vcl. plosives: vcd. plosives: implosives: vcl. fricatives: vcd. fricatives: prenasalized plosives: nasal sonorant: glottalized nasals: lateral sonorant: central sonorant tap: flap: laryngealized glides:

labial

alveolar

palatal

velar

labialvelar

glottal

p b ' f v mb m ‘m l

t d 1 s z nd n ‘n

c j

k g

kp gb

[/]

s# z# nj ]

h ]g

ngb

r vb ‘y

‘w

Vowel inventory Oral vowels long

short oral

i I e 7

6

u u o f

ii II ee 77

a

aa

[´0]

[u0] [o0] [O0]

[˜e] E0 a0

ie Ie

u0u0 U0U0 I0e0 E0E0 O0O0 a0a0

˜ı˜ı

diphthongs a+glide

uo uo ay

˜ı˜e

aw

7˜f˜

Nasalized vowels long diphthongs high+nonhigh

short oral

˜ı

uu uu oo ff

diphthongs high+nonhigh

diphthongs a+glide

i0e0 u0o0 U0o0 a0y i0a0

a0w

u0a0 [U0a0]

References Andersen, Torben. 1986. “Verbal inflexion in Moru.” Afrika und Übersee 69: 19–43. Boyd, R. 1989. “Adamawa-Ubangi”. In J. Bendor-Samuel (ed.), The Niger-Congo Languages, 189–215. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.

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Childs, G. Tucker. 1988. “The phonology of Kisi ideophones”. Journal of African Languages and Linguistics 10: 165–188. Childs, G. Tucker. 1995. “African ideophones”. In Leanne Hinton et al. (eds), Sound Symbolism, 178–204. Cambridge: CUP. Ebert, K. H. 1979. Sprache und Tradition der Kera. Teil III: Grammatik [Marburger Studien zur Afrika- und Asienkunde, Serie A: Afrika 15]. Berlin: Reimer. Elders, S. 2000. Grammaire mundang. Leiden: Research School CNWS. (Also PhD. thesis). Lukas, J. 1970. Studien zur Sprache der Gisiga [Afrikanistische Studien 4]. Glückstadt: Augustin. Newman, P. 1968. “ideophones from a syntactic point of view”. Journal of West African Languages 5(2): 107–117. Newman, P. 1990. Nominal and Verbal Plurality in Chadic [Publications in African languages and linguistics 12]. Dordrecht: Foris. Noss, P. 1981. Gbaya: phonologie et grammaire: dialecte yaayuwee. Meiganga, Cameroon: Eglise Evangélique du Cameroun, Centre de Traduction Gbaya. Noye, D. 1989. Dictionnaire fulfulde-français. Dialecte peul du Diamaré, Nord-Cameroun. Garoua: Procure des Missions/Paris: Geuthner. Samarin, W. J. 1971. Survey of Bantu ideophones?. African language studies 12: 130–168. Schadeberg, T. C. 1982. ?Les suffixes verbaux séparatifs en bantou?. Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika 4: 55–66. Schadeberg, T. C. 1994. “Die extensive Extension im Bantu”. In T. Geider and R. Kastenholz (eds), Sprache und Sprachzeugnisse in Afrika. Eine Sammlung philologischer Beiträge Wilhelm J. G. Möhlig zum 60. Geburtstag zugeeignet, 357–366. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe. Serle, W. and G. Morel. 1977. A Field Guide to the Birds of West Africa. London: Collins.

Some expressive and borrowed elements in the lexicon of Finnish dialects Vesa Jarva University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Preamble Expressive words usually have somewhat exceptional phoneme inventories, which can also be connected with borrowed elements. (I use “expressive” here as a cover term; thus it overlaps with terms like onomatopoetic, descriptive, ideophones, phonesthems etc.) From the etymological point of view expressive functions may be attributed to phonemes of foreign origin. For example, voiced stops have entered the Eastern Balto-Finnic languages, Karelian, Veps and Votic, with Russian loanwords. Now these phonemes may also be used in native expressive words: Karelian borista (cf. Finnish porista ‘mutter; bubble’) or Votic durisa (cf. Finnish turista ‘murmur, buzz’). (Itkonen 1966: 133; cf. Laanest 1982: 86). We can see this phenomenon affecting lexical units as well. A loanword may lose its original meaning and acquire a new, expressive one. Generally it also adapts to the morphological structure of existing expressive words in the target language. This development is not always easily verifiable because of irregular changes usually involved in expressive forms. However, in some cases there are sufficient connecting links between the original and expressive forms so that they form a synchronic family resemblance network, which can be interpreted diachronically. To illustrate this development, I present two examples of Russian words used expressively in Finnish dialects. The first case is the consonantal structure k-lk-r (kalkara, kilkero etc.), originally from Russian kolokol ‘bell, sleigh bell’ and the second case is tytinä from Russian stúden’ ‘jellied meat’.

1.

The Finnish language

Finnish, and Finno-Ugrian languages in general, are often cited as languages

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extremely rich in expressive vocabulary (cf. Hakulinen 1961: 222; Anttila 1977: 27). However, due to a lack of accurate statistical evidence, this is only an impression. It may be based on the fact that Finnish is an agglutinative language and, in comparison with Indo-European languages, morphologically complex. Well-known examples are the large number of noun cases (15) and the so called possessive suffix system (kirja-ni ‘my book’, kirja-si ‘your book’). Finnish also uses a lot of holistic, derived and inflected forms instead of syntactic structures as in the Indo-European languages. (For further details, see, for example, Karlsson 1987: 12–14, 155, 194–195.) The inflectional and derivational possibilities in many cases result in a multitude of verbal, adverbial, adjective and nominal forms, which have the same “stem” or “root”. For example, the following forms are somehow connected with the verb stem syö- ‘to eat’: syöpyä ‘to be corroded’, syöttää ‘to feed’, syövyttää ‘to corrode’; syöjätär ‘evil woman’ (literally: she-eater), syöminen ‘eating; something to eat’; syömäri ‘big eater’, syöpä ‘cancer’, syöpäläinen ‘parasite’; syötti ‘bait’; syötävä ‘edible’; syöveri ‘whirlpool’. In some cases the relation between different forms is regular. For example, cf. syödä ‘to eat’ and syöttää ‘to feed’ with juoda ‘to drink’ and juottaa ‘to water’; derivational suffix -tta/ä has the meaning ‘cause to be done’ (see also Laanest 1982: 281–282; Karlsson 1987: 201). Many derivative forms are somehow, formally or semantically, exceptional, but they can still be interpreted diachronically: for example syöpä ‘cancer’ is an old participle form, which has originally been used as an adjective: syöpä tauti ‘an eating disease’. In Standard Finnish the present participle form now has the ending -va/ä, like syövä mies ‘an eating man’ (see Laanest 1982: 248–249; Karlsson 1987: 165). There are also many forms whose connection is highly exceptional and remains unclear, though they seem to be somehow connected with each other. This is often the case with expressive words. As a result, they have been neglected in research into Finno-Ugrian languages, especially in etymology. (Cf. Anttila 1975: 19; 1997: 111–112.) From another point of view, Finnish is very fertile language to diachronic analyses. At its “best”, it is almost transparently agglutinative, with derivative and inflectional elements quite easily segmented. Finnish is also a phonetically conservative language. It can be seen for example in old German loan words like kuningas ‘king’, which is very near to Old German *kuninga-z (Kylstra et al. 1996: 122–123), whereas Germanic languages have gone through many sound changes, cf. Swedish konung, German König, English king. Finnish dialects are also very well documented with extensive archives. The neo-grammarian school and historical linguistics in general held in a strong position in research in the area, which was until the 1960s almost totally based on dialectal corpora (Korhonen 1986: 108). Hence there are good opportunities for comparative and diachronic research. My data is from the archive of the dictionary of Finnish dialects, which consists

Some expressive and borrowed elements

of over 8 million entries from the beginning of 20th century to our days. I have transcribed the examples given below roughly in the orthography of Standard Finnish, as phonological aspects of Finnish dialects are not of interest here. It also renders sentences easier to understand for those who know at least some Finnish.

2.

Types k-lk and k-kr

To understand the first case (k-lk-r), we first need an overview of two expressive word groups: types k-lk and k-k-r. There are a large number of onomatopoeic words, mostly verbs, of the type k-lk. These words typically refer to the noise of something hard hitting or striking something: an axe against wood, a tongue against a bell, a hammer against an anvil, an oar against a row lock etc. Here are just a few examples (here, the Finnish dictionary entries consist of infinitive endings separated by a dash; cf. Karlsson 1987: 53–55). (1) kalkahta-a kalkka-a kalkkaantukalkkais-ta kalkutta-a

kilkahta-a kilkka-a akilkkaantu-a kilkkais-ta kilkutta-a

kolkahta-a kolkka-a kolkkaantu-a kolkkais-ta kolkutta-a

Alternation of a vowel, particularly in the first syllable, is characteristic of Finnish onomatopoeic verbs, as it is of expressive words in general. There may be other alternating vowels as well, but a, i, and o are the most common. This phenomenon can easily be compared with onomatopoeic words in English, for example clinkclank-clunk. In English, the same pattern also occurs in grammatical formations, like shrink-shrank-shrunk. (Anttila 1977: 27–29, 34.) In Finnish, on the contrary, this “internal derivation” is very striking, because Finnish derivation suffixes are mostly added after stems. In some cases the alternation can be interpreted as sound symbolism: words with a are quite neutral, whereas words with i refer to something smaller or quieter or higher in pitch, words with o to something bigger or louder or lower in pitch. Examples (2, 3) feature a verb-to-verb suffix -aht(a)- and example (4) the suffix -ele- (for their special meaning see Laanest 1982: 271, 274; Karlsson 1987: 200–201). (2) odotin ja kuuntelin, missä päin lehmän kello kalk-ahta-isi ‘I was waiting and listening, from where the cow’s bell would clank.’ (3) lasi mäni hajalle, jotta kilk-aht-i ‘Glass broke, so it “clinked”.’ (4) kärrynpyörä kolk-aht-ele-e kiviä vasten ‘The wagon wheel is clunking against stones.’

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Another relevant group here are words of the type k-k-r. These words are typically descriptive nouns and they refer to small, roundish objects: for example a piece of dirt, or ice; a small cake or bread; lumps in salt, milk or flour. (5) kakare kakkara kakkero kakkura

kikare kikkara kikkero kikkura

kokare kokkara kokkero kokkura

Group (5) shows the same kind of vowel alternation as group (1), but with the addition of quantity alternation in the second consonant. The next set of examples also show similar sound symbolic aspects. In sentence (7) the adjective pieni ‘small’ emphasizes a form with an i (kikare); in sentence (8) the adjective paksu ‘thick’ emphasizes a form with an o (kokkare). (6) pellolla on paljon kakkaro-ita ‘there are lot of lumps [of clay] in a field’ (7) anto pienen kikare-en voita leivän päälle ‘[s/he] gave [sby] a little piece of butter on some bread’ (8) tässäpä piimässä on paksuja kokkare-ita ‘in this sour milk there are thick lumps’

So, here we have the consonantal “skeletons” or “frames” k-l-k and k-k-r with quite established, but approximate meaning, which are made more precise by the choice of vowels. A very interesting parallel for this system is found in Yorùbá. Yiwola Awoyale (1999) has presented examples of a “skeletal consonantal base” r-g-d, which in general has the meaning ‘round, roundish or curved shape’ and which is completed by different vowels with tonemic and nasal-non-nasal oppositions: règèdè, regede, régédé, rigidi, ragada, rogodo etc. Finnish has no tonemic or nasal distinctions, but quantity opposition and derivational affixes are used in Finnish to complete vowel alternation in the very same way as tones and nasals are used in Yorùbá. In Yorùbá, which is an isolating language with very few affixes, this kind of “umlaut” flexion is as unexceptional as in Finnish.

3.

Type k-lk-r

Some of the words I presented above are also well known in standard Finnish (and can be found in bilingual dictionaries), whilst the type k-lk-r is mostly known in dialects only. In Standard Finnish only the word kalkkarokäärme ‘rattle snake’ is known, and this is a loan translation, apparently from Swedish.


(9) kalkkare kalkkero kalkura

kilkkare kilkkero kilkura

kolkkare kolkkero kolkura

These words have several meanings: ‘bell, sleigh bell; twisted bunch of fur or hair; a roundish piece of ice, dirt, or manure, etc.’ The semantic vagueness and morphophonemic complexity of k-lk-r suggest that the type is not as basic as the two former ones. Phonetically, it could be interpreted as a contamination of the two former groups: k-lk plus k-k-r yields k-lk-r. It has also certain semantic features which can be connected with the former groups: verbs of the type k-lk may refer to the clanking of a bell, and nouns of the type k-k-r refer to ‘a roundish lump’, too. So it seems obvious that the three types mentioned above are closely bound up with each other. In Finno-Ugrian etymological research, expressive words are usually considered to be, at least in part, native, as Raimo Anttila (1997: 112) puts it: “affective color secures immediate naturalization, and thus we feel that it has always been there.” This is true in the case of the k-lk-r type, too. One etymological dictionary of Finnish gives under kalkkarokäärme ‘rattle snake’ (SSA: 286, my own translation): “The First part [i.e. kalkkaro] is connected with onomatopoetic words under kalkkaa” (cf. second line of example 1). They intuitively appear to be connected to any Finnish-speaker, but is this an etymological explanation? An etymological key lies in the meaning ‘bell, sleigh bell’, which is found in Finnish dialects in the forms kalkkala and kalkkalo. (10) sitten pantiin kello-t ja kalkkala-t hevosen kaulaan ‘Then we put [many] bells on the horse’s neck’ (11) lehmällä on kalkkalo kaulassa ‘A cow has a bell on its neck’

These match perfectly with Old Russian *kolkol:, cf. Russian kólokol (Plöger 1973: 61–62). Hence we are dealing with borrowing, and any similarity with onomatopoetic words like kalk- was purely accidental. What is interesting here is that the similarity in the expressive words, however accidental it may be, begun to influence the word kalkkala after its borrowing. Thus first note certain sound changes: from kalkkala to kalkkana or kalkkara, i.e., the latter of the two l:s has changed but the meaning remains the same. (12) kieli kello-sta putosi, katosi ääni kalkkara-sta ‘the ‘tongue’ [= clapper] has fallen out of the bell, the (jingle) bell has lost its ‘voice’’ [a proverb used when a talkative person is quiet]

On the one hand, such forms may be due to dissimilation; so we do not necessarily have to assume that it is the expressive forms which are influential here. On the

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other hand, the word already has got expressive connotations, as can be seen in example (10) in the redundant expression kello-t ja kalkkala-t, literally ‘bells and bells’, where the first word kello is Standard Finnish. Also in example (12), both variants, kello and kalkkara, are used. This kind of redundant use of (almost) synonymous words is a common stylistic device in Finnish folk poetry; it can also have connotations of exaggeration or irony. The next step is obvious: (13) ei niitä kilkkaro-ita, eihän ne kuulu mihinkään [in olden times bells were bigger than nowadays:] ‘Not those bells, you can’t hear them anywhere’

The form kilkkaro is used to describe ‘small, quiet bell’, which means that original loan-word has been adapted to the expressive vowel alternation; notice also the same kind of sound symbolism here as in example (3). The final step is semantic expansion in the area of k-k-r, and it is semantically motivated, as example (13) shows: it combines ‘a bell’ with ‘a roundish lump’. (14) oli yltä päältä paskasta kelkkare-issa niin kuin kulkustiukuja ‘[in a cow’s fur] there was all over lumps of manure like sleigh bells’

An etymological dictionary of Finnish says under kalkkala (SSA: 286; my own translation): “[kalkkala, kalkkana, kalkkara, kalkkalo are] partly from Russian kólokol, partly obviously native derivations of the verb kalkkaa.” Here we see the viewpoint mentioned above, in Anttila’s words “immediate naturalization” because of expressivity. Although the k-lk-r and k-lk words have something in common phonologically and semantically, the term “derivation” is wholly inaccurate here. The “derivational” suffixes -lo, -la come from Russian. The variants with -ra, -re etc. are due to dissimilation (cf. Plöger 1973: 62) or influence of the k-k-r words. We can now reconstruct the development: borrowing: Old Russ. *kolkol7 (> kolokol;) ‘bell, sleigh bell’ > Finn. kalkkala ~ kalkkalo ‘id.’ (examples 10, 11). b. phonemic variation (dissimilation l–l > l–n, l–r): kalkkala ~ kalkkalo ~ kalkkana ~ kalkkara ~ kalkkaro ‘bell, sleigh bell’ (12). c. adaption to the vowel alternation : kalkkaro > kilkkaro ‘small bell’ (13). d. semantic expansion: interference of kakkara etc. (14). a.

4. Tytinä ‘jellied meat’ Finnish contains a large number of verbs of the type of CVCis-ta/ä (the latter is an infinitive suffix). These verbs also have noun correlates of the type CVCina/ä (see Hakulinen 1961: 128; Laanest 1982: 212):


(15) kalis-ta kilis-tä kalina kilinä ‘clank, rattle, etc.’ (cf. (1)

kolis-ta kolina

(16) pihis-tä pohis-ta pihinä pohina ‘hiss, fizz, etc.’

puhis-ta puhina

(17) järis-tä täris-tä järinä tärinä ‘shake, quake, tremble, etc.’

väris-tä värinä

In general these are expressive forms, which can refer to sound or movement. Their semantic vagueness is considerable, but to the most part we can connect different forms into chains of semantic and phonetic correlates. We can see internally correlating chains, which differ in the vowel in the first syllable (15), (16) or in the initial consonant (17). (Cf. Hahmo 1994: 14–15, 23–24.) Semantic differences in these chains are highly questionable, though sound symbolism can occasionally be perceived in them. This type is very common: Kiviniemi (1971: 24) has collected over 400 different verbs of this type in his corpus. In (18) we have examples of verb–noun correlates, which have alternation in the consonant, which can be t or h, and in the vowel, which can be u or y. (18) hutis-ta hytis-tä hutina hytinä tutis-ta tytis-tä tutina tytinä ‘shake, quake, tremble etc.’

These words refer to a kind of small, rapid, seesawing movement, for example a person trembling because of cold or fear, a leaf shaking in the wind and so on. (19) minun on niin vilu että minä ihan tutis-en ‘I am so cold that I am trembling’ (20) ei mun käteni vielä tytis-e ‘my hands are not trembling yet’ [I am not that old]

Now it is possible that a loan word may adapt to this system. Sirkka-Liisa Hahmo (1994: 364–365) has presented 12 Russian and 11 Swedish loan words of the type CVCina/ä. They are mostly dialectal, but some of them are known in Standard Finnish, for example tarina ‘a story’, latina ‘Latin’ and rusina ‘a raisin’. Here we have an example of a dialectal word meaning ‘jellied meat’. In Russian this is stúden’, which regularly yields tyyteni in Finnish (see also Hahmo 1996: 286–287). (21) vasikan lihasta saa hyvää tyyteni-ä ‘You get good jellied meat from veal’

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(22) tytenä-ä tehtiin, jos lehmä tapettiin ‘We made jellied meat, when we killed a cow’ (23) mitkäs pidot ne on missä ei tytinä-ä ole ‘what kind of party is it, if you do not have jellied meat’

Here we see the step-by-step development which leads to the canonical form of the Finnish expressive verb correlate: tyyteni (21) > tytenä (22) > tytinä (23). The word has retained its original meaning, but has been phonetically adapted to the extent, that the result is homophone: tytinä ‘jellied meat’ (23) from Russian stúden’ and tytinä ‘quivering’ (24) from the native, expressive verb tytistä (20). (24) tytinä alko loppua kun sai lääkettä ‘[patient’s] trembling begun to cease when he got medication’

But here we also have a sentence (25) which demonstrates that homophony can turn into polysemy: (25) sitä sanotaan tytinäksi vissiin sitä vasten kun se tytisee ‘I think it [jellied meat] is called tytinä because it quivers’

In this case the informant has explained the original loan-word by reference to native, expressive word. Semantic motivation is clear enough to generate the comparison: jellied meat has a lot of gelatin in it and it is so flexible that, when touched with a fork for example, it quivers for awhile. An excellent case of folk etymology! The development can now be reconstructed as follows: a. borrowing: Russ. stúden’ ‘jellied meat’ > Finn. tyyteni ‘id.’ (21). b. adaptation to the expressive word form CVCinA: tyyteni > tytenä > tytinä (21)–(23). c. semantic motivation (25).

5.

Conclusion

In the first case, the k-lk-r type, we have a loan word whose original meaning has somehow become blurred and confused with expressive forms. It has been adapted to the canonic vowel variation system of Finnish expressive words. Hence it seems likely that the whole of the skeletal consonantal base, k-lk-r, which at first glance seems to show contamination with k-lk and k-k-r, is of foreign origin. In the second case, tytinä, a loan word is morphologically adapted to the expressive form in the pattern CVCinA, but it has retained its original meaning. In both cases we can follow step by step, how an originally foreign element, a Russian loan word, has been adapted to the total system of expressive words in the Finnish language. It is probably no coincidence that loan words in particular —


which are said to have “affective/suggestive color” (Anttila 1975: 16) — tend to acquire expressive connotations. Because they are novelties in the target language, their meanings and forms are more vague than those of more “normal” or established words. So speakers tend to explain them with the help of familiar forms. Crucial here are both a phonetic resemblance and a semantic motivation, which tie the etymologically separate forms together in the speaker’s mind.

References Anttila, R. 1975. “Affective vocabulary in Finnish: An(other) invitation”. Ural-Altaische Jahrbücher 47: 10–19. Anttila, R. 1977. “Toward a semiotic analysis of expressive vocabulary”. Semiosis 5: 27–40. Anttila, R. 1997. “Affective vocabulary and borrowing: Finnish pirskottaa ‘sprinkle’ and patistaa ‘urge, prod’”. Journal of Finnish Studies 1: 111–114. Awoyale, Y. 1999. “The form-meaning interface in Yoruba ideophones”. Unpublished paper given at International Symposium on ideophones, January 25–27, 1999. Hahmo, S.-L. 1994. Grundlexem oder Ableitung? Die finnischen Nomina der Typen kämmen und pähkinä und ihre Geschichte [Studia Fennica Linguistica 5]. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. Hakulinen, L. 1961. The Structure and Development of the Finnish Language. (Suomen kielen rakenne ja kehitys.) [Indiana University Publications, Uralic And Altaic Series 3].The Hague: Mouton, Bloomington: Indiana University. Itkonen, E. 1966. Kieli ja sen tutkimus. Helsinki: Werner Soderstrom. Karlsson, F. 1987. Finnish Grammar. Translated by Andrew Chesterman. Second edition. Helsinki: Werner Soderstrom. Kiviniemi, E. 1971: Suomen partisiippinimistöä [Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seuran toimituksia 295]. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. Korhonen, M. 1986. Finno-Ugrian Language Studies in Finland 1828–1918 [The History of Learning and Science in Finland 1828–1918, 11]. Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica. Kylstra, A. D., S-L. Hahmo, T. Hofstra and O. Nikkilä 1996. Lexikon der älteren germanischen Lehnwörter in den ostseefinnischen Sprachen. Band II: K-O. Amsterdam and Atlanta: Rodopi. Laanest, A. 1982: Einführung in die ostseefinnischen Sprachen. (Sissejuhatus läänemeresoome keeltesse.) Translated from Estonian by Hans-Hermann Bartens. Hamburg: Helmut Buske. Plöger, A. 1973. Die russischen Lehnwörter der finnischen Schriftsprache. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. SSA = Suomen sanojen alkuperä I 1992. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. [Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seuran toimituksia 556].

119

The ideophone in Didinga Nicky de Jong Summer Institute of Linguistics, Sudan Branch

Introduction Didinga, an Eastern Sudanic (Eastern) language spoken in southern Sudan, belongs to the group of Southwest Surmic languages. The Didinga people (30,000–50,000) live in Sudan where the borders of Kenya, Uganda and Sudan meet. They are subsistence farmers but keep cattle as well. The language type is VSO. Ideophones are descriptive words that are highly specific. They often appeal to the senses and give a vivid picture which would otherwise require a lot of words to describe. Their occurrence is limited, at least in Didinga, to affirmative declarative and imperative sentences. The main source of ideophones for this paper is a body of about 80 oral stories told by a variety of people, mainly narrative (personal experiences and fables) and some procedural (customary) texts, collected in Southern Sudan in the late eighties. Some ideophones have been elicited through related words. But Samarin’s (1971: 484) method of eliciting ideophones through antonyms wasn’t productive since there exist over 120 adjectives as well as quite a number of qualitative (stative) verbs in the language. Ideophones are not very commonly used. About 70 different ones are found in the stories but only four of them occur in more than two. In this paper, the first section deals with the phonology and morphology of ideophones including derivation. The second section looks at the syntax, the third at the semantics and the fourth at frequency in discourse. Finally, some borderline cases are discussed.

1.

Phonology and morphology

In this section, the first part deals with the Didinga vowel and consonant inventory, the second with the syllable structure of ideophones and their derivation.

122 Nicky de Jong

1.1 Vowels Didinga has a symmetric nine vowel system with phonemic length. The high and mid vowels can be [+ATR] (i, u, e, o) or [−ATR] (I, ~, 7, f) with the low vowel (a) being opaque. Ideophones follow the same pattern of cross-height vowel harmony as other monomorphemic words: they have either only [+ATR] or [−ATR] vowels or the low vowel, as well as the low vowel combined with either [+ATR] or [−ATR] vowels.1 (1) punuθ ‘sound of sth coming out’ 1ixillo] ‘manner of losing balance’ kwa?ak ‘manner of striking sth hard’

p~n~~tw ‘slippery’ Šf'lf] ‘in tears’ twa1u¯t ‘firmly (like the grip of a cat)’

The language has two phonemic tones: high (marked with acute) and low (unmarked). Six tone melodies are found on different words but the tone melody of an ideophone is almost always low. (Exceptions: manaá\ ‘easily bruised off; smooth’, tw~~n ´ ‘sound of bowels when hungry’, tdÍ] ‘nothing, empty’, ¯t IýyÍk ‘sound of metal against metal’ and Š~~m´f Š~~m´f ‘not together, i.e. in separate groups or one by one’.) 1.2 Consonants There are 36 consonants shown in Table 1. 16 pairs have lenis and fortis realizations, the remaining four only occur fortis.2 Table 1.Didinga consonants

stop voiced stop voiceless fricative nasal lateral vibrant semivowel

labial

dental

alveolar

palatal

velar

lenis fortis

lenis fortis

lenis fortis

lenis fortis

lenis fortis

'

m

b p v mm

w

ww

¯t ð

d¯ ¯t t ðð

1

d td

n l n

nn ll r

dŠ tw

Š \

\\

y

yy

9

g k

x~> ] ]]

Fortis consonants are found with higher frequency in ideophones and other adverbs than elsewhere in the language. Didinga has a strong tendency for words to have at

The ideophone in Didinga

least two moras. Monosyllabic words, apart from ideophones, almost always have a long vowel with few exceptions like k´fn ‘sun’ and t¯t ún ‘five’. In these exceptions, one mora is associated with the vowel, the other one is apparently deleted. As compensation, the onset consonant is doubled and realized as a fortis consonant.3 By analogy, any fortis consonant can fill such an onset slot. Among the ideophones, more than 30 monosyllabic ones have a short vowel preceded by a fortis consonant. Even in polysyllabic ideophones, which do not have this constraint, fortis consonants often appear in the onset slot. 1.3 Syllable structure Ideophones in Didinga occur either in single or in reduplicated form. Those occurring single usually have one or two syllables but three or four are possible. The root of those occurring reduplicated has one or two syllables. (2) ri¯t ‘manner of closing’ roo'oyyi ‘lying on the stomach’ r7l r7l ‘manner of looking shyly’ l~l~l~l~ ‘healthy, smooth’

rfjfk ~ rujak ‘sound of sth not very hard breaking’ xapixi1ik ‘manner of making a place barren’ Šani Šani ‘watery’ ]7]7]7]7 ‘nicely fitting together (of teeth)’

1.4 Derivations A number of ideophones can undergo derivation producing a verb, a noun or an adjective. Several ideophones form a corresponding verb usually by adding the suffix 4 -an. (3) bu¯t ‘sound of removing’ llin ‘sound made when falling down’ m~l~\ ‘manner of being swallowed’ panatw ‘manner of easily moving’ p~n~tw ‘manner of removing quickly’ tw~k ‘in a bundle’

bu¯t án ‘uproot, pull; thin’ llinján ‘fall’ m~l¢~~¢ \an ‘flood’ panááŠan ‘cause to come off easily’ p~n¢~tw ‘remove, undress, strip off’ Š~>án ‘bundle’

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124 Nicky de Jong

Ša1~~] Ša1~~] ‘worried’ uum ‘manner of pouring’ van ‘sound of cracking a stick’

Ša1¢~~¢ ]an ‘cause to worry’ umúún ‘pour out’ vanán ‘crack’

An ideophone and its related verb may occur in the same clause. (4) a-1áák ]áá ¢7-t¯t ¢7¢7tÐ lootw no>ó llin. pf-die:3sg woman:nom pf-fell:3sg ground just llin ‘The woman fell down dead just llin (= sound made when falling down).’ (5) a-llínan 1o>oleétw lootw. ipf-fall:3 child:nom ground. ‘The child is falling down.’ (6) a-vanán náwálawalla monók nó>ó van. pf-crack:3sg ring:nom shaft just van ‘The ring cracked the shaft just van (= sound of cracking a stick).’

A few ideophones form a corresponding noun or adjective but no patterns have been discovered, as there are with those forming a verb. Examples of ideophones with their derived nouns or adjectives: (7) kitdik kitdik ‘manner of shaking, vibrating’ \a'ii¯t ‘feeling of dampness’ xatdi] xatdi] ‘manner of rolling down like a tuber’ yyfk yyfk ‘manner of not being secure’ yyaluk ‘easily moving to one side by the wind’ pum ‘sound of a drum’ tdI] ‘sound made by sth bulky’ t¯t 7l ‘completely bare’

kitdikitdík ‘earthquake’ \a'íðð¢7¢7t ‘dampness’ xatdiítdi], xaniítdi] ‘kind of plant with round tubers’ yfyyfk ‘disturbance’ loyyáluk ‘long-crested eagle’ pupuma ‘big but light’ tditdi]a ‘bulky’ ¯t 7lla ‘bare’

(8) a-Í lffŠ-I yyfk yyfk xInI]I¯t I lfg¢IIn. ipf-say:3 place-nom yyfk yyfk because Logiir ‘The place says yyfk yyfk (= is not secure) because of (possible disturbance by) the Logiir.’


2.

Syntax

Ideophones can be divided into two categories according to the way their syntax functions. a.

Some ideophones carry a full semantic load and use a form of the verb II ‘say’ as an auxiliary. (9) ma 'aa ]aá á-¢I lffŠ-I t¯t au t¯t au I-¯t I]aáŠf. and when(past) still ipf-say:3 place-nom t¯t au t¯t au pf-get:up:3p ‘And when the place still said t¯t au t¯t au (= first appearance of daylight) they got up.’ (10) a-\ák Š¢7n¢7m Š¢I á-¢I xipik xipik. ipf-have:3 dress rel ipf-say:3 xipik xipik ‘She has a dress which says xipik xipik (= with many colours).’ (11) 7-nn-¢7¢7k¢I lóóno] i\\á nó>ó vItw. ipf-say-ben:appl:3 rope neck just vItw ‘He told the rope to the neck just vItw. (= He tightened the rope around the neck.)’

b. Other ideophones following the main verb are often preceded by the adverb no>ó ‘just’. Some of those make the main verb more specific (answering the question ‘In what way or manner exactly?’), others have the same meaning as the main verb and their usage seems to be a stylistic means. (12) a-¯t ¢I¢Il-I ¯t an¢I ¯t ámmú 'úúk nó>ó twuu. ipf-rain-intr:3 in-fact rain:nom also just twuu ‘In fact it was also raining just twuu (= heavily).’ (13) a-ká¯t -I ]aá éét x7'7nI no>ó tdfk tdfk. ipf-plant-appl:3 woman:nom man eyes just tdfk tdfk ‘The woman was fixing her eyes on the man just tdfk tdfk (= in a staring manner).’ (14) 1Imán tdíitw xa¯t aman van van xf-f-¯t f! do:2sg work quickly van van pf-go-1pin:irreal ‘Do the work quickly van van (= showing impatience) so that we go!’ (15) a-'ári¯t ~ð~n-I no>ó ððan ððan. ipf-shiver:3 dog-nom just ððan ððan ‘The dog is shivering just ððan ððan (= in a shivering manner).’

Even though most ideophones follow just one pattern, it is possible to transform one into the other with a difference of focus: (16) a.

a-dúú¯t -i maám-a 1een-a no>ó td~l td~l. ipf-pour:out-impers:3 water-nom gourd-obl just td~l td~l ‘Water is poured from a gourd just td~l td~l (= making a gurgling sound).’

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b.

3.

a-dúú¯t 1eení máám á-¢I td~l td~l. ipf-pour:out:3 gourd water ipf-say:3 td~l td~l ‘The gourd let the water flow out saying td~l td~l.’

Semantics

As Childs (1994: 188) states, “[i]deophones can be quite specific, usually evoking some concrete imagery. They often appeal to the senses and have a narrow meaning.” In Didinga, ideophones appeal to the senses too: hearing, seeing, touching, smelling and tasting (but rarely to the latter three), or describe feelings and the manner in which certain actions are performed. (17) 7-t¯t ¢7¢7tÐ á>á¯t nó>ó ]wak. pf-cut:3sg food just ]wak ‘She broke the food just ]wak (= sound of breaking sth soft into two).’ (18) 17¢7tw gffl áa a-¢I t¯t ul. follow:2sg road rel:hab ipf-say:3 t¯t ul ‘Follow that road which says t¯t ul (= frequently used [and therefore dusty])’ (19) nee Š¢I á-¢I vInf] ]aá¯t i xo? what rel ipf-say:3 vInf] here (shared knowledge) ‘What is it that says vInf] (= is smelling badly) here?’ (20) a-¯t án-I lf¯t 77-Š-I a-¢I llII llII. ipf-taste-intr:3 honeys-sg-nom ipf-say:3 llII llII ‘The honey tastes saying llII llII (= sweet)’ (21) ¢II ððIn¢I¯t pin. pf:say:3sg heart:nom pin ‘The heart said pin (= His heart changed).’ (22) f-m¢f¢f¯t -I 177k7¢7Š-I a-¢I yyaluk. ipf-move-intr:3 bird’s:crest-nom ipf-say:3 yyaluk ‘The crest feathers are moving saying yyaluk (= easily moving to one side by the wind).’

3.1 Sound symbolism (phonosemantics) In most ideophones, there doesn’t seem to be a relationship between the sounds in a particular ideophone and its meaning. In trying to apply the phonetic symbolism as described by French (1976: 314) for the vowels used, by looking at the qualities listed in that article, one has to decide which quality is in focus:

The ideophone in Didinga 127

– – – – –

–

in td~l td~l ‘gurgling sound’, the vowel is related to the roundness of the opening; in pum ‘sound of a drum’, to the large size of the drum, whereas in di] di] ‘sound of a small drum’ to a small size drum; in dim dim ‘sound of walking’ and in llin ‘sound made when falling down’, to the hardness of the ground; in rim ‘sound of heavy things falling’, to the same hardness of the ground, not to the heaviness of the falling objects; in ððI¯t Ik ‘tightly’, to tightness but in twa1u¯t ‘firmly (like the grip of a cat)’ to the roundness of the paw, not to the tightness of the grip or the claws being pointed; in xipik xipik ‘with many colours’, to the brightness of the colours.

Even though this approach gives some insight as to why a certain vowel appears in a particular ideophone, there are many others that have no matching quality such as tdI] ‘sound made by sth bulky’ and lililili ‘completely barren’ (none of the qualities listed for /i, I/ fit). In others such as vInf] ‘smelling badly’, llII llII ‘sweet’ and 1~~l ‘feeling of regaining strength’, as well as most of the manner ideophones, the vowels cannot be associated with any of these qualities. As for the consonants in ideophones, hardly any iconic relationship between the sounds and the meaning has been discovered. Voiceless stops are sometimes related to impact like in papu papu ‘sound of stones rolling down a rocky area’, kuk ‘impact of hitting the ground’ and puk ‘sound of sth hitting sth soft’ and the labial fricative sometimes to speed as in vau ‘sound of speed making contact with a bush’ and vuu ‘sound of flying’. 3.2 Onomatopoeia A few onomatopoeic terms (aural ideophones) show iconicity between the sound and its reference. (23) kaððak kaððak ‘sound of a dog drinking’

td~l td~l ‘gurgling sound’

3.3 Reduplication Reduplicated ideophones often indicate a repeated action, duration or speed as well as a distributive pattern.5 (24) a-núk ¯t ~x~l¢~tw xavuu¯t o no>ó xapuk xapuk. ipf-beat:3 cock:nom wings just xapuk xapuk ‘The cock is fluttering its wings just xapuk xapuk (= sound of fluttering before crowing).’

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(25) a-álla ððIn¢I¯t á-¢I Ša1~~] Ša1~~]. ipf-remain:3 heart:nom ipf-say:3 Ša1~~] Ša1~~] ‘The heart remains saying Ša1~~] Ša1~~]. (= The person remains feeling worried.)’ (26) ¯t ooyya 1aal 1aal! walk-ven:2sg 1aal 1aal ‘Come here 1aal 1aal (= quickly but carefully)!’ (27) a-át¯t IkÐ ee¯t -a ŠI-kÐ a-¢I Š~n7 Š~n7. ipf-stay:3pl people-nom rel:nom-pl ipf-say:3 Š~n7 Š~n7 ‘There are people who say Š~n7 Š~n7 (= a few here and there).’

4. Frequency in discourse The frequency of ideophones in the source material is low. A word count revealed that the average occurrence of ideophones is 0.2% of the total words, the highest in one story being 1%. Many ideophones occur in only one story. Many stories are told without any ideophone. One reason could be that some ideophones are highly specific like xirikok xirikok ‘manner of moving backwards and forwards (of a chameleon)’ and d7m d7m ‘manner of walking unhurriedly’. So none occurs if the story has no call for it. Childs (1994: 194) states in the section Pragmatic: “In that ideophones serve an expressive function, it is not unexpected that they should appear in limited environments, ones where expressiveness would be expected to occur.” But he doesn’t specify these environments. In Didinga, although frequency is low, there are three very significant environments in narrative discourse where ideophones more often are used: in a pre-peak section where a problem is stated, in the climax section at the turning point and in the outcome.

5.

Borderline cases

Further evidence that in Didinga ideophones are not to be considered a separate word class is given by other adverbs that have either syntactic or phonological similarity. (Of course, these similarities could be an argument for including these words under the ideophones as well.) 5.1 Syntactic similarity A number of mainly manner adverbs exists that syntactically behave the same as ideophones in that they can go together with a form of II ‘say’ or be preceded by

The ideophone in Didinga 129

no>ó ‘just’. They often have a related verb and/or adjective. In fact, these adverbs and their verbs are derived from adjectives by partial reduplication, in the case of adverbs, and adding the suffix -an in the case of verbs. (28) Ša>akal ‘hard’ 1~x~k~l ‘manner of uncontrolled falling’ m~Š~tw~n ‘easily cut’ muðuðutw ‘manner of lying flat’ ]alillin ‘in an overdoing manner’ viniritw ‘sound of sth being thrown’

–

–

1~k¢~~¢ lan ‘make unstable’ m~tw¢~~¢ nan ‘cut (sth tender and delicate)’ – ‘lying flat’ ]allíínan ‘do beyond what is expected’ virííŠan ‘throw’

1~k~la ‘unstable’ -

'ana>atwak 'ankááŠan ‘manner of awakening suddenly’ ‘break off (branch)’ ]fnf>fððfk ]fnk¢f¢fðan ‘manner of being injured ‘injure with a sharp object’ with sth sharp’ pIlIxI\\Ik pIlk¢I¢I\an ‘manner of slipping off easily‘ ‘cause to slip off easily’ pflf>f\\fk pflk¢f¢f\an ‘manner of removing’ ‘cause to come out, remove’ 1IxIlIllI] ‘manner of swaying (a child on the back)’ 1~x~l~ll~] 1~ll¢~~¢ ]an ‘manner of rolling down easily’ ‘cause to move easily as a whole’

muðuŠa ]allina ‘oversize’ pIlkI\a ‘too small’ – – 1~ll~]a ‘with a round shape’

(29)

a-¢I ððííxi¯t -i Ša>akal. ipf-say:3sg iron-nom Ša>akal ‘The iron says Ša>akal (= is hard).’ [Sense of touching]

(30)

u-t¯t ún mmáá bánánaa-wa viniritw. pf-hit:3sg lion small:axe-obl viniritw ‘He hit the lion with a small axe viniritw (= sound of sth being thrown).’

(31)

I-¯t I]á nó>ó 'ara>atwak. pf-wake:up:3sg just 'ara>atwak ‘He woke up just 'ara>atwak (= manner of awakening suddenly).’

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5.2 Phonological similarity A number of adverbs with the same shape as monosyllabic ideophones (i.e. with a short vowel, the onset being a fortis consonant, usually low tone) exist — all meaning ‘very’. They are verbal or adjectival intensifiers which Newman (1968: 110) separates from descriptive adverbs. They collocate with specific verbs or adjectives just like Samarin (1970: 165) found ”that in Wolof ideophones seem to be satellites of specific verbs.” (32) a-'áð-I td7tw ipf-be:bad-intr:3 very ‘it is very bad’ a->a>a¯t -I¢I tdum ipf-be:bitter-intr:3 very ‘it is very bitter’

a-lál-I k~tw ipf-be:cold-intr:3 very ‘it is very cold’ ma9ið-ðjook Š¢I-kÐ xóllí-kÐ t¯t ¢7n hunger-pl rel-pl black-pl very ‘periods of severe hunger’

6. Conclusion In Didinga, ideophones have the same phoneme inventory as other words even though monosyllabic words with a short vowel and a fortis consonant onset are rare among non-adverb words in the language. They follow the same pattern of ATR cross-height vowel harmony as occurs in other monomorphemic words. Reduplication in ideophones may have the same function as in verbs, which is repeated action or duration. There are two optional adverbial phrase slots, one before and one after the nucleus. Ideophones always occur in the post-nuclear slot. The fact that other adverbs may enter into the same constructions as ideophones and can have the same shape, further hardens the inclusion of ideophones in the adverb word class as a subclass in Didinga.


Abbreviations antp atr appl ben hab impers intr ipf it irreal nom obl pf

antipassive advanced tongue root applicative beneficiary habitual impersonal (agent implicit) intransitive imperfective aspect iterative irrealis nominative case oblique case perfective aspect

pl rel sg sth ven 1 1pin 1pex 2sg 3 3sg 3/pl

plural marker relative pronoun singulative marker something ventive first person first person plural inclusive first person plural exclusive second person singular third person third person singular third person plural

Appendix Additional ideophones and their corresponding verbs (see § 1.4) ððI¯t Ik ‘tightly’ kftw ‘manner of hooking sth on sth’ ]]am ‘sound of breaking off’ ]]fm ‘manner of hitting gently’ pItÐ ‘totally blocked; covered; stubborn’ ri¯t ‘manner of closing’ rupÐ ‘manner of cutting into pieces’ tdI] ‘sound of slap on the face’ tdipÐ ‘manner of covering completely’ ‘manner of mixing’ tdftw, td~tw ‘manner of taking all’

ððI¯t I´Í>án ‘strangle’ kfŠán ‘put on a hook’ ]amán ‘break off’ ]fmán ‘hit gently’ pI1án ‘close tightly’ ri¯t án ‘close; lower, lessen, reduce’ rf'án ‘cut into pieces’ tdI]án ‘hit on the head’ tdi'án tdi'áneek ‘cover, fill’ ‘mix’ tdfŠán ‘remove all, take all’

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t¯t ul ‘dusty, frequently used’ vak ‘way of splitting’

t¯t ulán ‘cause dust to come up’ va?án ‘split (by force using hands)’

l~l~l~l~ ‘healthy, smooth’ td~l td~l ‘with a gurgling sound’

l~l~´~¯ ´ t an ‘make smooth’ td~td~´~´lan ‘pour (from a container with a small mouth)’ tdutdaan ‘struggle through; run with force’

tdutdutdutdu ‘sound of struggling sound of running with force; sound of drinking fast’

Division of ideophones according to Syntax (see 2) Category a: Ideophones that carry a full semantic load 1. 1uu 1uu ‘manner of reacting in an uncontrollable way’ 2. 1~~l ‘feeling of regaining strength, of relief ’ 3. 1~ll7k ‘sign of light of a fire (intermittent appearance of sparks)’ 4. ððII / tdÍ] ‘nothing left’ 5. ððuul ððuul ‘with little hair’ 6. ðð~~l ðð~~l ‘having vision problems because of old age’ 7. lililili ‘completely bare’ 8. l~l~l~l~ ‘healthy, smooth’ 9. kapÐ kapÐ ‘articulately’ 10. ]a~ ]a~ ‘feeling uneasy’ 11. ]7]7]7]7 ‘manner of fitting nicely together’ 12. pin ‘change of heart’ 13. pfn pfn ‘sound of leaves moving (by a person going through the garden)’ 14. p~n~~tw ‘slippery’ 15. t¯t au t¯t au ‘twilight (not enough to see properly); weak (of eyes, temporary because of sickness)’ 16. tdutw ‘frightened, scared’ 17. tdwan ‘sound of sth hitting sth dry (skin, wood)’ 18. ¯t ÍyyÍk ‘sound of metal against metal’ 19. t¯t ul ‘dusty, frequently used’ 20. vInf] ‘badly smelling’ 21. wa¯t aak ‘beginning to become bright’ 22. xapixi1ik ‘barren’ 23. xipik xipik ‘with many colours’ 24. yyfk yyfk ‘manner of not being secure’ 25. Ša1~~] Ša1~~] ‘worried’ 26. Š~n7 Š~n7 ‘a few here and there’


Category b.1: Ideophones that are more specific (often manner words) 1. 'fnt¯t ff¯t ‘boggy’ 2. 1aal 1aal ‘quickly but carefully’ 3. d7m d7m ‘not in a hurry’ 4. ððI¯t Ik ‘tightly’ 5. Iðaatw Iðaatw ‘manner of swallowing easily’ 6. kana'uk ‘on one’s knees (because of fear)’ 7. kitdik kitdik ‘manner of shaking, vibrating’ 8. mo1uun ‘lying on the back’ 9. ]wak ‘sound of breaking sth soft into two’ 10. pau ‘sound of quickness while moving freely; manner of completely clearing’ 11. pItÐ ‘completely blocked, covered’ 12. puk ‘sound of sth hitting sth soft’ 13. r7l r7l ‘in a shy way’ 14. rim ‘sound of heavy things falling’ 15. roo'oyyi ‘lying on the stomach’ 16. ¯t ajayyak ‘sound of throwing dry firewood down’ 17. tdipÐ ‘manner of covering completely’ 18. td~l td~l ‘with a gurgling sound’ 19. ¯t I1ak ¯t I1ak ‘manner of continuous landing of birds’ 20. twuu ‘heavily’ 21. twa1u¯t ‘firmly’ 22. van van ‘hurriedly, showing impatience’ 23. vau ‘quickly moving making contact with a bush’ 24. vin ‘upright, straight up’ 25. wana wana ‘manner of getting up quickly of people sitting or lying down’ 26. xapuk xapuk ‘sound of fluttering wings of a cock before crowing’ 27. xirikok xirikok ‘manner of moving backwards and forwards (of chameleon)’ 28. yyaluk ‘easily moving to one side by the wind’ 29. yya] yya] ‘movement of long hair’ 30. Šf'Ilf] / 'flfnf] ‘in tears’ 31. Š~~m´f Š~~m´f ‘not together (in separate groups or one by one)’ Category b.2: Ideophones that have the same meaning as the collocating verb 1. ððan ððan ‘manner of shivering’ 'arí¯t ‘shiver’ 2. ðundu1u1u ‘sound of water bubbling 1uú gwoyyá¯t f´f´ ‘bubble into the fire’ into the fire’ 3. dii dii ‘sound of grinding’ n7´7k ‘grind’ 4. 1Illff ‘manner of swinging’ aán lókóó1I ‘swing’ 5. kin kin ‘manner of running’ iín ‘run’ 6. kinok ‘manner of entering 1uxún, iðó ‘enter (from outside)’ from outside’ 7. kwak ‘sound of bursting’ paák ‘burst’ 8. ra'uk ‘manner of collapsing’ ribán ‘collapse’

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9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

ri¯t rupÐ

‘manner of closing’ ‘manner of cutting into pieces’ tw717k ‘manner of jumping’ ¯t udee / ¯t ~k77 ‘manner of scattering’ ¯t ~ / ¯t ~ ¯t ~ ‘manner of spitting’ uum ‘manner of pouring’ wawaa¯t wawaa¯t ‘sound of skinning’ yyauk ‘manner of breaking pieces off’

rit¯t án xf´ftÐ

‘close’ ‘cut into pieces’

]f´fθ ððaan t¯t ~~n umúún t7´7 yyfkán

‘jump’ ‘scatter’ ‘spit (saliva)’ ‘pour out’ ‘skin’ ‘break into pieces’

Ideophones in context (in addition to those in the main body) Hearing a-x~1-I ´ ~ð~n-I a-Í kaððak kaððak. ipf-drink-antp:3 dog-nom ipf-say:3 kaððak kaððak ‘The dog is drinking saying kaððak kaððak (= sound of a dog drinking).’ xa-ðíx-i ððoó ŠÍ-kÐ éé¯t -akÐ a-Í dim dim ÍŠI ŠIll-´f. ipf-hear-1sg feet rel-pl person-poss:pl ipf-say:3 dim dim obl:rel back:of:house-poss ‘I heard the feet of a person saying dim dim (= sound of walking) at the back of the house.’ I-'IllIÍ]-Í '´77´ nó>ó papu papu. pf-roll-intr:3sg rock:nom just papu papu ‘The rock rolled just papu papu (= sound of stones rolling down a rocky area).’ a-páx-Í x´77´] nó>ó kwak. ipf-burst-intr:3 stomach:nom just kwak ‘The stomach burst just kwak (= sound of bursting).’ I-t¯t á\-í ]áá rÍÍma lootw no>ó rim. ipf-hit-appl:3 woman:nom firewood ground just rim ‘The woman dropped the firewood on the ground just rim (= sound of heavy things falling)’ u-¯dúx-í ððíll-á nó>ó vuu kuk. pf-throw-antp:3sg cliff-obl just vuu kuk ‘She threw herself from the cliff just vuu (= sound of flying) kuk (= impact of hitting the ground).’ a-1úú-i maám-a no>ó ðundu1u1u gwoyy-á-¯t f´f´. ipf-bubble-intr:3 water-nom just ðundu1u1u fire-obl-inside ‘The water is bubbling just ðundu1u1u (= sound of water bubbling into the fire) into the fire.’ xa-1ak-t¯t -oó-a nI]áá¯t a no>ó \am \am. pf-eat-pl-antp-1plex there just \am \am ‘There we have eaten just \am \am (= sound of eating).’ a-Í ððÍÍ>-a ¯t ÍyyÍk. ipf-say:3 metal-nom ¯t ÍyyÍk ‘The pieces of metal say ¯t ÍyyÍk (= sound of metal against metal).’


a-¯dux-eék ]áá rÍÍma lootw no>ó ¯t ajayyak. ipf-throw-dir:3 woman:nom firewood ground just ¯t ajayyak ‘The woman threw the firewood on the ground just ¯t ajayyak (= sound of throwing dry firewood down).’ f-'´ftw ]áá éé¯t nó>ó tdff. pf-nudge:3sg woman:nom man just tdff ‘The woman nudged the man (on the head to warn him) just tdff (= sound of hitting sth hard).’ Sight 7-]´71I¯t ee¯t -a x77n x-ÍI lffŠ-I lililili xaa9a. ipf-cut:3 people-nom trees 3-pf:say:irreal:3sg place-nom lililili just ‘The people were cutting trees so that the place just said lililili (= was completely barren).’ I-twáák ee¯t -a lootw x-ÍI xapixi1ik. ipf-stamp:3 people-nom ground 3-pf:say:irreal:3sg xapixi1ik ‘People are stamping the ground so that it says xapixi1ik (= become barren).’ a-Í x7'7nI ŠI9annÍkÐ t¯t au t¯t au. ipf-say:3 eyes:nom my:nom:pl t¯t au t¯t au ‘My eyes say t¯t au t¯t au (= The vision of my eyes is weak [temporary because of sickness]).’ xa-Šin-oóð-i gwoó á-Í 1~ll7k r7´7na. ipf-see-it-1sg fire ipf-say:3 1~ll7k far ‘I saw a fire saying 1~ll7k (= appearance of sparks) far away.’ Hearing and Sight f-m´ff´¯t -I Ima-ná ŠI-kÐ mmáa-wakÐ a-Í yya] yya]. ipf-move-intr:3 hair-nom rel:nom-pl lion-poss:pl ipf-say:3 yya] yya] ‘The manes of the lion were moving saying yya] yya] (= movement of long hair).’ Feeling a-Í 7´l´7 ŠaannÍ ]a~ ]a~. ipf-say:3 body:nom my:nom ]a~ ]a~ ‘My body says ]a~ ]a~ (= I am feeling uneasy.)’ xa-Šin-oóð-i ððInÍ¯t á-Í 1~~l. ipf-see-it-1sg heart ipf-say:3 1~~l ‘I felt my heart saying 1~~l (= feeling of regaining strength).’ Manner ÍI lffŠ-I wa¯t aak. pf:say:3sg place-nom wa¯t aak ‘The place said wa¯t aak (= began to get bright).’ a-Í ]aa-I 1uu 1uu. ipf-say:3 woman-pl 1uu 1uu ‘The women say 1uu 1uu (= react in an uncontrollable way).’

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136 Nicky de Jong a-9aneék 7´7´¯t -I ðff¢θ nó?ó kapÐ kapÐ. pf-know:well:3sg man-nom word just kapÐ kapÐ ‘The man knew well the word just kapÐ kapÐ (= spoke articulately).’ 7-1´7Š-I 7´7¯t -I gffl no>ó d7m d7m. ipf-follow-3 man-nom road just d7m d7m ‘The man follows the road just d7m d7m (= not in a hurry).’ a-Í l~l~l~l~. i-í¯t a ¯t IÍn-a ŠI-kÐ pf-come:3pl cows-nom rel:nom-pl ipf-say:3 l~l~l~l~ ‘Cows which say l~l~l~l~ (= are healthy) came.’ a-Í Ima-ná ŠI-kÐ 1ó>oleeŠ-ákÐ ððuul ððuul. ipf-say:3 hair-nom rel:nom-pl child-poss:pl ððuul ððuul ‘The hair of the child says ððuul ððuul (= is little).’ I-I-¯t f´ x7'7nI ŠI-kÐ \aká]áán ŠáannI ðð~~l ðð~~l xaa9a. pf-say-3pl eyes:nom rel:nom-pl father my ðð~~l ðð~~l just ‘The eyes of my father said ðð~~l ðð~~l just (= are just getting weak).’ a-ú ~-x~~ð-Í xI'aallI mana no>ó ¯t I1ak ¯t I1ak. ipf-come:3pl ipf-perch-appl:3 birds garden just ¯t I1ak ¯t I1ak ‘The birds came to perch upon the garden just ¯t I1ak ¯t I1ak (= manner of continuous landing).’ a-ín ]a¯t irjaa-I a-Í kin kin. ipf-run:3 duiker-nom ipf-say:3 kin kin ‘The duiker is running saying kin kin (= manner of running).’ a-ŠÍn-i 7´7t-I no>ó r7l r7l. ipf-see-antp:3 man-nom just r7l r7l ‘The man is looking just r7l r7l (= in a shy way).’ a-kú 7´7´¯t -I a>á¯t nó>ó Iðaatw Iðaatw x-ÍI ððII. ipf-swallow:3 man-nom food just Iðaatw Iðaatw 3-pf:say:irreal:3sg ððII ‘The man swallowed the food just Iðaatw Iðaatw (= manner of swallowing easily) to say ððII (= completely).’ I-¯t I]aáŠf ee¯t -a no>ó wana wana. pf-get:up:3pl people-nom just wana wana ‘The people got up just wana wana (= manner of getting up quickly of people who were sitting or lying down).’ f-¯t fm´f lffŠ-I ÍI kitdik kitdik. pf-move:3sg land-nom pf:say:3sg kitdik kitdik ‘The land moved saying kitdik kitdik (= manner of shaking, vibrating).’ a-Í \I9I¯t -a ŠI-kÐ eé¯t -akÐ ]7]7]7]7. ipf-say:3 teeth-nom rel:nom-pl person-poss:pl ]7]7]7]7 ‘The teeth of this man say ]7]7]7]7 (= fit nicely together).’ a-1a-eék 7´7´¯t -I ¯t elétw nó>ó vin. pf-dig-ben:3sg man-nom pole just vin ‘The man fixed the pole just vin (= upright).’


I-]´fð-á 7´7´¯t -I no>ó tw717k. pf-jump-ven:3sg man-nom just tw717k ‘The man jumped out just tw717k (= manner of jumping).’ a-1ÍÍ¯t máám-a gwoó nó>ó tdipÐ. ipf-quench:3 water-nom fire just tdipÐ ‘The water quenched the fire just tdipÐ (= manner of covering completely).’ a-lú 7´7´¯t -I nó>ó Šf'Ilf] / 'flfnf]. ipf-cry:3 man-nom just Šf'Ilf] / 'flfnf] ‘The man was crying just Šf'Ilf] / 'flfnf] (= in tears).’ f->´ftÐ 7´7´¯t -I loóno] no>ó rupÐ. pf-cut:into:pieces:3sg man-nom rope just rupÐ ‘The man cut the rope into two just rupÐ (= manner of cutting into two).’ i-ri'án twééθ lootw no>ó ra'uk. pf-collapse:3sg house ground just ra'uk ‘The house collapsed just ra'uk (= manner of collapsing under its own weight).’ u-núk lootw no>ó kana'uk. pf-beat:3sg ground just kana'uk ‘She feel down just kana'uk (= on her knees [because of fear]).’ I-ððáán ee¯t -a mIn´fk nó>ó ¯t udee / ¯t ~k77. ipf-scatter:3 people-nom enemies just ¯t udee / ¯t ~k77 ‘The people scattered the enemies just ¯t udee / ¯t ~k77 (= manner of scattering).’ f-yy´f>an ngaá rÍÍma no>ó yyauk. ipf-break:into:pieces:3 woman:nom firewood just yyauk ‘The woman is breaking the firewood into pieces just yyauk (= manner of breaking pieces off).’ xa-1ák-t¯t -a x~ð~wan ´ nI]ááta td~tw. pf-eat-pl-1plex buffalo there td~tw ‘There we have eaten the buffalo td~tw (= manner of taking all, i.e. the whole buffalo).’ u-Šu1-eék ]áá loxiín¯t o loóro] i\\á nó>ó ððI¯t Ik. pf-strangle-appl:3sg woman:nom hyena rope neck just ððI¯t Ik ‘The woman strangled the hyena with a rope around its neck just ððI¯t Ik (= tightly)’ a-gám x´77´la]-I eé¯t aððii¯t no>ó twa1u¯t . pf-catch:3sg leopard-nom man hand just twa1u¯t ‘The leopard bit the man in his hand just twa1u¯t (= firmly).’ a-áx-Í í1i]-i pItÐ. pf-cook-impers:3sg meat-nom pItÐ ‘The meat is cooked pItÐ (= completely covered).’ a-m~-I ´ lffŠ-I a-Í 'fnt¯t ff¯t . ipf-be:soft-intr:3 ground-nom ipf-say:3 'fnt¯t ff¯t ‘The ground is soft saying 'fnt¯t ff¯t (= boggy).’

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Notes 1. The examples are written phonetically using the IPA. Lenis consonants preceded by a fortis consonant are realized as fortis (post-lexical rule). In the examples, however, they are written lenis for transparency, especially of reduplicated ideophones. So the pronunciation of for example /xipik xipik/ is [xipik kipik]. 2. The lenis voiced stops are slightly implosive and the fortis ones with egressive lung air. The lenis voiceless dental stop is apical, the fortis one is laminar, also the fortis alveolar one. The alveopalatal fricative is the lenis variant of the voiceless alveopalatal affricate and the velar fricative of the voiceless velar stop. The fortis interdental fricative has more friction than the lenis one and so do the fortis lateral and semivowels. The fortis nasals are longer than the lenis ones. The consonants occurring in the coda are pÐ, tÐ, twÐ, kÐ (devoiced stops), ¯t , tw, k, θ, m, n, \, ], l and n. 3. There is some more evidence of compensation causing an onset consonant to become fortis: The verb ¯t ~'~´ ‘blow’ when adding the ventive suffix -a becomes either ¯t ~'~a ´ or ¯t ~ba ‘come blow, revive’. 4. Verbs are in the singular command form. The same suffix -an changes adjectives into causative verbs: ð¯ irja]a ‘in a surprised state’ d¯ irjáá]an ‘cause to be surprised’ patdaŠa ‘wide’ patdááŠan ‘cause to become wider, stretch’ 5. Reduplication in verbs also can indicate repeated action or duration: nIríí>an ‘strip meat in long pieces’, ŠItwÍIńan ‘tear up’, p7p´77´Šan ‘remove one by one’; ŠItwÍI´>an ‘filter, squeeze through a piece of cloth’, pupúúŠan ‘rub, erase’

References Childs, G. Tucker. 1994. “African ideophones”. In L. Hinton et al. (eds), Sound Symbolism, 178–204. Cambridge: CUP. French, P. L. 1976. “Toward an explanation of phonetic symbolism”. Word 28: 305–322. Newman, P. 1968. “Ideophones from a syntactic point of view”. JWAL 5: 107–117. Samarin, W. J. 1970 “Inventory and choice in expressive language”. Word 26: 153–169. Samarin, W. J. 1971. “Measuring variation in the use of Gbeya ideophones”. Proceedings of the Eighth Congress of the West African Linguistic Society, 483–488.

INK "kab-n*">

Ideophones in Cilubà* N. S. Kabuta Ghent University

Introduction This article begins with an analysis of the behavior of ideophones and ideophonic words on the phonological, morphological and syntactic levels. Then the ideas conveyed are briefly examined. In conclusion a definition of the ideophone in Cilubà is suggested. To collect ideophones, a corpus of approximately 500,000 words (comprising conversations, tales, poetry, proverbs, a bible translation and a dictionary) was surveyed. However, the original aim was not to collect ideophones, but just to make a frequency list of words to be included in a Cilubà–French dictionary. We were struck by certain words whose phonology was characterized by an accumulation of features which only seldom appear in the rest of the system. Approximately 280 such words were isolated, most of them found in tales. They were then discussed with varied Cilubà speakers to establish their precise meanings. Interestingly enough, it appeared that, apart from a dozen very frequent forms, most of the others, although they were recognized as being ideophones, were not known to most speakers (perhaps it would be more correct to say: “present-day”, or “educated”, or “urban” speakers). Only the deverbative ideophones were spontaneously understood by everyone. This research is part of a Cilubà lexicography project and the article actually a “framework” for the ideophone category, which allows us to give a precise definition of the ideophone, not only in French, but also in Cilubà. One of the aims of the project is to develop an acceptable grammatical metalanguage in Cilubà to be used in the macrostructure of the dictionary.

1.

Phonology

To understand the particularities of ideophones, it is necessary to outline the phonology of Cilubà. In the following summary, the most relevant points are underlined. There are 5 vowels:

140 N. S. Kabuta

high high-mid low-mid low

front i e

central

back u o

(7)

(f) a

The most frequent vowels are the high (i, u) and the low (a), the latter appearing predominantly in final position. The vowels in brackets ([+low +mid]) are allophones of e and o respectively. They are written the same way as the high-mid vowels, their pronunciation being predictable. There are 2 tonemes: high, not marked, being the most frequent, and low (`). It should be pointed out here that Cilubà displays a tone reversal system in comparison with Proto-Bantu, and, contrary to most of the Bantu languages. The falling toneme (ˆ) is rare and a rising (ˇ) never occurs outside inflection. Since a vowel can be short (with 1 mora), long (with 2 morae) or falling (with 2 morae) and bear a high or low toneme, every vowel yields 5 phonemes. To these, one can add 3 nasal allophones all of which are bimoraic (1 with a high tone, 1 with a low tone and 1 with a falling tone). Here are, the different forms for the vowel a: a.phonemes: /á/, /à/, /á˜/, /à˜/, /â˜/ b.with complex tones: /¦a˜/, /â˜/ c.nasalized vowel /ã/ (with the tonal alternations alluded to above) One can then state that nasality, as well as rising and falling features, are always accompanied by lengthening. Furthermore, nasality and lengthening are only possible before a consonant inside a word, which means that they normally do not appear in final position: (1) kumvwa [ku˜mvwa], musonso [musoñso] ‘hear’ ‘nail’

Exceptions to these rules are very few, although the frequency of the words concerned, all of which are monosyllabic, may be high: (2) àn or èn, toˇ, mbû ‘yes’, no ocean

There are 18 consonants: /m/, /n/, /\/, /]/, /b/, /v/, /l/,/d/, /z/, /Š/, /p/, /φ/, /f/, /t/, /s/, /σ/,/k/, /tw/. Some of these are represented as follows: /\/: ny; /tw/: c; /]/: ng; /Š/: j; /w/: sh; /φ/: p. [d] is in complementary distribution with [l] after /n/ and before /i/ ; [p] is in complementary distribution with [Φ] after a nasal. The syllable displays the following general structures: CV, V, CVV, CGV, NCV. Repetition of syllables is frequent, but as far as verb stems are concerned, total repetition only occurs on the segmental level, unless the repeated segments have all

Ideophones in Cilubà

high tonemes (4a). In (4b), the repetition of LH is not LHLH, but LHHH. This is also often the case with nominal stems (cf. 4c): (4) a.

ku-bela

>

b.

ku-mòna

>

c.

mu-dìbudibu ‘kind of vegetable’

ku-belabela ‘to advise repeatedly’ ku-mònamona ‘to see repeatedly’

Phoneme combinations that are not permitted are: a. b. c. d.

CG: nyw, cw, zw, jw, shw; CC, except for NC CV: ve, va, fe, fa; vo, fo; ti NVl, except for []V], otherwise l is nasalized.

Ideophones and ideophonic words are characterized by the presence or accumulation of phonological features rarely or even never found in other words. Moreover, a large number of them are not as arbitrary as de Saussure would claim. Here are the most striking facts: Long final vowels, even in a CGV# sequence (normally, this only occurs with a connective pronoun which, by definition, is always followed by another word).2 (5) a. b. c.

baa tùù ‘surprise mixed with fear’ ‘falling’ bàtàà, betàà, botàà, cìdìdìì, fìtùtùù ‘silence’ ‘flattening’ ‘clean’ ‘red’ ‘dark’ byùù, kabyùù, kwàà ‘haste’ ‘noise of something falling’ ‘noise of something disappearing into bushes’

But the following sequences, which are normally not permitted, do occur in ideophones: (6) cwà ‘falling’

ncwi ‘swallowing quickly’

tii ‘passing of time’

Short vowel in normally “heavy” syllables, that is, in CGV or VNG sequences (these vowels are underlined in the examples): (7) a. b.

kodyàkodyà pòdyòdyòò pyakàà ‘disorder’ ‘in vain’ ‘slap’ ndòng ‘challenge (often accompanied by a particular gesture)’

Nasals in final position:

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142 N. S. Kabuta

(8) nden [nd7«] ‘adherence’

nzen [nz7«] ‘duration’

nyon [\f«] or ncon [ntwf«] ‘dry’

Accumulation of low tones: (9) lùùlùùlù ‘impatience’ tàlàlàà ‘cold/silence’

lòbòlòbò mbyùmbyùmbyù mvùù, ‘pressure’ ‘following’ ‘movement (often upwards)’ nzònzònzò ‘dripping’

Bilabial voiceless plosive in absence of a nasal: (10) pa ‘grasp’

Iconism and onomatopoeia: (11) ncàncàncà/ zàkàzàkà ‘trembling’

kìdìkìdì; tòkotòko ‘bursting’

Variability (variants are perfect synonyms with slight formal differences): (12) a. b. c. d. e.

nyàkàtàà/nyèkètèè ‘silence’ bùù/mpyùù, pyu, mbyùù, kabyùù ‘falling’ tuu/ntuntuntu, tii, twii ‘passing of time, succession’ sùbùsùbù/zùbùzùbù ‘flabby’ zee/zeezeeze, teeteete ‘whiteness’

Reduplication of vowels and syllables, partial or total, is illustrated in many examples above, with the following recurrent tone patterns: LL, HH, HL, LH ; LLL, HHH ; LLLL, HHHH, HLHL, LHLH, LLLLLL (the underlined types do not occur in verbs, with HLHL being much more frequent than LHLH). Four syllabic structures are particularly recurrent: (N)CV:(N), (N)C1V1(:N) C2V1-(N)C1V1(:N)C2V1, C1V1:C1V1:C1V1 and C1V1C2V1:. All these structures can be combined with glides. In each of them, an identical vowel tends to be used: (13) a. b.

ndùn ‘running away’ kabakaba ‘embarrassment’

twii ‘passing of time’ bondòbondò ‘mess’

Ideophones in Cilubà 143

c.

d.

zeezeeze teeteete ‘whiteness’ ‘redness’ mbyùmbyùmbyù ‘large number of people’ batàà ‘quiet’

lùùlùùlù ncàncàncà ‘haste’ ‘trembling’ myamyamya ‘scarcity’

The proportion of mid vowels seems to be much higher than in the rest of the system: (14) bondòbondò byòmòòmà ‘mess’ ‘in large quantity’

shèèshèèshè ‘limping along, dawdling’

teeteete ‘redness’

Although it is obvious that ideophones predominantly use low-toned and lengthened vowels, the speaker enjoys the freedom to use the tones and vowel quantity as he or she wishes in many of them. So, one of their characteristics is their suprasegmental unstability. More generally, ideophones seem to form a class in which almost all normally discouraged phonological behaviors are allowed. Some of the phonological characteristics are also found in poetry, such as lengthening of the last vowel, muting of such a vowel, accumulation of low tones, shortening of normally long vowels. Some of these characteristics, namely the tendency to vowel lengthening and repetition of segments, accumulation of low tones and iconism, are also found in polysyllabic (more than 2 syllables) nominal stems and adverbs, as discussed in § 6 below.

2.

Morphology

Morphologically, ideophones do not have any prefixes. A number of them are derived from verbs by splitting the root at a syllable boundary, whereas verbal derivation is obtained by suffixation of a derivative morpheme. However, splitting is rarer in CV(V,N)C roots. Moreover, the lexical tone of the root is often inverted in the ideophone. These deverbative ideophones represent approximately 20% of the total number. They are generally used with the infinitive they derive from to express intensity. In this case they act much like the adverbs of intensity be, bikolè, yà bûngì ‘very’, bikolè bitàmbe ‘extremely’, except that these adverbs do accompany a verb and lack the “color”, “sound” and “movement” inherent to ideophones. It happens very often that the verb is not expressed, in which case the ideophone just stands next to an NP or an independent pronoun. The result is an increased vividness and speed in communication. Chart 1 gives examples of deverbative ideophones. “Cognate verbs” in column 2 are understood here as verbs which will often co-occur with a particular ideophone. In this case, they are the verbs from which the ideophones in column 1 are

144 N. S. Kabuta

derived. It is assumed here that derivation goes from verb to ideophone, but investigation is necessary to make sure whether it is not the other way round. In sentences where no verb is mentioned, it is only this source verb which is understood. With non-deverbative ideophones, a cognate verb can be a different word, as is shown in the chart below. Column 3 lists cross-references to synonyms. In example h, it is assumed that a reduplicated syllable was added to the truncated root fì but, once again, one is not sure whether the original form was not the supposedly truncated one. It is noticeable that, lexically long vowels in the verbs are often shortened in the ideophones, while the tone pattern is often inverted. Finally, this type of ideophones, creativity is allowed. Tests have shown that from kutònkola ‘overturn’, ‘turn upside down’, one can produce tonkòtonkò, tònkotònko or tònkô, without shocking any Cilubà speaker. The same is true of kucànkunya ‘to chew’, which yields cankùcankù or cànkucànku. Not all verbs are of course potential sources for such ideophones. Verbs expressing any kind of movement (visual, aural, mechanical, …), however, seem to be very good candidates for this process. Chart 1. Ideophone

Cognate verbs

cf.

a. bàtàà

kubàtama

+

Meaning

nyaa/nyàkàtàà, nyèkètèè ; tàlàlàà, ‘calm, silence vi(i), zàbàà b. bàzàbàzà kubàzakana ‘prattling, babbling’ c. betàà kubèèta ‘flattening, crushing, compactness’ d. bondàbondà kubònda tengàtengà, zèkezèke e. bondòbondò kubòndakaja 1 kodyàkodyà, lapàlapà, myanda- 1 ‘mess’; 2 ‘continuity’ myanda, nsòbònsòbò, nyomànyomà, zèkezèke; 2 nyùkùnyùkù, kashèndèndè, nanù f. butù/bùtuu kubùtula ‘destroying, annihilating’ g. nanù kunana ‘lengthening by pulling; duration; lasciviousness’ h. fìtùtùù kufììka ‘black’ i. kùnzùù kukùnza cìdìdìì ‘red’ + j. +tòò/tòkòò kutòòka zee/zeezeeze, nzenzenze, kazeeze ‘white’ k. tèkètèè fùbèè (

Ideophones in Cilubà

mwakù ‘word’, mwakulu ‘language’, mupinganyi ‘pronoun’, etc., or 2. mutwìshi (mu-tw-ìsh-i) 3/4, from the phrase kutwà ku mwoyo ‘impress’, ‘touch’, ‘strike’, ‘move’. The second word has a derivational potential, which the first lacks. So it is easy to obtain an adjective. Here, then, is how the entry for the ideophone subùsubù could look like in a semi-bilingual Cilubà–French dictionary: subùsubù, mutwìshi, id. flask. Muntu ùdi ~ pàdìye mutàmbe kuteketa (bwà dìsaamà, dipùngì, a.n.), mushààle cizubuzubu, munda mutupù. Meetà ùvwa musâme matùkù àà bûngì, mushààle àmu ~ ‘Meetà a été longtemps malade, il n’en restait plus que des os.’; Yêye kutùlàmbila nshìma misubùlùke ~, kaìyì didyà ‘Elle nous prépara une pâte toute molle, impossible à manger’. Finally, derivational processes used in ideophones can effectively be applied to coin new words.

Abbreviations and symbols $: syllable boundary, +: variants, #: word boundary, ~: head word, a. n. : àmu nànku etc., C: consonant, Id or id: ideophone, N: nasal consonant, V: vowel, var. : variant.

Notes * I thank Cl. Faïk-Nzuji and R. Noss for their constructive suggestions. Cilubà is spoken in Congo-Kinshasa as a national language, besides Lingala, Kiswahili and Kikongo. 1. The tone in phonetic transcriptions are placed beneath the vowels. 2. This would suggest that logically, the connective should be attached to the word following it. 3. It is interesting to note that the barking of a dog is reproduced differently according to the languages, whereas cats seem to miaow approximately the same way all over the world. 4. Cilubà speakers favor the connective structure. So one finds it even with adjectives, which are normally directly connected to a noun (nzùbu mutòòke ‘a white house’ > nzùbu wa mutòòke). There is often a slight difference in meaning, the discussion of which is not relevant here. 5. This is a variant form for the remote past tense ùdììle he ate. 6. N. de Jong has shown that such an introductory word is also used in Didinga, a language of the Sudan (International Symposium on ideophones in Sankt Augustin, 25–27 January 1999). 7. Ideophonic words are found in a large number of Bantu languages, as shown in Kabuta 1980. 8. Here is a list of Cilubà nominal prefixes (a +sign follows secondary prefixes; N represents any nasal prefix): 1 mu-/N-,mù-,Ø-; 2 ba-/bà-,baa+; 3 mu-/mù-; 4 mi-/mì-,N-,Ø-; 5 di-/dì-; 6 ma-/mà-,maa+; 7 ci-/cì,cii+; 8 bi-/bì,bii+; 11 lu-/lù-; 12 ka-/kà-,kaa+; 13 tu-/tù-,tuu+; 14 bu-/bù-,buu+; 15 ku-; 16 pa+/-; 17 ku+/-; 18 mu+/-

153

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N. S. Kabuta

References De Clercq, A. and E. Willems. 1960. Dictionnaire Tshiluba-Françai. Léopoldville: Scheut. Bunduki, K. 1975. Lexique linguistique du Cilubà. Lubumbashi: CELTA. Coupez, A. 1975. “Variabilité lexicale en bantou”. African Languages 1: 164–203. Kabuta, N. S. 1980. Le thème nominal polysyllabique dans les langues bantoues. MA thesis, Brussels:Université Libre. Kabuta, N. S. 1998. Loanwords in Cilubà [Lexikos 8]. Stellenbosch: Rands Afrikaanse Universiteit. Mukanda wa Mvidi Mukulu. 1994. Verbum Bible. Spain. Samarin, W. J. 1970: “Inventory and choice in expressive language”. Word 26: 153–169.

Universality and diversity Ideophones from Baka and Kxoe Christa Kilian-Hatz Universität zu Köln

1.

Introduction

Everybody knows ideophones from colloquial speech, particularly from comics, and probably most people have used them unwittingly on many of occasion. Ideophones are words like e.g. boing, miau, ding-dong or ka-wumm. They are words that are most typical in spoken and informal speech. Koch & Öesterreicher (1985: 19ff) term this register of language ‘Sprache der Nähe’ (speech of proximity), as opposed to forms of written formal speech termed ‘Sprache der Distanz’ (speech of distance). The term “Sprache der Nähe” sees ideophones from two perspectives: First, the use of ideophones brings the speaker as well as the hearer from the pure speech level to a level nearer the event, as already Fortune (1962: 6) in Shona and later Kunene (1978: 34ff) in Southern Sotho (both Bantu languages) observed: An ideophone is a vivid re-presentation or re-creation of an event in sound. (Fortune 1962: 6)

Ideophones, in this view, are direct speech, a verbalized imitation of extra linguistic events or situations. By the use of ideophones the speaker simulates — or raises the illusion — that the verbalized event happens simultaneously the moment of its production/pronunciation. In this way, the “speaker-turns-actor” (Kunene 1978), while the hearer, accordingly, becomes a direct witness of this ideophonic event instead of experiencing indirectly a report. Comparable to a report on the radio, the speaker changes by the use of ideophones over to the live broadcast which gives proof of the authenticity of the reported event and which involves the hearer directly in this event. In this perspective speech level and extra linguistic event level are identical (cf. Von Roncador 1988, who terms this kind of level shift ‘Referenzverschiebung’ (shift of reference’ where his definition of direct speech is based on). Second, informal speech — and especially colloquial speech wherein ideophones

156 Christa Kilian-Hatz

are very often found — is used, to keep and/or to establish a social proximity to the partner of conversation, i.e. to create or to maintain a certain intimacy. This social nearness can be further promoted by the use of ideophones, because speaker and hearer are both — as indicated above — direct participants of the ideophonic event. Nuckolls (1996: 79) interprets this fact of “speaker involvement” in Pastaza Quechua (an Amerind language; Equatoral B) even as a primary function of ideophones, i.e. to create a relaxed atmosphere of communication between speaker and hearer through the illusion of a shared experience of participation in the reported event. In view of their dramatic function, ideophones can be defined as follows: Ideophones are part of an informal language register, and their function is to dramatize a narration, i.e. the discourse in general. Extra linguistic events are verbalized by their use whereby a shift from pure speech level to event level takes place; in this way, speaker and hearer are both directly involved in the ideophonic event as actor and witness. Two examples, one from Baka — an Adamwa-Ubangi language in Southeast Cameroon — and the other from Kxoe, a Central-Khoisan language spoken in Namibia may illustrate this: (1) Á ja pe mbénga a-ng´7 kang a kpè-lo. 3sg take ben spear poss-3poss.sg kang loc stick-wood ‘He takes [the point of] the spear: kang (i.e. he attaches the iron point of the spear) on the stick.’ (2) Kóm ` ´à xà úá¾ı -¾ı -tá kúrú˜ bellows obj 3.m.pl stand-ii-past press the bellows thukrrr thukrrr thukrrr thukrrr thukrrr thukrrr. thukrrr thukrrr thukrrr thukrrr thukrrr thukrrr ‘Ever since that time they stand there and work the bellows: thukrrr thukrrr thukrrr thukrrr thukrrr thukrrr.’

2.

Formal universals

Taking this special performative function of verbalized dramatization, we can explain some formal parallels concerning ideophones across the languages of the world, Baka and Kxoe included: Ideophones are simplexes, i.e. they are not marked for person, tense and mood like verbs, and they are not marked for case, gender and number like nouns. The lack of tense makes sense insofar as the ideophonic event happens simultaneously in the moment when it is uttered; ideophones are generally therefore per se actual, as Kock (1985) remarks about ideophones in Southern Sotho (Bantu):

Universality and diversity

It is the intention, the communicative purpose of ideophones to ‘actualize’ that which it describes (Kock 1985: 51).

Case and number, typically marked on nouns, as well as the above mentioned verbal markers are redundant if not inappropriate to ideophones because ideophones do not denote only such parts of speech like verbs and nouns, but rather a complete utterance. They have sentence-like character and denote inherently not only a state or an action but also the cause and other participants (e.g. patient, instrument, etc.) of the event. In this perspective, ideophones replace a complete sentence; an example from Baka demonstrates a whole series of such succeeding “ideophonic sentences” in a folktale: (3)

Wòàwòàwòàwòà p`ff`f` ‘the hunters are discussing’ ‘the chimpanzee interrupts eating’ kung wóoò ‘a spear strikes the chimpanzee’ ‘falls down’ pao tung ‘brakes a branch’ ‘hard falling he arrives on the ground.’

The semantics of ideophones can only be understood when seen on this background of their performative function of level shift, which evokes in the hearer the illusion of a direct participation. To ‘participate’ means to experience an event not only rationally but to experience it with ones own senses. Logically, ideophones denote events, that can be experienced sensorially, i.e. they denote a special aspect of the event that can be experienced by the senses: They denote the manner how an event is heard, seen, touched, smelled and felt psychologically. That’s why ideophones denote so many different concepts as, for example, sound imitations (onomatopes), very often also special kinds of movements (e.g. Baka: ndiandìà ‘staggering of a tortoise or a drunkard’), striking colors (red as a beet-root; loud colors), rarely smell, but quite often also extreme psychic states like ‘be in great anger’ or ‘be mad/confused’, etc. The composition of an ideophonic word doesn’t participate in the morphology of other word classes like verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc. The latter combine a word stem with grammatical morphemes; this combination informs the hearer about grammatical and semantic relations of a given sentence. But ideophones are not marked with such grammatical morphemes, and they denote themselves a complete utterance (and not only a part of it). It is this function of imitation of a real event that plays a determined part in the composition of an ideophone. Onomatopoeic ideophones are imitations of sounds, where the noises of the world are echoed by the speaker. These imitations are a reflection of the reality colored by the phonology, phonotactics and perception of a given language. Beside such audible sensations other kinds of sensations are expressed by ideophones following the same patterns of imitation. These sensations (visible, tactile, etc. ) often give rise to metaphoric

157

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Christa Kilian-Hatz

meaning change of audible ideophones (as exemplified e.g. by Bernard-Thierry 1961 for ideophones in Malagasy). The processes of word formation of ideophones is not a combination of analytic parts, but that of iconic and/or of motivated sound symbolism. It consists of a combination of sounds that are felt by the speaker community to be similar with the original extra linguistic sensation. That imitation can then be identified by the hearer as an appropriate copy of this original. This iconic or motivated sound symbolism may be partly universal or it may be language specific. An example for such a sound symbolic ideophonic component (in the literature also called ‘sub-morphemic units’ or ‘psychomorphs’) that is rather universal is given from Baka; here as well as in German ideophones, the velar nasal [«] denotes resonating metallic sounds: (4)

Baka: German:

lang lang lang ‘beat a nut or hard fruit witch a machete???’ ding-(dang)-dong ringing bells

The Kxoe example (2) exemplifies another technique that is very productive in ideophones in general: Reduplication. Reduplication always denotes, when used with ideophones, a kind of plurality, i.e. an increase of intensity concerning states or e.g. colors — here it is often only translatable by ‘very’ and therefore easily misinterpreted as an intensifier. Whereas reduplication of ideophones indicates a repetition of the action corresponding exactly to the number of words repeated. A similar linear technique is the lengthening of vowels and syllabic consonants that indicates the duration of an event or state. Ideophones in general are never negated and are rarely found in negated sentences. Negated sentences where ideophones may be used are in most cases rhetoric as shown in (5) from Baka: (5) Mòj`77 de? kp`77h! 2.sg.hear.past neg kp`77h! Don’t you hear?: kp`77h! (i.e. a branch breaks when stepping on it)!’

But these cases are very rare. Thus we can conclude that ideophones are affirmative by definition. The incompatibility of ideophones and negation can be explained by their dramaturgic function: Mosisidi (1980) sums this up very precisely in the following question: Thus the negative conjugation or construction would imply that the action or ‘drama’ did not take place. If so, how can it be dramatized? (Mosisidi 1980: 216).

The very function of ideophones is to simulate a sensation and not the absence of such a sensation. A similar conclusion is drawn by Li & Thompson (1981: 345) for ideophones in Mandarin Chinese.

Universality and diversity 159

3.

Formal diversity

There is a great divergence according to the number of ideophones in the dictionary of Baka and Kxoe. Thus in Kxoe only 76 ideophones could be found and in a narration rarely more than one token is used. In Baka, on the other hand, over 1. 000 ideophones have been documented, and narrators make abundant use of ideophonic types in discourse. But not only the number of ideophones varies from Baka to Kxoe, there are also significant differences concerning the semantics and the contexts and positions that ideophones can occupy in a text and sentence. In the following paragraphs this will be shown in more detail: 3.1 Semantics Concerning the semantics of ideophones it was already mentioned that these may generally denote all concepts of physical as well as psychological sensations. This is indeed valid for Baka in every respect. Ideophones denote in this language the full range of all possible sensorial concepts: Especially kinds of movements and numerous actions are expressed by ideophones; onomatopes, on the other hand, are less frequent (an exception is the imitation of animal cries and especially bird cries). Thus one can observes in Baka ideophones representing such sound imitations on one spectrum of all possibilities (cf. (1) and (4)) and ideophones expressing states of mind on the other, as in (6): (6)

´É dòto t`77. 3.sg.h stay.pres t`77 ‘He keeps t`77 (i.e. completely calm)’

imitations of visible gestures and mimic, as in ex. (7): (7)

´É à m`77 mosimòsimosimòsìmosi. 3.sg.h impfv do.pres mosimòsimosimòsìmosi ‘He does mosimòsimosimòsìmosi (i.e. he pulls a grimace of deriding laughter).’

or a whole variety of actions, as in (8): (8)

´Á kindà lib`fnd`f à m¢f-`7˜ kikikikiki. 3.sg.nar put in piece of meat loc mouth 3.sg.poss kikikikiki ‘He puts pieces of meat into his mouth: kikikikiki.’

Furthermore we observe in Baka a great variety of polysemous ideophones. This polysemy can be reconstructed and explained in sense of metaphoric meaning extensions/change. Thus t`77 in (5) denotes primarily a ‘lack of an expected audible


or visible sensation’, a ‘complete emptiness’, or in more abstract sense ‘absolutely nothing’; this meanings are also be used to denote a frame of ‘mind of calmness’ and metaphorically an ‘emptiness of feelings’. Nj7ng7mj7g7 is primarily onomatopoeic and denotes the ‘rustling sound of worms coming out of the earth’; but in its metaphorical sense it denotes the ‘beginning of the day’ via the association with the sound of dew drops in the early morning. In Kxoe, however, ideophones are semantically restricted to denoting exclusively audible sensations and/or visible sensations that must associated with a certain sound, as in (2) and in (9): (9) Ngúíyá áta ám ` khuúrú-m ` !xòà baboon thus 3masc.sg.poss calabash-3masc.sg with kyã½a-ì- tè nò yaá !ókókó. run-imps pres and come !ókókó ‘Baboon runs away with the calabash, but he comes back: !ókókó (i.e. he puts the empty calabash on the ground which makes a hollow sounds).’

Ideophones in Kxoe, however, show no trait of existing or beginning polysemy. On the contrary, they are always highly specific, i.e. they denote only one single specific case of the noise and its specific affiliated audible or audible-visible action or state, as demonstrated in (10): (10) Xàdjí txèrìrí qóqóqóqóqóqó qóqóqóqó, áta m½ı nò òè 3.f.pl txèrìrí qóqóqóqóqóqó qóqóqóqó thus sound and always bèyèé-djì txèrìrí txèrìrí txèrìrí txèrìrí txèrìrí zebra-3.f.pl txèrìrí txèrìrí txèrìrí txèrìrí txèrìrí. ‘Thy txèrìrí (i.e. one hears zebras galloping whereby the stripes of their skin trouble the eyes of the spectator) and qóqóqóqóqóqó qóqóqóqó (i.e. the zebras bray). Thus sound the zebras: txèrìrí …’

3.2 Contexts The positions that ideophones occupy in a text are numerous in Baka: ideophones may be placed in every slot of any major grammatical category. (11) demonstrates its position in the verbal slots, in (12) it occupies the position of a noun or complement phrase: (11) ´é à ó lo, boom à tóló. 3sg.h impfv climb.pres tree boom loc ground ‘He climbs a tree but boom (i.e. he falls) on the ground.’ (12) Pe wó ngf j´7 juuuu: “Ah y´7k`7 á là?” when 3pl then hear.pres juuuu ah which def who ‘The moment when they hear juuu (i.e. the bees are buzzing), [they ask:] “Ah, what’s that?” ’

Universality and diversity

Syntactically Baka ideophones may be placed everywhere where an illustration with an ideophone makes sense and where the narrator feels like inserting them for stylistic purposes. Thus (13) is a case where an ideophone occupies an initial position in the sentence (13) Wà: kang, mòlingè 'à g¢fg`f a ye. and then kang trap impfv go.part loc height ‘An then: kang (i.e. the trap snaps shut whereby the snare slings the victim up), and the snare shoots up.’

While the case cited under (13) shows adverbial, adjectival and verbal uses in a single sentence. By contrast, ideophones in Kxoe are not only restricted semantically but also in terms of the positions they can have, thus they are only rarely used to replace a whole sentence as in (14): (14) Áta kx´½a½ı nà-m ´ ánì-mà? Bwww, ci nò thus vulture which-3.masc.sg side-3.masc.sg bwww arrive and cì- a¾-à-xú. nem-land-ii-comp ‘This vulture — in which direction [can he fly]? Bwww (i.e. he tries to take off by moving his wings), however [he fails again an again], he lands immediately’.

Sometimes they do nevertheless replace argument-predicate-structures in explicit coordination with another sentence: (15) Cií-è-tè nò á-m ` càá-m ` ki djúxuùùù … arrive-I-pres when dem-3.masc.sg water-3masc.sg loc djúxuùùù … ‘When they arrive at the water they djúxuùùù … (i.e., they jump into the water and submerge themselves).’

They may be placed sentence initial or final, as in (2), but mostly they are found in constructions similar to sentences of direct speech. Thus they are complements to one of a variety of verba dicendi, as in (16): (16) Djírí áta n"¾u¾ı -á-n áa cì: monkey thus sit-ii-say compl “Kx´éú kx´áò kx´áò kx´áò kx´áò kx´áò kx´áò.” kx’éú kx’áò … ‘Thus the monkey sits and cries: “Kx’éú kx’áò … .” ’

Animal cries as well as all the other onomatopes may generally be introduced by the verb m½ı ‘to sound’ — a construction that is identical to direct speech too (cf. (10)). Direct speech is evidently the preferred pattern in Kxoe to insert ideophones in a sentence — this ideophonic direct speech construction is completely consistent with observations made in many languages of the world; where this pattern is highly productive. In some languages, it is not only the preferred one (as in the Bantu

161


languages) but even obligatory as e.g. in Wolaitta (Omotic, cf. Amha, this volume) or in the Australian Jaminjung (cf. McGregor, this volume).

4. Conclusion The formal differences that can be observed in these two languages, Baka and Kxoe, can not simply be explained on the basis of their different genetic affiliation, nor does it suffice to argue that their different language structures elicit differential ideophonic ”behavior”. The word order in Baka — an SVO-language — is strictly regulated and allows only freedom of placement only in the case of adverbials and here, as well; the choice is limited to either sentence initial or sentence final position. However, ideophones show great syntactical freedom; they may occupy any position in the sentence. In Kxoe word order is relatively free and highly variable, so that a speaker has the freedom to place arguments seemingly randomly (note that Kxoe is considered as a SOV-language, but OSV and SVO configurations are observed very frequently as well). Surprisingly the speakers of Kxoe prefer the structure of complements of direct speech as main pattern to integrate ideophones in a sentence. These differences can perhaps be better explained when language specific preferences and restrictions are seen as representants of some types that belong to a continuum: We can classify the ideophones in Kxoe, for example, according to their semantics as ‘onomatopoeic type’ whereas the Baka comprises all possible semantic concepts — polysemic ideophones included — so that Baka ideophones belong more to the ‘free type’. If we can suppose that a great part of non-onomatopoeic ideophones in Baka are derived from ideophones via metaphorical meaning change; it is logical that the semantic of Baka ideophones is certainly more developed and more comprehensive on our scale than the ideophones in Kxoe. Semantics may well be the base for a possible explanation for the diversity of placement of ideophones in Kxoe vs. Baka: In a wider sense, ideophones in Kxoe denote exclusively either pure audible or audible-visible sensations; i.e. the sounds or noises of the environment are seen in a very anthropomorphic perspective as “utterances” or “citations” of the animals and objects of the world, and they are therefore placed in the position normally reserved for such citations, i.e. a complement sentence of direct speech. In Baka ideophones may be classified according to their meaning and the position they may take in a sentence. The various semantic concepts don’t illustrate only audible events but — by the use of ideophones — the speaker can generally point out every sensorial detail of every lexeme that he wants to use. Because of the principle of linearity of language, ideophones are then placed next to the item modified or the replace it in the sentence.

Universality and diversity 163

Thus we can state in conclusion that the different formal features of ideophones in Baka and Kxoe represent two points on a scale leading from onomatopes (i.e. ideophones representing pure audible sensations) to non-onomatopes (i.e. ideophones representing all other kinds of sensations). And, that it is the meanings that influences or even dictates the positions of ideophones in the sentence or text. A short note may be added here: Field work in Namibia among Khoisan languages and a typological research about ideophones in all language families of the world (cf. Kilian-Hatz 1999) had led to a modification of a common assumption that has been based on a lack available data. In the literature about ideophones it has been assumed until nowadays that Khoisan languages are perhaps the only languages without ideophones (cf., e.g., Samarin 1971). The above data about Kxoe show that this claim does not hold; ideophones are used in Khoisan languages as well as in probably all other languages of the world. One can state without hesitation that ideophones are a universal feature of human language.

References Bernard-Thierry, S. 1961. “Les onomatopées en Malgache”. Bulletin de la Societé de Linguistique de Paris 50: 240–269. Fortune, G. 1962. Ideophones in Shona. Oxford: OUP. Kilian-Hatz, C. 1997. “Die Baka-Ideophone: Ihre Struktur und Funktion”. Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere 50: 123–167. Kilian-Hatz, C. 2001. Ideophone. Köln: Institut für Afrikanistik, Universität zu Köln (Habilitationsschrift). Kunene, D. 1978. The ideophone in Southern Sotho [Marburger Studien zur Afrika- und Asienkunde, Serie A: Afrika, vol. 11]. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer . Koch, P. and W. Oesterreicher. 1985. “Sprache der Nähe — Sprache der Distanz: Mündlichkeit und Schriftlichkeit im Sprannungsfeld von Sprachtheorie und Sprachgeschichte”. Romanistisches Jahrbuch 36: 16–43. Kock, I. 1985. “The speech act theory: A preliminary investigation”. South African Journal of African Languages 5: 49–53. Li, C. N. and S. A. Thompson. 1981. Mandarin Chinese: A functional reference grammar. Berkeley: University of California Press. Mosisidi, B. P. 1980. “The ideophone in Southern Sotho revised”. In P. J. Wentzel, (ed.), Proceedings of the Third African Languages Congress of UNISA, Pretoria: UNISA, 202–219. Nuckolls, J. B. 1996. Sounds like Life: Sound symbolic grammar, performance and cognition in Pastaza Quechua. New York: OUP. Samarin; W. J. 1971. “Survey of Bantu ideophones “. African Language Studies 12: 131–168. Von Roncador, M. 1988. Zwischen direkter und indirekter Rede: Nichtwörtliche direkte Rede, logophorische Konstruktionen und Verwandtes [Linguistische Arbeiten 192]. Tübingen: Niemeyer.

INK "kla-n*">

Expressives and iconicity in the lexicon* Marian Klamer Universiteit Leiden

Introduction It has often been observed (e.g. Joseph 1994) that the lexicon of a language consists of a core and peripheral part. The core part is made up by the normal referential elements, whose primary function is to refer to entities, events, concepts, etc. It would at least include body part, kinship and color terms. The peripheral part consists of items with an added non-referential function, whose non-referential (descriptive, evaluative) function is at least as important as their referential function. It includes lexicalizations of vivid sense impressions such as onomatopoeics, ideophones and phonestemes, names, and morphemes with negative connotations or referring to undesirable states (cf. Clynes 1998; Joseph 1997). These semantically and functionally special items are referred to as ‘expressives’ in this paper. Semantically, expressives are more complex and more specific than normal referential elements. An illustration are the following English pairs, where the first item is a common referential element, and the second an expressive: the lunchroom – the Sizzle, breast – boob, walk – stagger. We may say that the descriptive and/or evaluative function of expressives is at least as important as their referential function. Traditionally, expressive elements are seen as iconic, sound symbolic forms, on a par with onomatopoeia, phonestemes, Japanese mimetic forms, or ideophones. In this paper we will see that the class of expressives is much larger, and includes forms that are not sound-symbolic at all. We will also see that, though sound symbolism is not involved, the more abstract non-arbitrary relations between form, meaning and function are still motivated by iconicity. I describe this iconicity as a type of diagrammatic iconicity (cf. Peirce 1965; Haiman 1994). This iconicity is the factor which restricts the coinage of new words, and is thus the explanation on the limits of this type of creative language.

166 Marian Klamer

1.

Iconicity and the concept of markedness

Among the various types of signs, icons are the ones that show a factual resemblance between the sign and the object.1 In its strictest interpretation, iconicity aligns meaning A and form because of the inherent similarity of A and — the ‘icon’, form B, is an image of ‘concept’ A. When we apply this strict interpretation of iconicity to expressives we immediately run into descriptive problems. Many expressive words refer to sights, motions, or states where no sound is involved, so their phonetic form can never be strictly iconic to begin with. Secondly, because the formal properties of expressives are often not an ‘image’ of the ‘concept’ represented. For example, expressives often have unusual phonotactics, such as a closed syllable rather than an open one, but whether or not a syllable is not a direct image of expressive semantics. Even in the case of onomatopoeics, which are commonly cited as prototypical instances of iconic alignment of sound and meaning, there are language-particular abstractions of the actual sound they describe. For instance, the sound made by a bulky object falling is represented by an item containing a stop consonants and a back vowel in English, Dutch and Kambera (Austronesian), but in Didinga (Nilo-Saharan) the form includes a vowel /I/ and a velar nasal: (1) meaning ‘sound made by bulky object falling’ | form thud English plof Dutch mbùtu Kambera tdI] Didinga

(Klamer 1998) (Jong, this volume)

However, we should not take this as evidence to abandon iconicity as a motivation for the form-function relation in expressives, because this would imply that the relation is arbitrary, in contradiction to the findings of e.g. the authors of this volume and those in Hinton et al. (1994). Rather than abandoning iconicity as an explanatory force in word formation, we must refine it. In line with Battistella (1990), the analysis of iconicity presented in this paper draws on the concept of markedness in order to align the form, meaning and function of lexical items. Lexical items occupy a position on continua for their markedness: they can be formally (structurally) more or less marked, but also semantically and functionally. I will now discuss these three markedness continua. In Section 3 I present evidence for these continua and the correlations between them, and in Section 4 we will see that these correlations are iconic, and how iconicity is a creative factor in the lexicon. With respect to their formal (physical, structural) properties, lexical items can be arranged along a continuum in which one end is for the optimal word forms,

Expressives and iconicity in the lexicon 167

and the other end for the marked word forms. If we view the structural system of language as a set of constraints on the wellformedness of linguistic utterances, then the more constrained items are the unmarked ones, and the formally less constrained items are the marked ones: (2) Form: marked

unmarked −

¨

constrained

Æ

+

An illustration of this is the fact that ideophones often use segments not belonging to the regular phonemic inventory and violate phonotactic constraints of the language. They often display very little or exceptional morphology (e.g. reduplication) and rarely possess any syntax unique to their class except the relative absence of any syntax. They are thus formally less constrained than the core lexical items (cf. Mithun 1982; Childs 1994, among others). Formal markedness is thus a relative notion, defined in terms of degree of formal constrainedness. On this continuum, expressive elements are subject to less constraints, i.e. more marked, than core lexical items.2 Section 3 presents some evidence for this. On the continuum of meaning (amount of semantic features), marked elements are characteristically less general than unmarked items, and more determinate and differentiated (Battistella 1990). For example, ‘ideophones can be quite specific, often evoking some concrete imagery. They often appeal to the senses and have a narrow meaning. Kisi, (Niger-Congo) has two rice-beating ideophones: gbun gbun ‘rice beaten by one person’ and pim pim ‘rice beaten by two or more people’ (Childs 1994: 188). As a result of their semantic specificity, expressives have less ability to combine with other features, so the range of contexts in which they appear is smaller than for unmarked items. Unmarked items, on the other hand, are capable of having a general interpretation and can substitute the marked items in some contexts, while the reverse is not true. Illustrations are the English pairs given in the introduction. The semantics of unmarked items is more general and prototypical:3 (3) Meaning: marked

unmarked −

¨

general

Æ

+

The third relevant continuum is the continuum of function, ranging from referential to non-referential. As the prime function of language as a sign system is referential, we expect that formally marked, functionally ‘peripheral’ (cf. Uhlenbeck 1950) lexical items, such as expressives, are less referential than unmarked, core lexical items. Expressives are considered non-referential because their function is not primarily referential. They are characteristically used to add vividness, liveliness,

168 Marian Klamer

and directness to utterances and may be used creatively in verbal art (language games, insults). Their exceptional syntactic behavior is also evidence for their nonreferential function: expressive elements are often used in connection with or juxtaposed to exclamations and interjections, are often syntactically redundant or optional (adjunct) constituents, and do not allow negation (cf. Childs 1994; Kita 1999). (4) Function: marked

unmarked −

¨

referential

Æ

+

These three markedness continua can be used to show that the correlation between form, meaning and function is not totally arbitrary, but rather patterned by diagrams of nonarbitrary, iconic relations. As iconic signs are not always images, they are distinguished in ‘images’, ‘diagrams’ and ‘metaphors’ (Peirce 1965). Images partake of simple qualities of their object (e.g. onomatopoeia); diagrams represent the relations, mainly dyadic, of the parts of one thing by analogous relations in their own parts; and metaphors represent the representative part of a sign by representing a parallelism in something else (Battistella 1990: 71). The concept of diagrammatic iconicity is defined here as follows: (5) Diagrammatic iconicity Not the component parts of the diagram resemble what they stand for, but the relationships among those components: the relative position of an element in system A is matched by an element with the same relative position in system B.

In this paper I argue that the markedness patterns described above are in a nonarbitrary relation to each other and that the diagrammatic iconic mapping between them explains why certain choices are made from among competing possibilities in the coining and perception of new words. We will also see that the alignment of formal marking and semantic markedness is a tendency and not compulsory.

2.

Formal and semantic markedness

Before considering the correlation between marked form and meaning in actual language data, we translate our notions of formal (structural) and semantic markedness in diagnostic terms. Formal markedness I define in terms of constraint violation: a lexical item is formally marked if it violates one or more formal constraints of the language. The violated constraints may be phonological, morphological or syntactic. Within the limits of this paper I only discuss some phonological constraints in a number of


Austronesian languages, plus one general constraint on semantic transparency (cf. immediately below), but the implication is that all the constraints in a constraintbased theory of language can in principle be relevant as markedness values in a particular language.4 A constraint that is systematically violated by expressives across languages is the constraint on Semantic Transparency (Klamer 2000a, 2000b), a constraint that refers to the universal tendency that linguistic items prefer a direct, one-to-one matching of form and meaning: (6) Semantic transparency: Match form and meaning one-to-one: meaning form

A | X

The following configurations violate this constraint, and the illustrations given indicate that unusual morphological structures often represent such configurations. (7) a.

*

A /\ X…Y (e.g. circumfix)

b.

*

c.

*

__ | X (e.g. empty prefix)

d.

*

AB \/ X (e.g. homophones)

A | __ (e.g. zero morpheme)

In the next section we will see how this constraint is violated by expressives in Kambera and Balinese. Examples of relevant phonological constraints are the ones that involve infrequent, complex or unusual segments or prosodic entities, i.e. constraints similar to the markedness and alignment constraints of Optimality Theory. We will see illustrations of these in the next section. The notion of semantic markedness can be translated into three diagnostic types, following up on a proposal by Clynes (1995, 1998) Semantically, expressive elements are marked because they are very specific. I propose that they are restricted to only three semantic types: Sense, Name and Bad, specified as follows: (8) Sense: lexicalizations of vivid sense impressions: sound, touch, taste, smell, feeling, emotion and sight (including lexicalizations of movements of the body and of body parts). E.g. Kambera tòku ‘knock, bang’ (sound), holap ‘be weak, limp, flabby’ Name: personal or place names, hypocoristic names, terms of endearment; names for plants and animals E.g. Kambera pirih ‘k.o. parrot’, helap ‘kind of fish’ Bad: lexical items with negative connotations or referring to undesirable (mental, bodily, atmospheric) states and referents. E.g. Kambera nyimba ‘be blocking the way’

170 Marian Klamer

In the study of sound symbolic forms and their semantics, the first type is always mentioned. The second and third semantic type may seem somewhat surprising to some. However, it is a well-established fact that names, nicknames and animal names often reflect audible or visible characteristics of the named person or animal (e.g. body shape, hair color, bird’s call, animal movement), whereas plant names may reflect the typical shape of (parts of) the plant (e.g. leafs, branches). For example, in Mundang (Niger-Congo), animal and plant names are part of the expressive vocabulary (Elders, this volume). In Estonian, bird names are expressive, and in Finnish too, to some extend (Antilla 1976). In Greek, nicknames pattern with the expressives (Joseph 1997). As names can be seen as lexicalizations of sense impressions, the distinction between the types Sense and Name is a fluid one. In many languages, words with bad or negative connotations formally pattern with the expressive items. This has been described, for example, for Japanese (Kita 1997: 98; Hamano 1998), Balinese (Clynes 1995, 1998, 2000) and Greek (Joseph 1997). Further examples from Malay, West Tarangan and Dutch will be presented in Section 3. Note that speakers of a language need not be consciously aware of this fact. For example, that /‚r-/ is a marked onset in Dutch (Booij 1995) is known at least among Dutch linguists, but that all the words with this marked onset only belong to the semantic types Sense and Bad (i.e. refer to sense impressions or have negative connotations) has so far gone unnoticed. Now we have translated our notions of formal and semantic markedness into diagnostic values and types, we consider in the next section the correlation between marked form and meaning in some actual language data.

3.

The correlation between marked form and meaning

The correlation between form and meaning in sound symbolic words such as onomatopoeia and ideophones is very well-known. Therefore I will just give one illustration of this by discussing the ideophones of the Austronesian language Kambera. Then I will go on discussing data from other Austronesian languages that only on second sight appear to match form and function in an iconic fashion. 3.1 Kambera Kambera (Klamer 1998, 2000b) is one of the few Austronesian languages with ideophones. Ideophones are prime examples of how formal, functional and semantic markedness can be aligned. The ideophonic roots of this language describe sounds, sights and motions, and are commonly used to add vividness and liveliness to a narrative text. Some ideophones are more conventionalized than others, and new forms are constantly being created. Kambera has only one circumfix, ka-k,

Expressives and iconicity in the lexicon

which is the affix used to derive verbs from ideophonic roots. Some illustrations of Kambera ideophonic roots and their derivations: (9)

Root form

Derived verbal form

Gloss of verbal form

Sounds ngùru hèri tòru pàka tiku

ka-ngùru-k ka-hèri-k ka-tòru-k ka-pàka-k ka-tiku-k

‘murmur’ ‘tear something’ ‘rattle’ ‘smack’ ‘creak/click’

Motions yidi wàdi

ka-yidi-k ka-wàdi-k

‘shiver’ (in dislike) ‘blink’

Sights rèri bila

ka-rèri-k ka-bila-k

‘ablaze’ (fire)/ ‘shine’ (ring) ‘light/brightness’

Semantically, all these ideophones belong to the Sense type. The forms are phonologically marked because they are the only Kambera lexical items with marked vowels. The unmarked vowels of Kambera are the cardinal vowels /i,u,a/ with a long/short opposition. The marked vowels are the short lowered vowels [7, f] (represented as è, ò) and the super-short high vowel [ù]. The marked central vowel is the short low vowel ["] (represented as à). We describe the general non-preference for these marked vowels in Kambera as a markedness constraint against such vowels: (10)

*/ù, è, ò, à/

“Don’t be /ù, è, ò, à/”

Because the marked vowels occur only in ideophones, ideophones violate this constraint, which is otherwise not violated in the language. But the marked vowels are not a categorical property of ideophones: though /è, ò, ù/ occur in ideophonic roots only, /à/ is used in a number of non-ideophonic roots as well, e.g. tàka ‘arrive’. Verbal derivations from ideophonic roots are also morphologically marked: they are the only Kambera items with a circumfix, violating the Semantic Transparency constraint by mapping two forms on one function:

(11)

V

ka ... k The verbs derived from ideophonic roots are also phonotactically marked because they have a final C, namely the -k part of the circumfix ka-k. Now, the unmarked root form in Kambera is a bimoraic trochee CVCV and this form covers approx.

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50% of the roots. At the same time, roots with closed syllables are non-preferred. In a constraint-based model of language we can describe morpheme structure conditions in terms of surface constraints on markedness and alignment (cf. Booij 1998). The condition here can be formulated as an alignment constraint where the right edge of a root morpheme (M) must be aligned with a vowel (V): (12) “Align (V, R, M, R)”

“Avoid roots with closed final syllables”

But 30% of the Kambera roots are CVCVC forms, examples: (13) tehik padang múhung helap holap pirih pàlih

‘sea’ watar ‘field’ engal ‘be rotten, gone bad’ mungal ‘k.o. sea fish’ bàbat ‘weak, limp, flabby’ hoput ‘parrot’ Trichoglossus heamatodus ‘lick mouth/lips’

‘corn’ ‘k.o. tuberous plant’ ‘fall out, slip out, slip off’ ‘bamboo slat (part of loom) ‘be very angry, put out’

The constraint should therefore not be taken to imply that Kambera does not have roots with closed final syllables. Rather, the constraint penalizes closed syllables in output forms, and a result, an epenthetic (‘paragogic’) vowel [u] is always inserted to ‘repair’ lexical roots ending in a closed syllable. In other words, lexical codas become the onsets of an additional syllable in output forms: /pu.duk/ Æ [pu.du.ku] ‘kiss’. Despite their frequency, the CVCVC roots are thus formally marked forms, because they violate the constraint on roots with a closed final syllable. The question is now whether the formal markedness correlates with semantic markedness. This is indeed what is found: of a test sample of 145 CVCVC forms, 71% belong to the types Sense, Name or Bad, while 29% were unclassified: Table 1.The final consonant of CVCVC roots, C1=/p/ (Onvlee 1984) C3

k

]

l

r

h

t

p

Totals

Sense/name/bad Unclassified

46 8

7 18

14 2

14 7

11 2

11 5

0 0

103 42

We conclude that the presence of a lexical final consonant of a Kambera root signals semantic markedness. It is therefore also no surprise to find that verbal derivations of ideophonic roots end in a consonant (-k). Note however that the final C is not a categorical property of expressives, because not all CVCVC roots are expressive (only 71%); and not all final C’s signal expressiveness (e.g. final /]/ also functions in word derivation as a valence changing (applicative) suffix).


In other words, the Kambera ideophones are semantically marked special forms referring to sounds, sights and motions. They violate three formal markedness constraints of the language: on segmental selection, on phonotactic structure and on morphological marking. This correlation of formal and semantic markedness is an example of diagrammatic iconicity. 3.2 Balinese In Balinese too, semantic and formal markedness are aligned (Clynes 1995, 1998, 2000). Balinese expressives violate at least one, but usually more of the six constraints listed below. Balinese nicknames are an especially clear instance of this: the nicknames are inelegant ‘bad names’ and are otherwise meaningless. All of them violate at least one constraint. Illustrations: (14) Constraint violation by Balinese bad names (Clynes 1995: 51–52, 1998: 21–22) Onset: * ComplexONS: * σ [/h/: Root = σ σ Vowel harmony:

Every syllable must have an onset Cluit, Joet Avoid complex onsets Kl6mug, Namprut, Gomblos, Cluit Avoid /h/ as onset Cibuhut Roots must be disyllabic Cidaku, Cibuhut, Maseni Co-occurring [+ATR] vowels agree in height Kedi, Keni, Maseni, Toti

Consonant disharmony Two consonants with the same place of articulation do not co-occur in a root Cidaku, Namprut, Toti, Latep, Petet

Balinese also has a special type of ‘inherent reduplication’ forms (Clynes 1995: Section 4.2, p. 71). Because they contain meaningless reduplicated elements, they violate the Semantic transparency constraint. Semantically, they belong to any of the three types we defined above. Examples: (15) mémé crukcuk kedongdong lumbalumba kisikisi tektek sepsep cadcad

‘mother’ ‘k.o. bird’ ‘k.o. fruit tree’ ‘dolphin’ ‘whisper’ ‘chop up’ ‘suck’ ‘criticize’

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In conclusion, even though we only dealt with a subpart of Balinese expressive forms (cf. Clynes 1998 for a full discussion, including animal cries and onomatopoeia), we found that the language has semantically marked lexical elements that systematically violate markedness constraints. Note that the choice and number of the constraints involved is a language particular issue. In Balinese, there are different, and more constraints involved than in e.g. Kambera. The Semantic Transparency constraint however seems to have relevance crosslinguistically. 3.3 Malay In an earlier stage, the canonical Malay root C1 V C2 V (C) was subject to a constraint that where C1 and C2 are both stops and are homorganic, they must also agree in voicing: (16)

‘If tautomorphemic consonants harmonize for place, they also harmonize for voice:’ [C V C V]M [-cont] [-cont] Place Voice

This constraint excludes morphemes where homorganic voiced stops, voiceless stops, nasals or semivowels occur together as C1 and C2, e.g. *komo and *panda.5 However, quite a number of Malay words violate the Place = Voice constraint — an example is the commonly used form bapa ‘father’. Adelaar (1983) presents a list of these exceptional forms, compiled on the basis of Wilkinson’s 1932 Malay–English dictionary. Of the 108 forms presented in this paper, 51 forms are loans, and thus irrelevant in the present context. Of the 57 native forms, however, we found that 22 can be semantically classified as names of plants or animals, and 10 refer to special states, movements or sounds, names, or bad things such as evil spirits. The remaining 25 forms are a semantically and formally mixed bag, including morphologically derived forms such as reduplications and contracted forms. Thus, in Malay, a significant proportion of the words violating the constraint on tautomorphemic consonant harmony belong to the expressive semantics class. 3.4 West Tarangan West-Tarangan (Southeast Maluku, Nivens 1992) prohibits morpheme-internal consonant clusters: (17) *…CC …]M

“Avoid morpheme-internal consonant clusters”


The vast majority of the roots in this language are disyllabic (C)V(C) V(C) roots (Nivens 1992: 148, 159). We express this as the following constraint: (18) Root = σ σ

Nivens (1992) reports that the forms in (19) illustrate the exceptional case when the constraint on consonant clusters is violated. The initial consonant is a liquid /r, l/ or a front glide /y/: (19) West Tarangan exceptional consonant clusters (Nivens 1992: 148–149)6 C1=/r/ kartfw garkfw korkorba korbarda gfrpan garsi frmol marna¯m kfr]am irlow frj7la

C1=/l/ ‘rat’ ‘orphaned’ ‘bat (sp.)’ ‘shrimp (sp.)’ ‘white hair’ ‘cra(sp.)’ ‘sea snake’ ‘turtle (sp.)’ ‘parrot’ ‘cassava’ ‘tree’

si]al]alta 7lk7y kayb7lb7lbal kildu¯m flpft gals7ras7ran almu¯n s7l¢nr tfl]um maljamajaman

C1=/y/ ‘fungus (sp.)’ ‘black cockatoo’ ‘bird (sp.)’ ‘turtle (sp.)’ ‘heron’ ‘tuber (sp.)’ ‘shadow’ ‘mollusk (sp.)’ ‘plant (sp.)’ ‘bed’

kayt7a gaykapa gaybu¯n ]aypep gaymoy gaynaka ay¢]tay payrfra mayl7wa

‘corn’ ‘cra(sp.)’ ‘large’ ‘womb’ ‘slow’ ‘sago leaf ’ ‘difficult’ ‘bird (sp.)’ ‘tree (sp.)’

Though this is not observed in Nivens 1992, in the context of the present paper it is striking that out of the 30 forms 22 are plant/animal names and 2 belong to the Bad type (‘slow’ and ‘difficult’) , leaving only 8 forms that are not expressive. As it is,7 this data supports the hypothesis that the violation of a phonological constraint, in this language, on consonant clusters, signals semantic expressiveness. 3.5 Evidence from other language families The data from the few Austronesian languages discussed above can be supplied by data on many other languages that display a correlation between marked form and meaning. On the Symposium on ideophones (Köln, January 1999) similar observations were made for expressives in e.g. Estonian and Finnish, in the African languages Hausa, Zulu, Ewe, Wolaitta, Didinga and Ciluba; the Australian languages Jaminjang, Warrura, Gooniyandi, Gunin/Kwini, and in Quechua. For example, Newman (this volume) observes that Hausa ideophones use segments from normal phoneme inventory but in an unusual position. Phonotactically, Hausa ideophones are marked because they can violate the constraint that word-final consonants cannot be voiced:

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(20)

[*C*] | voice Examples:

tsulum tsigil

‘sound of a small object falling in water’ ‘emphasizing smallness’

They can also violate the constraint that final vowels should not be long: (21) *V:] Example:

batso¯-bàts×o ‘poorly made, ugly looking’

And Schultze-Berndt (this volume) shows that the so-called ‘coverbs’ in Jaminjung (a non-Pama-Nyungan Australian language) have coupled marked formal to marked semantic properties. Among other things, the coverbs can violate phonological wellformedness constraints of Jaminjung: they may be monosyllabic rather than di-/trisyllabic, they allow consonant clusters (liquid-stop) in word-final codas, and they may contain the mid vowel /e/, otherwise not part of the phonological inventory of Jaminjung. Examples: (22) goob yoorrg deb

‘come off’ ‘show’ ‘knock down’

wirrb ‘wipe’ ngoojoolb ‘cough’ thebberr ‘pierced w. something sticking out’

Finally, in Dutch, there is has a small set of words with the onset /‚r/. This onset is marked because it violates the Sonority Sequencing Generalization, generally applicable in Dutch, which states that segments decrease in sonority towards the edges of a syllable (Booij 1995) (see also Klamer 2000c). The onset cluster /‚r/ consists of a labio-dental fricative and a liquid — two segments with the same degree of sonority. A standard dictionary of Dutch (Van Dale Groot Woordenboek 1993) reveals that all base forms with initial /‚r/ semantically synchronically belong to the types Sense or Bad (or are historically derived from Middle Dutch Sense verbs). They are given in (23):


(23) wraak wrak wrang wrat wraddel wreed wrevel wrok wriemelen wrikken wringen wrielen wriggelen wrijven wroeten; wroetelen wroeging wrong wrongel wreef

‘revenge’ (i) ‘wreck’ (ii) ‘rickety, ramshackle’ (i) ‘sour, acid’ (ii) ‘unpleasant, nasty’ (> wringen ‘squirm (mouth)’) ‘wart’ (> wrat) ‘neck flab’ ‘cruel, harsh’ ‘resentment, rancor, peevishness’ ‘resentment, grudge’ ‘wriggle, squirm, fiddle with’ (frequentative) ‘lever, prize, scull’ ‘wring, squirm, wrench, pinch’ ‘soft cry for food of small birds’ ‘wind’ (frequentative of M. Dutch wrigen) ‘rub’ ‘root (up), rout’ ; ‘rout (frequentative)’ ‘remorse’ ‘roll, knot, wreath’ ‘coagulated milk’ (> wringen ‘wring, wrench’) ‘instep’ (> Middle Dutch wrigen ‘wind, tilt, grow bent’

In sum, it appears that crosslinguistically, certain phonologically/morphologically marked forms are also semantically marked. The positive correlation between the marked form and marked meaning of these lexical items is so strong that we cannot but conclude that the relation between form and meaning in these items is not arbitrary but motivated. In the next section we will see that the motivating factor is diagrammatic iconicity. Note that the formal properties of expressives are not characteristically found in the ‘core’ lexical items of a language, though some core items may share features with expressives. Expressives are, in a sense, systematically marked forms, which implies that not all the native morphemes in the lexicon are optimal and unmarked: some are optimal while being grammatically marked. In other words, the optimal shape of core lexical items is defined by a minimal violation of constraints, while the optimal shape of peripheral items is characterized by the explicit violation of at least one (and usually more) wellformedness constraints of the language.

4. Diagrammatic iconicity and the lexicon Obviously, the alignment of marked forms and marked semantics in the data discussed above is not iconic in the strictest sense. For example, the onset cluster

178 Marian Klamer

/‚r/ in Dutch wraak ‘revenge’ or the monosyllabicity and final consonant cluster of Jaminjung yoorrg ‘show’ does not represent any factual resemblance between the signifier and the signified. Because this relation is not strictly iconic, we appeal to the notion of diagrammatic iconicity: the relationships among the components of the diagram are iconic — the relative position of an element in system A is matched by an element with the same relative position in system B. In Section 1 the continua for the formal, semantic and functional markedness of lexical items were introduced. They are repeated in below in a slightly different format: ¬

-

marked

marked

¬

marked

¬

-

constrained form

general meaning

¬

-

+ ®

+ ®

referential function

unmarked

unmarked

+ ®

unmarked

peripheral lexical items ............................................................. core lexical items ®

We described the formal markedness of an item in terms of the number of constraints violated by it, its semantic markedness in terms of the more or less specific semantics it has, and its functional markedness in terms of its referentiality. In the cases discussed, the item’s markedness values on the three continua are matched. In other words, the item’s markedness values are iconically aligned, the iconicity being diagrammatic. The iconic relation is indicated by the two-sided arrows between the three continua. Iconicity is thus seen as the factor that is responsible for a different patterning of core and peripheral items in the lexicon, because it is responsible for the assimilation of the markedness values of an item on the different continua. In this view on the lexicon, the distinction between core and peripheral lexical items is gradual, and the iconic matching of form, meaning and function applies to both types of items. Peripheral lexical items such as expressives occupy the space towards the left-hand side, while core lexical items pattern towards the right-hand side. But as the alignment of formal and semantic markedness is a tendency rather than a categorical property, there is some overlap of both types of lexical items. In other words, we do find core lexical items that share the marked characteristics of expressives, and

DEST "kla-n*">


expressives with unmarked properties. In this model, however, we predict that such items will form a small minority. We know that not everything is possible in the coining and interpretation of new lexical items, and this model helps to see why. Because the matching of function and formal/semantic markedness is preferably iconic, a newly coined referential element will never be more marked that the least constrained expressive in a language, and a new expressive element will never be more constrained than the most constrained referential element of that language. In other words, the model explains why languages prefer not to create expressives with canonical shapes, nor referential items with marked shapes. It predicts that items which are not motivated by iconicity are non-preferred in creative language.

Notes * I wish to thank Geert Booij, Adrian Clynes, Claartje Levelt and Ruben van de Vijver for discussions on the data and ideas presented in this paper, and Tucker Childs for referring me to Battistella’s work on markedness. 1. Other signs include indexes, which show a factual contingency between the sign and the object (e.g. a wind vane as the index of the wind direction) and symbols, which reflect conventional contiguity (Peirce 1965; Battistella 1990). 2. The non-constrainedness of marked forms implies the unmarkedness values of Battistella’s (1990): crosslinguistic ‘optimality’ and formal ‘simplicity’. 3. I.e., properties are more conceptually complex, and hence more marked, the less closely and clearly they reflect attributes of prototypical or experientially more basic categories (Battistella 1990: 27, 41–44). 4. Additional constraints are discussed in Klamer (2000c). 5. The constraint does not apply to (i) combinations of initial /t/ and medial /d, n/, and (ii) initial /d, n/ with medial /t/. This suggests that a different place feature may be involved, and Adelaar (1983: 65) therefore assumes that /t/ is dental, while /d, n/ are alveolar. 6. Note that the phonotactic status of the initial consonant in the third column, /y/, differs from that of the liquids in the first two columns. Firstly, because its consonantal status is unclear, and secondly, because it appears to be part of a (fossilised, lexicalized) prefix Cay. As Nivens does not contain further information on this, I follow his analysis and assume that /y/ here is a consonant in a cluster. 7. From Nivens (1992) it is unclear whether the list of 30 items is exhaustive, or indeed representative for words with a consonant cluster, nor does it contain observations on the semantics of these forms.

References Anttila, Raimo. 1976. Meaning and structure of Finnish descriptive vocabulary. [Texas Linguistic Forum 5.] Texas.

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Adelaar, Sander. 1983. “Malay consonant harmony: an internal reconstruction”. In James T. Collins (ed.), Studies in Malay dialects Part I. [NUSA Volume 16]. Jakarta: Universitas Atma Jaya. Battistella, Edwin L. 1990. Markedness: The Evaluative Superstructure of Language. Albany: State University of New York Press. Booij, Geert. 1995. The phonology of Dutch. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ———. 1998. “Morpheme structure constraints and the phonotactics of Dutch”. In Harry van der Hulst and Nancy Ritter (eds.), The syllable: views and facts. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Childs, Tucker G. 1994. “African ideophones.” In Hinton et.al. (eds.), 178–199. Clynes, Adrian. 1995. Topics in the Phonology and Morphology of Balinese [based on the dialect of Singaraja, North Bali]. PhD dissertation, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT. Clynes, Adrian. 1998. ‘The emergence of the marked: interactions of phonology and semantics in Balinese’. Ms., University of Brunei Darussalam. Clynes, Adrian. 2000. “Phonological structures and expressiveness: the role of iconicity in ‘the emergence of the marked’. In: Marian Klamer (ed.) Proceedings of AFLA 7. Amsterdam: Vrije Universiteit, Department of Linguistics. Elders, Stefan. in this volume. “Defining ideophones in Mundang”. Haiman, John. 1994. ‘Iconicity’. In: R. E. Asher and J. M. Y. Simpson (eds.) The Encylopedia of Language and Linguistics. Oxford: Pergamon Press. Hamano, Shoko. 1998. The sound-symbolic system of Japanese. Stanford, California: CSLI Publications. Hinton, Leanne, Johanna Nichols, and John J. Ohala (eds.). 1994. Sound symbolism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Jong, Nicky de. in this volume. “The ideophone in Didinga”. Joseph, Brian D. 1994. “Modern Greek ts: beyond sound symbolism”. In Hinton et.al. (eds.), 222–236. Joseph, Brian D. 1997. “On the linguistics of marginality: the centrality of the periphery”. In Kora Singer, Randall Eggert and Gregory Anderson (eds.), CLS 33: Papers from the main session. Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society, 197–213. Kita, Sotaro. 1997. “Two-dimensional semantic analysis of Japanese mimetics”. Linguistics 35. 379–415. ———. 1999. “Two-dimensional semantic analysis of Japanese giongo/gitaigo (sound mimetics/ manner mimetics”. Paper presented at the International Symposium on ideophones, Köln, January 25–27 1999. Klamer, Marian. 1998. A grammar of Kambera. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter. ———. 2000a. “How report verbs become quote markers and complementizers”. Lingua 110: 69–98. ———. 2000b. “Austronesian expressives and the lexicon”. In: Catherine Kitto and Carolyn Smallwood (eds.) Proceedings of AFLA 6. University of Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics. ———. 2000c. “Semantically motivated lexical patterns: A study of Dutch and Kambera expressives”. Ms. Leiden University. [Resubmitted for Language, Dec. 2000] Klinken, Catharina van. 1997. A grammar of the Fehan dialect of Tetun. Ph.D. dissertation, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT. Mithun, Marianne. 1982. “The synchronic and diachronic behaviour of plops, squeaks, croaks, sighs and moans.” International Journal of American Linguistics 48, 1: 49–58. Newman, Paul. in this volume. “Are ideophones really as weird and extra-systematic as linguists make them out to be?”


Nivens, Richard. 1992. “A lexical phonology of West Tarangan.” In: Donald A. Burquest and Wyn D. Laidig (eds.), Phonological studies in four languages of Maluku. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics and The University of Texas Publications in Linguistics. Onvlee, Louis. 1984. Kamberaas (Oost-Soembaas)-Nederlands Woordenboek. Dordrecht: Foris. Peirce, Charles S. 1965. Collected papers of Charles Sanders Peirce. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Schultze-Berndt, Eva. in this volume. “Ideophone-like characteristics of ‘coverbs’ in Jaminjung (Australia).” Uhlenbeck, E. M. 1950. “The structure of the Javanese morpheme.” Lingua 2: 239–270.

181

Speaking the act The ideophone as a linguistic rebel Daniel P. Kunene University of Wisconsin

1.

Synopsis

In this paper I try to demonstrate three things: Firstly, after examining a considerable amount of data on the ideophone, especially in Sesotho (which I also refer to from time to time as Southern Sotho), I have inevitably come to the conclusion that the ideophone is the closest linguistic substitute for a non-verbal, physical act. I find that this position is given great credence by the fact that such physical acts, by which I mean self-conscious gestures and other imitative acts, are more often than not seen to accompany ideophones and, indeed, sometimes to replace them completely. Secondly, just as stage performance creates a surreal world outside of the real world of the spectators or audience, so too does the ideophone simulate an activity that is removed from the ordinary language act comprising subjects and predicates and objects and adverbs and adjectives, which are open to all kinds of mutations to achieve varying nuances of meaning around the basic semantic significance of the radical around which these mutations occur. Thirdly, and finally, I suggest that a society in which there is a prolific, or even simply substantial, use of ideophones is ipso facto a communal society where people take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself, to talk.

2.

The evidence

Ideophones are often accompanied by gestures whose intent is to approximate the act the ideophone represents. These are not random gestures such as those accompanying ordinary speech acts, which are largely unconscious. On the contrary, the gesture used with an ideophone is a deliberate act, and the speaker/actor is quite

184 Daniel P. Kunene

conscious of his intention to, as it were, choreograph a suitable representational movement. He acts. (1) a mo re nyemo ‘he to-him did nyemo’ i.e. ‘he did to him nyemo’ i.e. ‘he did to him give dirty look’) i.e. ‘he gave him a dirty look’

In the above example the speaker actually simulates a dirty look. Thus the ideophone, as a proxy for the act, and the act itself, are used to reinforce each other. In moments of great excitement, ideophones can be replaced completely by gestures representing the act portrayed. This is especially likely where the action is vigorous, such as a representation of two men wrestling. Obviously at this point, we have reached the basic, raw, non-speech level of behavior. The speaker has truly turned actor and we the spectators of his dramatic representation of life’s manifestations. If the ideophone is onomatopoeic, then, of course, the gesture may be accompanied by appropriate imitative sounds. Thus the abstraction of speech is reinforced by the concrete presentation of the abstracted act. As in oral performance, the narrator takes on the role of the subject who is the performer of the action of the story, and acts that role. Thus we have a narrator, an actor (the subject), and the staged act (the ideophone), which isolates itself from the rest of the narrative, i.e. stands ‘aloof ’ from it. The ideophone’s ‘aloofness’ from the “normal” behavior of the rest of the language manifests itself in many other ways. (2) lehapu la re phatlo ‘the watermelon did phatlo’ ‘the watermelon did split’ ‘the watermelon split’) compare the verb -phatloha ‘become split’. (3) a re lahapu phatlo ‘he did to the watermelon phatlo’ ‘he did to the watermelon split’ ‘he split the watermelon’ compare the verb -phatlola ‘split, transitive’

The ideophone phatlo does not reflect, on its own, the states of transitivity and intransitivity. In the above examples, these states are deducible solely from the switching of syntactic roles by the noun lehapu, which is a subject in the first example, and an object in the second. The second example introduces a new subject, which plays the role of an agent of the act of splitting. As a general principle, then, we may state that the ideophone, being an act, is not subject to the rules of grammar such as reflections of tense (present, past, future), passiveness or

Speaking the act

activeness, mood (e.g. subjunctive, imperative, indicative, etc.), and so on. In order for these to be attached to the ideophone, a verbal element, namely -re, has to be added to the predication. The equivalent in the Nguni languages is -thi. Since most of my examples are from Southen Sotho, I shall be using -re most of the time. Ideophones do participate in relational sequences in a variety of phrases without the intervention of the verbalizing element -re, i.e. by direct juxtaposition. This gives them viability within the speech chain. However, this juxtaposition is not conditional upon formal modifications on the part of such ideophones. Their ‘aloofness’ from the grammatical system is therefore total, being a morphological phenomenon as well, and not only a syntactical one.

3.

Examples of juxtapositions with and without -re

3.1 Relationship to noun-subject (4) nkgo bjara ‘the claypot bjara’ ‘the claypot bjara’ ‘the claypot broke’ cf. nkgo ya re bjara ‘the claypot did bjara ‘the claypot did break’ (5) mahlo etlo ‘the (i.e. his/her) eyes etlo’ ‘the (his/her) eyes cleared’ cf. mahlo a re etlo ‘the (his/her) eyes did etlo ‘the (his/her) eyes became clear (6) ntja photse ‘the dog photse’ ‘the dog bolted out’ cf. ntja ya re photse ‘the dog did photse’ ‘the dog bolted out

3.2 Relationship to noun-object (7) [ngwana] nkgo bjara ‘[the child] the claypot bjara’ ‘[the child] the claypot break’, i.e. ‘the child did to the claypot break’ ‘[the child] broke the claypot’

185


The syntactical order of nkgo and bjara can be reversed without affecting the meaning. (8) [ngwana] bjara nkgo [the child] bjara the claypot

The subject [ngwana arbitrarily chosen] deletes the ambiguous syntactical status of nkgo, i.e. as to whether it is subject or object. The noun slots in Examples (4)–(8) above can be filled by any pronoun or pronominal phrase. 3.3 Relationship to adverbials 3.3.1 Adverbials of manner (9) hanghang photse ‘at once photse’ ‘at once bolt out’, i.e. ‘at once he/she/it bolted out’

3.3.2 Adverbials of time (10) hara bosiu [Masopha] thoso ‘in the middle of the night [Masopha] thoso’ ‘in the middle of the night [Masopha] suddenly appeared’

3.3.3 Adverbials of place (11) kwena metsing bito ‘the crocodile out of the water bito’ ‘the crocodile out of the water suddenly appeared’

As my translations show, all these occurrences of the ideophone are presumed to be past tense through assuming an on-going past tense narrative. Formally, there is no way to tell that the action of the ideophone was enacted in the past. The ambiguity of tense can only be resolved by introducing the verb stem -re which takes a past subject concord to reflect a narrative past, as indicated in the above examples. If the action’s time is other than past, then -re is indispensable: (12) nkgo e tla re bjara ‘the claypot will do bjara’ ‘the claypot will break’ (13) mahlo a tla re etlo ‘the eyes will do etlo’ ‘the eyes will clear’

Speaking the act 187

(14) ntja e tla re photse ‘the dog will do photse’ ‘the dog will bolt out’

3.4 Other grammatical indicators, e.g. mood, tense aspect, etc. carried by

-re 3.4.1 Habitual or repetitive (15) nkgo e re bjara ‘[then] the pot would do bjara’ ‘[then] the pot would break’

3.4.2 Subjunctive (16) o re mana fatshe ‘you must do mana on the ground’ ‘you must do lie flat on the ground ‘you must lie flat on the ground’ (17) ha ba ke ba re kgefu ‘let them a little do kgefu’ ‘let them a little take a break ‘let them take a break a little’

3.4.3 Infinitive (18) ho re mana fatshe ‘to do mana on the ground’ ‘to do lie flat on the ground’ ‘to lie flat on the ground’

3.4.4 Potential/permissive (19) ba ka re kgefu ho se hokae ‘they may do kgefu a little bit’ ‘they may do take a break a little bit’ ‘they may take a little break’

3.5 Relationship to the verb 3.5.1 Verb + semantically cognate ideophone (20) a thola tu ‘he kept silent tu’ ‘he kept silent completely’ ‘he kept completely silent’


The predicative idea is repeated twice, first as a verb and then as an ideophone. This achieves emphasis both through the restatement of the same idea twice, but also because the ideophone is characterized by intensity in its presentation of an idea that could also be presented through the verb. The verb and the ideophone could be separated into two, virtually independent predicative formulations by introducing -re to precede the ideophone, as follows: 3.5.2 Verb + -re + ideophone (21) a thola a re tu ‘he kept quiet he did tu’ ‘he kept completely quiet’

4. Creating ideophones from verbs This is a common phenomenon in the Southern Bantu languages. In Sesotho, the process consists of substituting -i for the final vowel of the verb which is almost invariably -a in the infinitive (and in several other contexts as well). The two exceptions are -re ‘say’ and -tjho ‘say so’. (22) a. b. c. d.

ideophone keni from verb kena ‘enter’ ideophone tlamolli from verb tlamolla ‘untie’ ideophone hlotsi from verb hlotsa ‘limp’ ideophone tswii from verb tswa ‘go out’

Unlike the first three examples in the above cluster, the ideophone tswii in the last example has a long i sound. This is a phenomenon that obtains for all ideophones from monosyllabic verbs. These ideophonized verbs acquire all the attributes of regular ideophones, specifically that of aloofness from all the morphological modifications that other parts of speech undergo to adapt to their linguistic environments. Similarly, English verbs are often transplanted into Sesotho syntactical environments that are normally filled by ideophones. The English verb is then frozen into an immutable form whose grammatical function can only be attained through the same mechanisms used for ideophones. The one difference is that Sesotho then mostly uses the verb stem -etsa, and very seldom -re, to make that “ideophonized” verb viable within its new grammatical environment. (23) a.

ra mo etsa discourage ‘we did to him discourage’ ‘we discouraged him’

Speaking the act 189

b.

c.

d.

re tla mo etsa discourage ‘we will do to him discourage’ ‘we will discourage him’ o se ke was mo etsa discourage ‘you must not do to him discourage’ ‘you must not discourage him’ ba ile ba mo re respect haholo ‘they did to him respect a lot’ ‘they respected him a lot’, i.e. ‘they showed him a lot of respect’

With the help of its verb -thi (cf. Sesotho -re) Xhosa engages much more freely in this process of ideophonizing English verbs than Sesotho. (24) a. b. c.

ku funeka uyithi forget yonke loo nto ‘it is necessary that you forget all that stuff’ baze bathi open ke, wangena ‘so at last they opened then, and he entered’ uzumthi remind ke ‘you must remind him then’

Needless to say that the code-switching in Examples (23) and (24) is engaged in by Sotho and Xhosa speakers who have been exposed to English either at school or in large urban centers like Johannesburg, or both. While most people use it as matter of habit, it is also sometimes used self-consciously as a status symbol.

5.

The ideophone and orality

By its very nature, the ideophone demands the presence to each other of the communicating parties, namely the speaker and the listener. That is the essence of performance, and the ideophone is a performative speech act par excellence, which is often reinforced by body language. All the elements of oral performance are there: oral (the speaker transmitting the message through sound and visual images); aural (the hearer receiving and processing the sound signals); visual (the hearer simultaneously seeing the speaker’s gestures and other body language manifestations and processing those). There are many indicators of this “orality” of ideophones, including the following: the speaker’s use of exclamations and interjections in conjunction with the ideophone. (25) Hela! …Kikirikiri, kikirikiri! ‘My goodness! …Kikirikiri, kikirikiri!’ (reference to people fighting or wrestling)

The speaker’s use of words inviting the hearer to view an act. The word “bona” (look) is often used in this context.


(26) Bona!: Kgatla fatshe! ‘Watch! Kgatla on the ground!’ (reference to throwing someone forcefully on the ground)

Likewise the demonstrative may be used as if to point out to the hearer the subject performing the ideophonic act. (27) Ke elwa tlole ka thota! ‘There he is tlole beyond the rise!’ (reference to someone disappearing beyond the rise)

These and other orality markers often accompany ideophones, underscoring their immediacy to the communicating parties.

6. Conclusion I have, in a sense, already stated my conclusions in my introductory remarks. Let me simply underscore some of the points made there. The ideophone stands aloof from the connecting tissues, the sinews and ligaments that flesh out the basic components of speech into a morphological, grammatical and syntactical system. By thus isolating itself, it, so to speak, climbs the stage to become an act, thus removing itself from the ordinary run-of-the-mill narrative surrounding it. By its very nature, it imposes on the subject the function of an actor or performer whose surrogate is the narrator. The closest analogy is that of an oral narrative performer who from time to time “becomes” the characters he/she is narrating about and acts out their parts. Having created a surreal world, the ideophone invites the audience to perceive with their senses that which it represents, whether aural, visual, olfactory, and so on. Finally it cannot be over-emphasized that the “oral” character of the ideophone gives us a good clue of the kind of society we may expect where ideophones are used on a regular basis. It is reasonable to assume that it is a society in which people form themselves into conversational clusters, or take advantage of any situations that throw them together in their daily existence such as a bus shelter, a bus, a train, the village pump, and any situation where people find themselves so to say “trapped” for a significant amount of time. One only has to read an author like C. L. S. Nyembezi to see this phenomenon at work. The novels Mntanami! Mntanami!, Ubudoda Abukhulelwa, and Inkinsela YaseMgungundlovu simply thrive on characters talking, and are marked by a generous use of ideophones. Or, to reverse the logic of the last statement, maybe we first have to have a communal society that provides a fertile environment for the creation and use of ideophones since it is an ipso facto oral and visual society in its communication system. This creates a kind of chicken-and-egg argument which is both fascinating

Speaking the act

and frustrating, but which ensures that we are going to be around a long, long time, trying to solve the mystery.

191

Phonosemantic hierarchies Omen N. Maduka-Durunze Agbia State University, Nigeria

1.

Introduction

The following fairly general hypothesis regarding phonosemantic hierarchies in ideophones is being proposed: The semantic interpretation of ideophones depends on their sounds and patterns, and on a formal sound-symbolic system of linkages. One interesting aspect of this system is that based on hierarchies of phonosemantic suggestiveness. There are dominance relationships such that some phonosemantic linkages are stronger than others; and when these linkages constitute an ideophone and are in opposition, stronger linkages hold sway over the weaker and cancel them out. If they are in opposition and of equal strength, they mutually annihilate each other and leave residues that now constitute the meaning of the ideophone. If they are similar in suggestiveness but vary in strength, then they will often add up their strengths to provide the meaning of the ideophone. Given the inevitable limitation of the inventory of sound units, ideophones make use of hierarchies to cover wider ranges of semantic notions. There are several far-reaching consequences of this, including those that have to do with ideophonic change and variation and that of phonosemantic foci for the vowel space. The principal structural phonosemantic features of ideophones discovered so far include the following: Compositionality, creativity or generativity, phonosemantic features and phonosemantic hierarchies. Compositionality refers to the fact that ideophones are most often constituted of meaning-bearing components (also termed psychomorphs) that compose them as words compose sentences. Creativity or generativity refers to the fact that new ideophones (including those never heard before) can be constructed as occasion demands, based on a quasisyntactic generative mechanism. Features are atomic components that build up larger components. Very much like phonetic/phonological features, phonosemantic features in their formal representation are signed positive/negative, so that every psychomorph is seen as a bundle of phonosemantic features, with both a phonic and a semantic side. The term hierarchies refers to the situation in which some

194 Omen N. Maduka-Durunze

psychomorphs possess stronger cognitive sound-sense linkages than others, even within the same narrow field, resulting in either complementarity collaboration, displacement or mutual annihilation of specific linkages. For a discussion see Maduka-Durunze (1983–1984, 1988, 1990, 1992), among others. A complete account of ideophonic characteristics must include motivational features such as iconicity and synaesthesia. Iconicity refers to the fact that sound structures in ideophones suggest meanings only in ways that can be accounted for by the resemblances between structure and physical reality. For instance, sounds with the feature [+round] would suggest roundedness, duplication would suggest number or repetition, and so on. Synaesthesia refers to the transfer of meaning from one sense modality to another cognate modality. For instance, sounds that basically suggest largeness would in many languages also suggest loudness, strength, brightness, etc. Through iconicity primary/basic meanings are generated; through synaesthesia these meanings are multiplied by extending them to other domains. Ideally, synaesthesia should be included as an aspect of the generative capacity of ideophones as should hierarchies and compositionality. Of all the features mentioned above, perhaps the most intriguing is the notion of hierarchies. This paper goes beyond previous work in that it considers the phenomenon in its wider ramification and typological possibilities. 1.1 Ideophones and composition As stated in the previous section, ideophones are most often composed of smaller semantic units. There are three basic typological formants of composition, namely Type A, Type and Type C. In Type A, single segments in particular positions make contributions that add up to give an ideophone its full meaning. In Type B, melodies — consonant and vowel melodies, in particular — take meaning as opposed to single segments. In Type C, the nature of syllabic structures determines meanings, but details in this type have not been fully clarified. Again, these are elaborated in Maduka (1989). Beyond the typology above, based on segments, it is now evident that units of composition may also be based on fields or features. 1.1.1 Horizontal vs. vertical composition Further investigation places us now in a position to give wider meaning to the term ‘composition’. The typological patterns discussed above may be said to be within a horizontal compositional frame. And since as shown in Maduka (1988, 1990, 1991), features (in the phonological sense) also convey meaning, within a single segment, we may accept that there is also vertical composition. For instance, the vowel [u] in Hausa size and shape ideophones carries both meanings large and round (among others). The proof of their independence is in fact that they are alienable. A word-

Phonosemantic hierarchies 195

final consonant can cancel out one of them (here, large) depending on the circumstance (cf. Maduka 1991). 1.1.2 Hierarchies and composition Hierarchies work in close correspondence with composition in ideophones. As stated in the preceding section, they may be based on semantic fields, phonic segments, or features. Below we clarify how they function within these realms. 1.2 Multiple-field ideophones: Scope hierarchies Most ideophones encode meanings from different semantic sub-fields. An ideophone that makes principal reference to noise will often include such as the nature of object causing the noise, the space surrounding the object, the regularity of the noise, etc. For instance, in Igbo, the ideophones yfkfyfkf and kpfkfkpfkf would both refer to rattling (i.e., repetitive, short, sharp, light, hard) within almost full containing vessel. However, the first would refer to a bunched-up mass, the second to a single, hard and dry object (cf. Maduka 1983–1984). 1.2.1 Sub-field hierarchies: Core plus satellites Within the concept of field hierarchies, we term the major field the Core and the other associated meanings the Satellites. Many ideophones operate this way. As can be seen from the examples used above, the core is carried by [k] (the medial consonant) and the satellites by [y] and [kp] (initial consonants, indicating the nature of the object causing the noise) [f] (vowel, designating spatial features) and duplication (designating ‘repetitive’). With scope hierarchies, since they operate with the full ideophone as range, cores and satellites are sometimes determined by sentential context — often the co-occurring verb. Almost always, in reduplicated ideophones either the medial consonant or the vowel acts as core and as such its phonosemantic correlative (i.e., meaning) is higher on the scope hierarchy. The formal rules that determine field hierarchies — although not so called — are discussed in detail in Maduka (1989). The following set of data shows field hierarchies in terms of cores and satellites. (1)

field scope

core

a. b.

sonic dimension

noise type size

c.

motion

speed

d. e.

visual tactile

hue/brightness hardness

satellites Loudness, regularity, intensity Shape, induced (e.g. elongated, inflated, truncated) Direction, consistency of object, transitional pattern (e.g. spreading, not spreading) Intensity, reflexivity Malleability, ductility


The above is phonosemantic and also dependent on hierarchies: One sub-field, conveyed by one or two meaning-bearing units, manifests as the core, consigning others to secondary or even tertiary satellite roles. As stated earlier, the segments associated most often with sub-fields highest on a hierarchy are medial consonants and vowels. Initial consonants hardly determine core fields. 1.3 Tactic hierarchies: Displacement and mutual annihilation Although the case above actually functions on a hierarchical basis, it is little appreciated and has not been seen as such or so described in the literature. Better known is the situation where co-occurring (‘tactic’) segmental psychomorphs (i.e. meaning-bearing units) interact with one displacing the other or both mutually annihilating each other in case of conflict between them. As this has been discussed in earlier papers (Maduka 1988, 1991), only a brief and simplified statement will be made here. In Hausa size and shape ideophones, consonants and vowels convey meaning, often of different categories, but sometimes of identical ones. The vowel [u] suggests {large and round}, while a word final, non-nasal consonant suggests small. If a word-final non-nasal, being higher on the hierarchy, should co-occur with [u] in an ideophone, the resultant would be {small and round}, the {large} component of [u] having been displaced, although here the following hold by way of general functioning: (2) Cross or Surface Level Rules: a. C# Æ [αnasal] b. [u] Æ

[αlarge] +large +round

The hierarchical organization is such that the rule schema (2a) is decomposed, thus: (3) Level n: Level n-1: Level n-2: Level n-3:

C# Æ [nasal] C# Æ [−nasal] [u] Æ C Æ [−round]

[+large]; C Æ [+round] [−large]

+large +round

+large +round Ø

Thus, the constituents of the ‘gross level’ schema (2a) are on different levels at the ‘finite structure level’ (cf. Maduka 1991). Although some details are not included, this is often the case: Component parts of rule schemas hardly belong to the same


level on a hierarchy. A handful of Hausa size and shape ideophones that are based on the above hierarchy is given below:1 (4)

daMMwaa-daMwàa daMwal-daMwal guruu-gùrùu gwadaa-gwàdàa Mubul-Mubul Mubur-Mubur gudu]-gùdù] guru]-guru]

‘large and round’ ‘large and round’ ‘large and round’ ‘huge and round’ ‘small and round’ ‘squat, podgy’ ‘huge (of yams)’ ‘huge (of yams)’

The above is an example of displacement. There may or may not be residue [+round] in the examples above. Many such examples of displacement exist in different languages and in different semantic fields. Sometimes in tactic hierarchies, opposing elements are on the same level such that when in construction, they are mutually annihilated. Our example is from Nembe shape ideophones. In Nembe, both consonant and vowel melodies function to designate shape, in particular longitudinal shape. Polarized melodies refer to crooked, while non-polarized melodies indicate straight. The following is a portion of the appropriate hierarchy:2 (5) Level n

Level n-1 Level n-2 Level n-3

OQ [αwide]

Æ

V-Q [αwide] EQ [αwide] [aQ]

Æ Æ Æ

[−crooked] [αlarge] [αround] [+crooked] [αlarge] [−crooked] [αlarge] Ø

C−Q Æ

[+crooked]

Æ

[−crooked]

CQ

Æ (i.e., null value)

Normal displacement takes place as in the Hausa example. However, mutual annihilation also takes place here, at Level n. Thus, we have OQ + C-Q yielding [αlarge, αround], with [−crooked] of the first and [+crooked] of the second being mutually annihilated. The following ideophones exemplify both displacement and annihilation in the language (where only the relevant components are included): (6) a.

kpokorokpokoró gbodoróo 'ogolo'ogogolo gbogboróo

large and round Mutual annihilation large and round of [−crooked] and large and round [+crooked] at level n large and round


'ekelé'ekele 'ákala'ákala 'akaláa kadigíkadigi gbolológbololo feleléfelele gorórogoróro

b.

c.

crooked crooked twisted twisted straight straight straight

(Displacement of EQ (n−2) By C-Q (n)) (Collaboration between OQ (n) and CQ (n−1))

As far as longitudinal shape is concerned, mutual annihilation has taken place in (6a), value displacement in (6b) and value identity in (6c).

2.

Single-field ideophones: Feature coefficients

Sometimes, ideophones — often those containing only one obstruent — carry meanings within a single field. Consider the following data referring to brightness (Williamson 1965: 23–24): (7) g77n geen gffn

of an even, unblinking light of a steady light, brighter than g77n of a light which is brighter than g77n, but does not bother like geen [i.e., geen is brighter than gffn]

In other words, the brightness hierarchy in the set of ideophones is as follows: goon > geen > gffn > g77n. At this point, it is necessary to place Kolokuma vowels in proper perspective regarding their feature matrices: (8) high back wide low

i

I

e

7

a

f

o

~

u

+ − + −

+ − − −

− − + −

− − − −

− − − +

− + − −

− + + −

+ + − −

+ + + −

If the following coefficients are assigned to the features to reflect this hierarchy in the field of brightness in the language, (9) high back wide low

+

−

0 1 2 4

4 0 0 0


then the following is the hierarchy for vowel features in terms of degrees of suggestiveness as far as this field is concerned: (10) Level n: Level n-1 Level n-2 Level n-3

[−high], [+low] [+wide] [+back] [+high], [−back], [−wide], [−low]

If the assignment in (9) is correct, then it means that the vowels in the ideophones (and therefore the ideophones themselves) gather up numerical values as shown in (11) below (ignoring [low] because of its special relationship with [high]):

(11)

high + o e f 7 a u i | I

back

−

+

4 4 4 4 4

1

−

+

0

2 2

0 0 1 0

−

0 0 0

1

0 0 0 0

sum

wide

2 2 0 0

1 0

= = = = = = = = =

7 6 5 4 4 3 2 1 0

Coefficients are therefore additive in this field and their gross value for each vowel determines its position on the hierarchy, so that as stated earlier, the brightness hierarchy is thus: goon > geen > gffn > g77n. The issues become clearer if the numbers above are presented in such a way that the coefficients are adjusted to take binary values, with bright and dark vowels having positive and negative values, respectively (12)

Vowels

Unary coefficients

Binary coefficients

Vowel quantity

o e f 7 a u i | I

7 6 5 4 4 3 2 1 0

+4 +3 +2 +1 +1 0 -1 -2 -3

bright4 bright3 bright2 bright1 bright1 neutral dark1 dark2 dark3


However, as can be seen, only vowels with gross values not less than 4 (four) are attested in Williamson’s data. Although the darkness ideophones in the language are not available to us, we can confidently say that those vowels with sums of coeficients less than 4 do not suggest brightness because their values are psychologically low on the Unary coefficients and negative on the binary coefficients. As for [a], Williamson states that there is a word gan be light, possibly the starting point for the whole series, which is not itself an ideophone (p. 24). In any event, dichotomization, even in gradual fields (semantics, phonetics, etc.) is natural and in fact is the motivation for the binarity concept in phonology and other areas such as semantics. All the same, our analysis here does not guarantee that those vowels with the sum values below 4 would refer to darkness in the same phonetic environment. In fact, many ideophones use different formats — compositional, structural, etc. — for encoding concepts directly in opposition. For example, the following hold in Nembe, Igbo and Hausa ideophones describing rigidity/looseness (cf. Maduka 1993). (13)

rigid/firm Nembe gÍdÌgÍdÌ kÍrÌkÍrÌ kÍtÌkÍtÌ Igbo fam-fam gam-gam gem-gem Hausa dam 1as 1os

lax/loos kúsukúsu wúsuwúsu wásawása wokowoko wogowogo yògìyògì lako-lako lage-lage laku-laku

We may consider another set of single-field ideophones in Kolokuma (Williamson 1965: 24–25) describing size, using her terminology (except for wide and narrow): (14) a.

b.

c.

Non-high vowels are associated with largeness, high vowels with smallness gbegbereé refer to taller people than gbigbirií gbagbaraá gbIgbIrIÍ gbogboroó gbu|bgur||´ Wide vowels are associated with largeness, narrow vowels with smallness gbegbereé refers to taller people than gb7gb7r7´7 gbogboroó refer to fatter people than gb|bgur||´ gbegbereé gbIgbIrIÍ gbigbirií Back vowels are associated with largeness, front vowels with smallness gbogboroó refers to fatter people than gbegbereé gb|bgur||´ refers to less thin people than gbIgbIrIÍ


Put into linear form, the hierarchy for size ideophones in Kolokuma may be constructed from Williamson’s data, thus gbogboroó > gbegbereé > (gbfgbfrf¢f) > gb7gb7r7´7 > gbagbaraá > (gbugburuú) > gbigbirií > gbIgbIrIÍ, corresponding, in fact, with the vowel hierarchy as computed in (11) for brightness ideophones. The size ideophones in parentheses are not included in Williamson’s data, but they logically should be positioned in the places indicated.

3.

Conclusion

Phonosemantic hierarchies are inevitably an inherent part of ideophonic composition and creativity. The following diagram may be used to illustrate hierarchy types so far discovered and the operational strategies they use (in square brackets) beyond plain collaboration: Phonosemantic hierarchies Multiple field Sub-field

Single field Tactic

[core+satellites] [displacement/annihilation] [feature coefficients] Phonosemantic hierarchies are field-specific in a language. Of course, there should be correspondence between fields as seen in the Kolokuma size and brightness ideophones. Here, the reason is that both fields are synaesthetically connected, with size as the more basic. Where synasthesia is not involved, this kind of correspondence cannot be expected to hold. For instance, although pharyngeal modulation (use of wide vs. narrow pharynx) is appropriate to size description and produces clear correspondences in that field, it cannot be appropriate — systematically — to shape description. Thus, the hierarchical arrangement between two vowels may differ from one field to another. For each field, therefore, hierarchies have to be discovered anew. As is evident from the points so far considered, the hierarchy phenomenon is ideophones hinges on the notion of collaboration. It is interesting to note, that while collaboration in multiple-field hierarchies is complementary and quantitatively bounded, that is, the feature value subscriptions attached to two meaningbearing units remain the same whatever happens, or disappear entirely, collaboration in single-field hierarchies is elaborative rather than bounded. Something extra is added within the same narrow meaning. In other words, we may state that what holds in single-field ideophones is elaboration or — perhaps more appropriately — collaborative elaboration, while


what holds in multiple-field ideophones is complementary collaboration. This complementary collaboration is achieved through displacement. In the same way, we may see mutual annihilation as subtractive collaboration. Thus hierarchies have the major purpose of licensing the interaction of different psychomorphs so that the limited set of segments might be able to convey a much wider range of semantic notions. Hierarchies therefore appear to play a greater role in ideophonic creativity than the phenomenon of composition. But then, thy also collaborate in this venture. There are several questions to ask in respect to phonosemantic hierarchies: a.

Is hierarchy basically in the spatial domain? Or does it extend to the spatiotemporal as well? b. What is the nature of (domain-specific) phonosemantic fine structures in languages? (i) In rules involving α-notation in which the two components are on different levels, will the positively marked phonic feature always remain higher than the negative marked? (ii) Is it possible that there are fine structures within fine structures? For instance, in rule (5), will the rules with α-notation have a finer resolution within their levels as (2) is resolved in (3)?

Notes 1. Only tones that differ from the rest in an ideophone are marked in the languages, thus, ‘´’ for high, and ‘`’ for low. There are neither mids nor glides in our data. Words where no tone marks are inserted should be interpreted as all high in Hausa and Igbo, and all low in Nembe and Kolokuma. 2. A non-polarized sequence is indicated with a sub-scripted ‘Q’ or the feature value [+Q], while a polarized sequense is indicated with a sub-scripted ‘-Q’ or the feature value [−Q]. In addition, capitalized vowels represent a natural set differing only in respect of pharynx-size, thus O = [o]/[f] and E = [e]/[7].

References Maduka-[Durunze], O. N. 1983–84. “Igbo ideophones and the lexicon”. Journal of the Linguistic Association of Nigeria 2: 23–29. Maduka-[Durunze], O. N. 1988. “The size and shape ideophones in Nembe: A phonosemantic analysis”. Studies in African linguistics 19: 93–113. Maduka-[Durunze], O. N. 1989. Phonosemantic Theory. PhD theis, Port Harcourt: University of Port Harcourt. Maduka-[Durunze], O. N. 1990. “Pharynx size in Nembe sound symbolism”. Afrikanistische Arbeitspapier 24: 69–80.


Maduka-[Durunze], O.N. 1991. “Phonosemantic rules and hierarchies: Evidence from roundness ideophones in Hausa”. Afrikanistische Arbeitspapier 26: 167–175. Maduka-[Durunze], O. N. 1993. “Ideophonic strategies for describing rigidity and strength of contact”. Nigerian Language Studies 1: 27–38. Maduka-[Durunze], O. N. 1998. “Kolokuma vowel hierarchies and the notion of phonosemantic foci”. In Phonosemantics. Lagos: 21 Century Books. Williamson, K. 1965. A Grammar of the Kolokuma Dialect of Ijo. Cambridge: CUP.

Ideophones as the source of verbs in Northern Australian languages William McGregor Aarhuis Universitet

1.

Introduction

Most languages of northern Australia exhibit a compound verb construction (CVC) consisting of two verb-like parts. One is an uninflecting verb (UV), a verbal “particle” that normally occurs in its bare, uninflected form, and admits minimal morphological modification. All inflections go to the other unit, the inflecting verb (IV), which in most languages usually follows the UV immediately.1 (1) and (2) provide exemplification:2 (1) nguy ka-na-ngka-y return 1sg.nom/fut-tr-fut-say ‘I will return.’ (2) yudug nyin-y1inde-n bow:down 2sg.nom-fall-pres ‘Bow down.’ (Rumsey 1982: 18)

Warrwa

Ungarinyin

The main aim of this paper is to propose that ideophones represent an important historical source for UVs in northern Australian languages. I begin by outlining some features of UVs suggestive of their origins in ideophones. Because of space restrictions, I exemplify sparingly; however, the features are fairly typical of UVs in northern Australian languages. The development from ideophone to verb did not, however, occur in isolation; it was part and parcel of other processes of grammatical change. Thus, in Section 3 I outline a historical scenario for the development of verbal constructions in northern Australian languages that emplaces the development from ideophone to verb within a wider grammatical context. Section 4 suggests some motivations for the proposed grammatical pathways of change. Section 5 winds up the paper with a brief conclusion.

206 William McGregor

2.

Ideophone features of UVs

Features of UVs in northern Australian languages that are reminiscent of a source in ideophones include: phonotactic peculiarities, phonaesthesia, independent usage as expressive elements, limited morphological potential, and syntactic restrictions. 2.1 Phonotactic peculiarities UVs typically show phonotactic properties that distinguish them from words of other parts of speech. Generally, they are shorter — they show significantly fewer syllables — than other words, and quite frequently end in consonants and/or consonant clusters, whereas words of other parts of speech tend to end in vowels. These generalizations are robust, and apply to many languages, irrespective of genetic affiliation. Table 1 compares the percentage of UVs with n-syllables (1 £ n £ 5) with words of other parts of speech in three Kimberley languages, Warrwa (Nyulnyulan, Dampier Land), Gooniyandi (Bunuban, southern-central Kimberley),3 and Gunin/Kwini (Worrorran, northern Kimberley). Table 1.Frequency of words of n syllables in three languages Number of syllables:

1

2

3

4

5

UVs

Warrwa Gooniyandi Gunin/Kwini

27% 30% 24%

58% 58% 53%

13% 9% 18%

2% 3% 5%

0% 0% 0%

Other parts of speech

Warrwa Gooniyandi Gunin/Kwini

3% 1% 3%

47% 29% 54%

33% 47% 34%

16% 20% 8%

2% 3% Finnish, Vote lauta, Carelian lauda, Veps laud, Estonian laud, Livonian looda. Lithuanian: préskas ‘unleavened bread’ > Finnish rieska, Carelian rieška, Veps resk, Vote rõõska, Estonian rõõsk, Livonian rõõske. By contrast, in the ideophones of the Balto-Finnic languages the presence of an initial consonant cluster is fairly common and this feature can be considered as an important identification mark. Of course, initial consonant clusters do occur in recent Indo-European loan-words of the Balto-Finnic languages. The consonant clusters of the donor languages, have often been retained. Recent loan-words and ideophones differ from each other in that the ‘menu’ of initial consonant clusters is far larger in loan-words than it is the case in ideophones. For example in recent Indo-European loan-words in Estonian all of the following clusters are possible: fr-, fl-, gl-, gr-, kn-, kl-, kr-, pl-, pr-, sk-, sm-, sp-, st-, tr-, ts-, tš-. In Finnish the corresponding list is as follows: fl-, fr-, kl-, kn-, kr-, pl-, pr-, sl-, sm-, sn-, sp-, sr-, st-, sv-.

Ideophones in the Balto-Finnic languages 227

But, in the ideophones only the following four initial consonant clusters can be observed for Finnish: kl-, kr-, pl-, pr-cf. (4), (5) and (6): (4) klaasuta

‘hobble, stumble’

(5) kropsehtia

‘loaf around’

(6) prutkuttaa

‘move slowly, evenly, quietly’

In Estonian ideophones the inventory is slightly richer: kl-, kr-, pl-, pr-, tr-, ts-, cf. (7), (8), (9) and (10): (7) prahkeldama ‘bustle about’ (8) plahvima

‘gobble, gulp’

(9) tragama

‘bustle, flurry’

(10) tsibõrdama

‘flounder’

Linguists differ about the origin of Balto-Finnic ideophonic consonant clusters. It remains a subject of debate whether the presence of initial consonant clusters in ideophones should be explained through their non-native origin (they are loanwords and behave accordingly) or they could be considered as part of the original system of Balto-Finnic ideophonic vocabulary. It is generally accepted, though, that the occurrence of initial consonant clusters in ideophones is connected with marked nature of the category involved (cf. Ravila 1952; Itkonen 1966: 133–134, 349–350). In Balto-Finnic neutral vocabulary, a change of vowel or consonant always causes a semantic change of the word. This is because neutral words have fairly stable forms. Some examples (11), (12), (13): (11) Finnish:

tuli ‘fire’, tili ‘account’, tali ‘lard’

(12) Finnish:

paha ‘bad’, raha ‘money’, saha ‘saw’, vaha ‘wax’

(13) Estonian:

kari ‘herd’, kiri ‘letter’, keri ‘2sg:imp-reel’, kuri ‘angry’, kõri ‘throat’

Change in duration of a vowel or a consonant causes a change of meaning in neutral vocabulary, for example in Estonian (14): (14) kuri ‘angry’, kuuri ‘sg:ill-shed’ kala ‘fish’, kalla (II quantity) ‘calla lily’

In ideophonic vocabulary, this is not always the case. It is a typical characteristic of the ideophones that a change of a vowel or a consonant or a change in the duration of a sound does not necessarily cause a change of either the meaning or a shade of meaning of the word. In this respect, for instance, onomatopoeic words are more close to the neutral vocabulary than are ideophonic words because in the onomatopoeic vocabulary, a change of sound always causes a change in the shade of meaning of the word. For example in Finnish the words löyhöttää – löyhyttää – leyhyttää – läyhytellä –leuhuttaa –leuhottaa mean the same thing. They describe a ‘streaming or

228 Eve Mikone

breezing of air’ or a ‘movement that makes an air stream or breeze’. Vowel variation may occur in both the first and the second syllable. In the following example, changes of both vowels and consonants can be observed (15), (16): (15) Finnish:

läjähtää – lejahtaa – lekahtaa – lemahtaa – levahtaa ‘to catch fire (suddenly)’

(16) Estonian:

lomisema – momisema – nomisema – pomisama – pomisema – põmisema – somisema – tömisemä ‘to speak quietly, to mutter’

The sound changes described above may seem arbitrary or haphazard, but if we examine these types of changes more closely they turn out to be quite systematic and consistent. The following remarks can be made about vowel variation: (1) the most common type of vowel variation is the substitution of a front vowel with a back vowel or vice versa; (2) also substitution of a high vowel by a mid vowel or vice versa is fairly common; (3) substitution of a mid vowel with a low vowel is more rare (Ruoppila 1935: 136). In consonant alternation one notable tendency is that one consonant is usually substituted by another only if both consonants belong to the same category in terms of either the place or manner of articulation (Ruoppila 1938: 204–209). Some examples (17), (18), (19): (17) Finnish

miemus – mievus ‘fainting’

(18) Finnish

tiusku – tiuhku ‘pungent smell in sauna’

(19) Estonian

mürgeldama – pürgeldama ‘kick up a row, brawl, raise hell’

In collecting data on Finnish and Estonian dialects it has been noticed that in oral speech, variation is common in the ideophonic vocabulary. Especially when repeated, different sound forms of the same word are often used. It is only natural to assume that one speaker would not use all possible variants of a word but it can be argued that he or she would actively use two or three variants, the other possible alternatives belonging to his or her passive lexicon (Ruoppila 1935: 132–134; Rytkönen 1940).

4. Morphology In all Balto-Finnic languages (and in Finno-Ugric languages in general) the most common way of producing new lexical items is word derivation. Correspondingly, suffixation is the most common way of affixation. Ideophonic vocabulary takes


advantage of the variety of affixes available in the neutral vocabulary; however, Finnish and Estonian additionally have many such affixes that belong exclusively to the ideophonic canon. Ideophonic derivational affixes used to form words describing people are in greater number in Estonian than the ones mentioned in the most recent research on Estonian affixes (Kasik 1996), for example (20), (21), (22): (20) -ak: -ts: -rdis:

haidak, lidrak, lirtsak, lirvak ‘a light-minded person’ roisak, rosmak, sorbak ‘smudgy, disheveled person’ hahkats, hargats, jopats, labrats, larmats, mulgats ‘babbler, chatterer’ kakerdis, komberdis, koterdis, paterdis, tolgerdis, vinderdis ‘stumbling, clumsy person’.

The use of this suffix to form substantives from ideophonic verbs meaning ‘being in motion’ is highly productive. The common characteristic of these derivatives is that they are usually used to describe the person on the basis of his/her intellectual characteristics or because of his/her behavior (‘babbler/chatterer; frivolous/light-minded’); physical aspects are less obvious. Reduplication is a very rare morphological phenomenon in the Balto-Finnic languages. It is never used as a means of producing grammatical information. But, in morphological analyses of lexical structures we notice that reduplication does occasionally occur in the onomatopoeic and ideophonic vocabulary. In this respect, ideophonic adverbs form the main group. Reduplication in Balto-Finnic languages has always lexical meaning. In different languages of the world, intensification and continuity are known lexical meanings of reduplication (Itkonen 1996: 38). In Estonian, reduplicative adverbs expressing continuity can usually be repeated many times consecutively, for example (23) and (24): (23) Mine ilusti tipa-tapa, tipa-tapa … 2sg-go carefully tipa-tapa ‘Walk carefully with quick and short steps’. (24) Tüdruk möödus tänavamuusikust kips-kõps, kips-kõps. girl 3sg:past-pass sg:elat-street musician kips-kõps ‘The girl passed a street musician with quick and short steps, in high-heels’.

In oral texts the repetition can happen three or four times whereas the written repetition is usually expressed with three dots. Here are some more examples of continuity in adverbs (25), (26), (27), (28) and(29): (25) jönt-jönt

‘[to move] steadily, heavily’

(26) liipadi-laapadi

‘[to move] heavily, cumbersome, dragging along’

(27) nika-naka

‘monotonous, regular and rhythmic sound of wagons’

(28) tinga-tinga

‘[to move] steadily, heavily with short steps’

230 Eve Mikone

(29) vinka-vonka

‘[for a vehicle] when not heading straight, from one side to the other, zigzagging’

Estonian also has a large number of reduplicative adverbs used to express the ‘speed’, ‘carelessness’, and ‘negligence of movement’. In the small Väike murdesõnastik Estonian dialect dictionary 90 such adverbs are noted and there are certainly many more. In Balto-Finnic languages adverbs formed by means of reduplication are often semantically rather “free”, that is, the meaning is context-dependent rather than autonomous. This is why in many cases no exact meaning can be given and in dialect dictionaries these words are often followed by only a short remark “onomatopoeic” or “descriptive” without any information about meanings at all. The only way of determining meaning or a shade of meaning of a reduplicative adverb is to attest the word in actual speech or textual context. Here are some examples of adverbs expressing ‘speed’, ‘carelessness’ and ‘negligence of movement’: (30) hiroh-haroh

‘scattered, confused’

(31) kriima-kraama

‘carelessly, sloppy’

(32) kukeldi-kakeldi

‘carelessly, sloppy, bungling’

(33) liga-loga

‘confused, sloppy, bad’

(34) pira-para

‘scattered, sloppy, carelessly, quickly’

(35) plihva-plahva

‘bungling, carelessly’

Both possible forms of reduplication are present in Estonian, full one and partial. In the most typical case one repeats the whole stem but the fist vowel of the affix has changed. In such adverbs, the stem’s first vowel is usually a, in affixes i or less frequently o, u, e. In the small Väike murdesõnastik Estonian dialect dictionary 226 reduplicative adverbs are attested, divided on the basis of their form to the following groups: Full reduplication (36) kohvat-kohvat

‘[to move] slowly, cumbersome, dragging along’

(37) tinga-tinga

‘[to move] with short steps’

(38) tuikadi-tuikadi

‘[to move] swaying, staggering, waddling’

(39) volaki-volaki

‘[to move] quickly, with strides, big jumps’

(40) vuta-vuta

‘[child’s movements] quickly, easily, with short steps’

Partial reduplication in which the whole stem is repeated, but where the first vowel of the syllable is different: (41) liipadi-laapadi

‘[to move one self] carelessly, cumbersome’

(42) limma-lamma

‘[to do something] bungling, carelessly, thoughtlessly’

(43) possa-passa

‘[to do something] carelessly’

Ideophones in the Balto-Finnic languages

(44) priuh-prauh

‘quickly, carelessly’

Partial reduplication repeating the whole stem, but where the first consonant is different or missing (45) aksis-raksis

‘[to be] ready, in shape’

(46) kiraldi-viraldi

‘badly, poorly, doddering’

(47) siilu-viilu

‘in strips, shreds’

(48) sussa-vussa

‘slowly’

Partial reduplication, in which only some of the phonological material from the stem appears in the affix. Phonological changes are heterogeneous: initial consonant and vowel material, internal consonant cluster, the affix can only be the stem are all subject to change and in addition to which the adverbial suffix is missing.

5.

(49) lotta-lattakalli

‘loosely, flabby, lazy’

(50) ripa-rapakul

‘neglected, in a bad way, disorder’

(51) siba-sillakalli

‘scattered, confused’

(52) tipp-tibinal

‘[to move] with short and quick steps’

(53) virro-harro

‘loosely, scattered’

Concluding remarks

Research of ideophonic vocabularies began in Finland and Estonia during the years 1920–30 in connection with documenting Finnish and Estonian dialects. Thanks to the collection of data, archives containing data on Balto-Finnic languages are abundant, 7,2 million entries on Finnish dialects and 2,3 million entries on Estonian. Nevertheless, ideophone research has time and again suffered from prejudices, which explains why only very few detailed studies have been carried out to date (Rytkönen 1940; Mäger 1967; Põlma 1967; Veldi 1988a). Even where such studies exist, they tend to be ignored by researchers from outside, since they are usually written in Finnish or Estonian. From the 1970s on, Balto-Finnic languages and especially Finnish ideophonic vocabulary were investigated by Raimo Anttila (1973, 1974, 1975a, 1975b, 1976a, 1976b, 1977, 1997), who has the merit of having treated ideophonic vocabulary from the point of view of general linguistics and semiotics. His contributions have brought us to realize that ideophones of different languages of the world are not a characteristic of a particular language but rather a part of general linguistic phenomena. Anttila’s researches are, moreover, accessible to a larger public since most of them are in English. Pioneering work of Estonian onomatopoeia is carried out by Enn Veldi (1985, 1986, 1988a, 1988b, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1997).

231

232 Eve Mikone

Investigating Balto-Finnic ideophones has lots to profit from research on ideophones of languages of the world. On the other hand, research on Balto-Finnic ideophones can well provide important insights into similar phenomena of other languages.

References Anttila, R. 1973. “Internal reconstruction and Finno-Ugric”. In T. A. Sebeok (ed.), Current Trends in Linguistics, Vol. 11: 317–353. The Hague and Paris: Mouton. Anttila, R. 1974. “Allomorfien semiotiikkaa”. Virittäjä 3: 331–337. Anttila, R. 1975a. “Affective vocabulary in Finnish: An(other) Invitation.” Ural-Altaische Jahrbücher 47: 10–19. Anttila, R. 1975b. “Exception as regularity in phonology”. In W. U. Dressler and F. V. Mareš (eds), Phonologica 1972. Akten der zweiten International Phonologie-Tagung Wien, 5. -8. September 1972, 91–99. München and Salzburg: Wilhelm Fink Verlag. Anttila, R. 1976a. “Affektiivis [−deskriptiivis-onomatopoieettis]ten sanojen asema kielen merkkisysteemissä”. Virittäjä 2: 126–131. Anttila, R. 1976b. “Meaning and structure of Finnish descriptive vocabulary”. Texas Linguistic Forum 5: 1–12. Anttila, R. 1977. “Toward a semiotic analysis of expressive vocabulary”. Semiosis 5: 27–41. Anttila, R. 1989. Historical and Comparative Linguistics [Current Issues in Linguistic Theory Series 4]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Anttila, R. 1992. “The field theory of meaning and semantic change.” In G. Kellermann and M. D. Morrissey (eds), Diachrony within Synchrony: Language History and Cognition, 23–83. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Anttila, R. 1997. “Affective vocabulary and borrowing: Finnish pirskottaa ‘sprinkle’ and patistaa ‘urge, prod’.”Journal of Finnish Studies 1(2): 111–114. Austerlitz, R. 1994. “Finnish and Gilyak sound symbolism — the interplay between system and history”. In L. Hinton, J. Nichols and J. J. Ohala (eds), Sound Symbolism, 249–260. Cambridge: CUP. Campbell, L. 1996. “On sound change and challenges to regularity”. In M. Burie and M.Ross (eds), The Comparative Method Reviewed. Regularity and Irregularity in Language Change, 72–89. Oxford: OUP. Childs, G. Tucker. 1994. “African ideophones”. In L. Hinton, J. Nichols and J. J. Ohala (eds), Sound Symbolism, 178–204. Cambridge:CUP. Hakulinen, L. 1979. Suomen kielen rakenne ja kehitys. Helsinki: Otava. Itkonen, Erkki 1966. Kieli ja sen tutkimus. Helsinki: Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö. Itkonen, Esa 1996. Maailman kielten erilaisuus ja samuus. Helsinki: Gaudeamus. Kasik, R. 1996. Eesti keele sõnatuletus. Tartu: Tartu Ülikooli Eesti keele õppetooli toimetised 3. Laanest, A. 1982. Einführung in die ostseefinnischen Sprachen. Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag. Leskinen, H. 1993. “Quantitative Untersuchung der expressiven Lexik im Finnischen und seinen nächstverwandten Sprachen”. Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen 51: 87–124. Leskinen, J. 1998. “Kansanmurteiden ja nykyslangin ekspressiivi-ilmausten vertailua”. In XXV Kielitieteen päivät. (Held in Tampere 15. -16. May 1998). Mäger, M. 1959. “Onomatopoeetilisest sõnavarast eesti keeles”. Keel ja Kirjandus 9: 522–526.


Mäger, M.1967. Eesti linnunimetused. Tallinn: Eesti NSV Teaduste Akadeemia Keele ja Kirjanduse Instituut. Nichols, J. 1971. “Diminutive consonant symbolism in Western North America”. Language 47: 826–848. Pall, V. (ed.) 1982, 1989. Väike murdesõnastik I — II. Tallinn: Eesti NSV Teaduste Akadeemia Keele ja Kirjanduse Instituut. Pall, V. 1994. Idamurde sõnastik. Tallinn: Eesti Keele Instituut. Penttilä, A. 1928. “Selittämisestä kielitieteessä”. Virittäjä 3: 277–285. Põlma, V. 1967. Onomatopoeetilised verbid eesti kirjakeeles. PhD.thesis, Tallinn: Eesti NSV Teaduste Akadeemia Keele ja Kirjanduse Instituut. Rapola, M. 1966. Suomen kielen äännehistorian luennot. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. Ravila, P. 1952. “Onomatopoieettisten ja deskriptiivisten sanojen asema kielen äännesysteemissä”. Virittäjä 4: 262–274. Ruoppila. V. 1934. “Muutamia piirteitä puheesta”. Virittäjä 1: 22–34. Ruoppila.V. 1935. “Vokaalivaihtelu äänne- ja merkitysopillisena tekijänä. Piirteitä deskriptiivisistä sanoista”. Virittäjä 2: 128–136. Ruoppila, V. 1938. “Poikkeuksellisten äännevaihtelutapausten tarkastelua”. Virittäjä 3: 195–220. Rytkönen, A. 1940. Eräiden itämerensuomen tm-sanojen historiaa. Jyväskylä: K. J. Gummerus. Samarin, W. 1971. “Survey of Bantu ideophones”. African Language Studies 12: 130–168. Saukkonen, P. 1979. “Introduction”. In P.Saukkonen, M. Haipus, A. Niemikorpi and H. Sulkala (eds), Suomen kielen taajuussanasto. A Frequency Dictionary of Finnish, 23–38. Porvoo/ Helsinki/Juva: Werner Söderström. Veldi, E. 1985. “Notes on onomatopes in the comic strip”. Acta et Commentationes Universitatis Tartuensis 713: 90–94. Veldi, E. 1986. “On the ‘onomatopoeic predicate’ in Estonian”. Acta et Commentationes Universitatis Tartuensis 747: 13–16. Veldi, E. 1988a. Anglo-estonskije paralleli v onomatopee. Doctoral dissertation. University of Tartu. Veldi, E. 1988b. “Some cross-linguistic parallels of an expressive prefix”. Acta et Commentationes Universitatis Tartuensis 838: 145–151. Veldi, E. 1990. “Some aspects of cross-linguistic similarities and differences in onomatopoeia”. In Linguistic Fiesta. Festschrift for Professor Hisao Kakehi’s Sixtieth Birthday, 307–318. Tokyo: Kuroshio. Veldi, E. 1994. “Is there a presyllable in Estonian?” Eurasian Studies Yearbook 66: 176–177. Veldi, E. 1995. “Sound-related vocabulary and its use in language teaching”. Issues on Applied Linguistics 1: 121–126. Veldi, E. 1997. “Some typological characteristics of Estonian onomatopoetic formations”. Publications of the Department of Estonian of the University of Tartu 8: 220–238. Zurakovskij, B. V. 1966. Ideofony kak c¦ ast’ re¦ci v afrikanskix jazykax (na materiale jazyka Xausa). Narody Azii i Afriki 6: 114–116.

The ideophone in Zulu A re-examination of conceptual and descriptive notions C. T. Msimang and G. Poulos University of South Africa

1.

Introduction

Before considering some of the descriptive idiosyncracies of the ideophone in Zulu, we shall look at issues which pertain to the true status of this interesting word category. The ideophone is a word category that has fascinated linguists up to this very day, and various definitions have appeared in the literature regarding this word category. Those who have researched this category are well aware of the difficulties in some cases of providing literal translations for ideophones. In the following examples, the ideophone is written in bold script. (1) Ingwe yamuthi dlaphu yamuluma ‘The leopard leapt up and bit him.’ Amanzi athi mo! ‘The water is bitterly cold.’ Inyoni yathi ndri, yedlula! lit. ‘The bird flew by, and passed.’ Ngizwa imvula ithi hwa! ‘I hear the pattering of rain.’ Ngamuzwa esina ethi dinsi! ‘I heard him stamping the ground as he danced.’

In traditional works on the Zulu ideophone, linguists classified the ideophone together with other word categories such as the noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, relative, enumerative, quantitative, adverb, copulative etc. A typical example of such a classification is as follows:

236 C. T. Msimang and G. Poulos

Main categories Noun Pronoun Qualificative Verb Copulative Adverb

Sub-divisions Absolute, Demonstrative Adjective, Possessive, Relative, Enumerative Identifying, Associative, Descriptive Associative, Instrumental, Comparative etc.

Ideophone Interjective Conjunction Interrogative

2.

Word categories and grammaticalization

Traditional classifications such as the one above have been primarily based on directly observable morphological, syntactic and semantic issues. In this paper, we will consider other linguistic grounds for a re-classification of the ideophone in Zulu. It is our contention that what is said about the ideophone in Zulu, will also apply to the other languages in the same ‘family’. The linguistic grounds on which we will base our hypothesis involves a process that characterizes language change, namely grammaticalization. This process is one that has received ample attention in the literature, and yet its magnetic impact on research does not cease to exist. Grammaticalization refers to the dynamic, unidirectional historical process whereby lexical items in the course of time acquire the status of grammatical forms. The process of grammaticalization presupposes the existence of two linguistic positions on a continuum of change.1 This continuum is probably unidirectional, the lexical item progressing to a grammatical morpheme, but not vice-versa. The lexical item represents the source item and the grammatical morpheme, the goal item. If we were to hypothesize that the source items represent the basic lexicon in the language and hence the basic word categories, and that the goal items are mere derivations of the source items, then an identification of these source items as well as the goal items, would assist us in pinpointing the status of the ideophone, as well as the other so-called word categories. Let us consider a few examples where the process of grammaticalization is operative. Note that the process of grammaticalization involves a consideration of typological data, and for this reason examples in other related languages are also presented in this article.

The ideophone in Zulu 237

In the examples that have appeared in the literature on the process of grammaticalization (Poulos 1999), one very important observation can be made especially with regard to the word categories which represent the source items. In all cases they are either nouns or verbs. From a conceptual point of view it would be more correct to speak of source items (when referring to nouns) and source concepts (when referring to verbs). Note that the source items in 2 are nouns, while those in 3 are verbs. These examples have been extracted from the database in Poulos (1999). 2.1 Where source item is a noun/nominal form (2) *-yana/-ana2

Æ

*bidi, díimba4 *díimu, kitíi unyoko uyihlo

Æ Æ Æ Æ Æ Æ

*-ka/-kadi

diminutive suffix3 e.g. -ana reflexive prefix e.g. -zinoun prefix e.g. -no-sopossessive particle5 e.g. ka-

2.2 Where source item is a verb/verbal form (3) -§to§da (Venda) -ya (Venda) -sala (Zulu) *-yina/-na6 *-li

Æ Æ Æ Æ Æ

-§to§dou-yo-saunemoto ulisela

The observation that the source items are either nouns or verbs is a very important one, since as has been hypothesized in this article, the identification of source items in the process of grammaticalization may be directly related to the true word categories of the language. Certain other traditional so-called word categories are derivative in nature, in that they show derivation from either the noun or the verb, or are based on these forms. For example, the adverb, copulative and possessive are, generally speaking, derived from nouns. The relative may be derived from verbs, although in some languages, it can also be derived from nominal forms. These Zulu examples have been extracted from Poulos (1999). (4) Adverb ngemoto ‘by means of a car’

> > >

voshosho qathatha guqaqa zibaba

(18) Amaphoyisa athe ngqongqongqo qede asigudlula isivalo ‘The police knocked and thereafter pushed open the door.’ Ulibambe ngazo zombili irula walithi phoqophoqo ‘She grabbed the ruler in both hands and broke it.’ Bezwa insimbi ithi khencekhence base begijima beya esikoleni ‘They heard the bell ringing and then ran to school.’ Ngizofika kungathi zibaba ‘I shall arrive when darkness falls.’ Bamshaye ngesibhakela wathi guqaqa wabuye wavuka ‘They hit him with fists and he fell down on his knees but got up again.’

4.2 Phonological considerations What characterizes the Zulu ideophone as a peculiar word category is the placement of vowel length in unusual positions in the word. As a general rule in the language, the word takes length on the penultimate syllable. This however, does not occur in the case of ideophones. Rather, the vowel length is realized on the first or last syllable. This however depends on the context as the following examples illustrate: (19) a. b.

Akuthi du! ‘Let there be silence/Keep quiet!’ Bathula bathi du: ‘They kept completely quiet.’

Example (19a) is a command. To emphasize the immediacy of commands, the ideophone has no length. In example (19b) however, du: has full length owing to the fact that this is a mere statement. The full length of two morae [:] can even be doubled into something longer depending on the action or state being dramatized. Examples: (20)

Amanzi ayebelesele, co:: co:: co:: ophahleni ‘The water continued dropping at regular intervals from the roof.’

(21)

Bahambe bonke, uSipho usele yedwa jwi: ‘They have all gone and left Sipho all by himself.’

In example (20) the time lapse between the drops is descriptively measured almost to the second. If the intervals between drops were shorter the vowel length would also be shorter, e.g. co: co: co:. In example (21) the length will demonstrate just how alone Sipho was in the mind of the speaker. To emphasize the absolute loneliness,


the speaker may even clench the four fingers and raise the fourth (or pointing) finger to dramatize the lonely state. In longer stems, the length on the first syllable would be longer than two morae if stress is also incorporated to add more emphasis. This is most pronounced in four syllabic stems since most disyllabic and trisyllabic stems hardly have any vowel length in Zulu. In such long stems length is again realized on the last syllable. Consider the following examples: (22) ge::ngelezi: hu::buluzi: bha::lakaxa: fo::lokohlo: di::ndilizi:

‘of gaping/wide open’ ‘of gulping down’ ‘of being sprawled out’ ‘of crashing through’ ‘of lying stark-naked/exposed’

(23) Ngifice umnyango ge:ngelezi: ‘I found the door wide open.’ Umhluzi wawuthi hu:buluzi: isitsha wasiphosela le ‘He gulped down the soup and threw the dish over there.’ Bamfuqa kabuhlungu waze wayothi fo:lokohlo: ‘They pushed him so hard that he fell “flop” on the ground.’

In the first example the vowel length on the first syllable in gengelezi will be determined by just how wide open the door was. If that state of affairs was not desirable the length would even be more stressed to emphasize the speaker’s disapproval. Again in the last example, the speaker would use length to dramatize the fall. The use of voiceless, frictional fricatives /f/ and /hl/ dramatizes the fall of a light, thin, tall individual. This ideophone would not be used to describe the fall of a short, stout person. Only a tall, especially thin person would fall all over himself, finally flopping down in a heap. Certain actions happen abruptly and so quickly that there simply cannot be any length, when ideophones describing them are uttered. Consider the following examples: (24) Akathanga vu uDora ‘Dora did not say a word.’ Ingane yazithi mbo ubuso yaqhumuka yakhala ‘The child simply covered her face and burst out crying.’ Izulu lathi bani, laduma ‘The lightning flashed, and it thundered.’ Ingilazi iwe yathi phahla phansi ‘The glass fell smashing on the floor.’

If a person has not said anything there can never be any length of a syllable. Likewise such actions as flashing lightning and smashing glasses happen so quickly


that length in describing them would be completely incompatible with the action. Besides length, assonance (the use of similar vowels in the word) is another important phonological feature in Zulu ideophones. Consider the following examples: (25) phahla phehle phihli phohlo phuhlu cababa shelele ncimishi coshosho vuthuthu bhalakaxa khelekehle dindilizi fofololo gulukudu

‘of smashing/dropping’ ‘of breaking apart’ ‘of smashing to pieces’ ‘of breaking’ ‘of decaying’ ‘of being flat’ ‘of slipping’ ‘of equality/fullness’ ‘of perching’ ‘of rising suddenly’ ‘of being sprawled out’ ‘of plunging’ ‘of lying stark-naked’ ‘of falling “flop”’ ‘of rushing off’

Of course there is a large number of words where one gets a mixture of different vowels as well. Examples: (26) phazi tebhu bhuqe thasi siphu

‘of flashing’ ‘of redness’ ‘of darkness’ ‘of snatching away’ ‘of rooting up’

The last phonological feature we would like to mention is the occurrence of phonemes which are peculiar or even foreign to the language. These are usually onomatopoeic words which imitate certain actions as in the following examples: (27) Inyoni indize yathi trr ‘The bird flew away.’ Bamuthe bhuxe ngomese igazi lathi tsa: ‘They stabbed him with a knife and the blood spurted out.’

Phoneme /r/ is foreign to Zulu but in ideophones we get phonemes with /r/ combinations. Also rare in this language is the /ts/ phoneme. 4.3 Semantic considerations Since the function of the ideophone is to vivify actions or states, it is to be expected


that ideophones will feature in all semantic fields and relations such as antonymy, synonymy, and homonymy. Examples: (28) Antonymy qwa qhamu nge bhuxe langulangu goqe njo thasi

‘of whiteness’ ‘of appearing’ ‘of gaping/opening up’ ‘of stabbing’ ‘of blazing up’ ‘of contracting’ ‘of staring’ ‘of snatching away’

bhuqe sithe ngci monyu cishicishi thwishi klabe qithi

‘of blackness’ ‘of disappearing’ ‘of closing’ ‘of plucking out’ ‘of blowing out’ ‘of stretching out’ ‘of glancing’ ‘of putting down’

Homonymy vo ‘of being alone’ nya ‘of being quiet’ du ‘of thudding’

vo nya du

‘of soaking wet’ ‘of finishing up’ ‘of being quiet’

Synonymy klubhu khwishi vo qhamu qwa tshoko du

tebhu bhuqe jwi memfu wu cwe cwaka

‘of redness’ ‘of blackness’ ‘of solitariness’ ‘of appearing’ ‘of whiteness’ ‘of greenness’ ‘of being silent’

‘of redness’ ‘of blackness’ ‘of solitariness’ ‘of appearing’ ‘of whiteness’ ‘of greenness’ ‘of being silent’

(29) Inhliziyo yakhe ithi du, du, du, kancane ‘His heart is beating very slowly.’ URose ugqoke ijezi eliluhlaza cwe ‘Rose is wearing a grass-green jersey.’ Uheshane ulithe thasi itshwele ‘The hawk simply snatched the chicken.’ Ufike nebhokisi walithi qithi phansi ‘She arrived with the box and put it down.’

Another important semantic feature of the ideophone is collocation. This means that once the ideophone is used the noun to which it refers as object, subject, agent or instrument is known and it is no longer necessary to mention it. For instance bani ‘of flashing’ is used together with lightning; bhuqe ‘of darkness’ with night or black color, bhuxe ‘of piercing’ with the knife or spear. But not all ideophones convey this collocational relationship, thus it is safer to include the noun. Moreover, similar objects are not excluded in the meaning. For example bani ‘of flashing’ may also refer to a torch light.


4.4 Syntactic considerations Many grammarians such as Doke (ibid.) emphasize the descriptive nature of the ideophone. Yet in many examples cited in this presentation the ideophone functions as a predicate. One of the reasons why early grammarians did not emphasize its predicative nature could be because of its peculiar use as a predicate. Normally the predicate brings about concordance between the subject/object and the predicate by means of subject and object concord. Yet the ideophone does not take concords in Zulu. In order to indicate tense and concordial agreement and other forms of the predicate it becomes necessary to use the ideophone as a complement which is preceded by the auxiliary verb -thi. It is accordingly through the auxiliary that syntactic aspects such as tense and number are expressed (see examples under 29). The auxiliary is used also to express the negative (see the first example in 24).

Notes 1. See Traugott (1988: 406) for an explanation of this unidirectional process, as well as Heine et al (1991: 45) for more detailed comments on the ‘metaphorical extension’ of the original lexical form. 2. Guthrie (1971) has listed this stem as Item no 1922, in his postulation of Proto-Bantu forms. 3. Poulos (1985: 289 f.f.) has shown how the most general feature of ‘smallness’ has survived the longest, through semantic bleaching, and now occurs as a grammatical diminutive suffix, in numerous languages. 4. Guthrie (1971: 147, 154). 5. This origin of the Zulu possessive particle ka follows the hypothesis in Bosch (1995). 6. Lanham (1953: 157) postulates *-yina as the proto-form. (See Bosch 1995: 171) 7. See Hendrikse and Poulos (1994: 242) and Sugamoto (1989: 270). 8. Examples have been extracted from Poulos (1999). 9. Examples extracted from Marivate (1982: 101, 279, 280). 10. Pending further research, it is possible that the adjective could be added as a fourth major word category. See Poulos (1999) in this regard.

References Bosch, S. E. 1995. The Nature of Possession in Zulu — A Re-Examination. D. Litt. et Phil. thesis, Pretoria: University of South Africa. Bosch, S. E. and G. Poulos. 1996. “The categorial status of the possessive in Zulu’ — A new perspective”. South African Journal of Linguistics, Supplement 30: 1–17. Corrigan, R., F. Eckman and M. Noonan. 1989. Linguistic Categorisation. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.


Doke, C. M. 1935. Textbook of Zulu Grammar. London: Longmans, Green & Co. Guthrie, M. 1971. Comparative Bantu: An introduction to the comparative linguistics and prehistory of the Bantu languages. Volume 2. London: Gregg International Publishers Ltd. Heine, B., U. Claudi, and F. Hunnemeyer. 1991. Grammaticalization. A conceptual framework. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Hendrikse, A. P. and G. Poulos. 1994. “Word Categories — Prototypes and Continua in Southern Bantu”. South African Journal of Linguistics, Supplement 20: 215–245. Lanham, L. W. 1953. “The copulative construction in Bantu with special reference to Zulu”. African Studies 12(4): 141–162. Mamphwe, C. T. 1987. “The ideophone in Venda”. Pretoria: University of South Africa. Marivate, C. T. D. 1982. The ideophone in Tsonga. D. Litt. et Phil thesis, Pretoria: University of South Africa. Poulos, G. 1985. “Instances of semantic bleaching in South-Eastern Bantu”. In G. J. Dimmendaal (ed.), Current Approaches to African Linguistics. Vol. III. Dordrecht: Foris Publications. Poulos, G. and C. T. Msimang. 1998. A Linguistic Analysis of Zulu. Cape Town: Via Afrika. Poulos, G. 1999. “Grammaticalization in South-Eastern Bantu and the linguistic ‘dynamics’ underlying this process”. South African Journal of African Languages. 19(3). Sugamoto, N. 1989. “Pronominality: A noun-pronoun continuum”. In Corrigan et al. (eds), 1989: 267–291. Traugott, E. C. 1988. “Pragmatic strengthening and grammaticalization”. BLS 406–416.

Are ideophones really as weird and extra-systematic as linguists make them out to be? Paul Newman Indiana University

Scholars working on ideophones typically emphasize their peculiar phonological characteristics and their general linguistic aberrance as compared with a language’s normal (= “prosaic”) lexicon. It is of course true that ideophones are phonologically and semantically unusual in some way — if they weren’t, they wouldn’t have been identified as such and would not have attracted the attention of linguists, not only specialists in languages of Africa, where the term itself was first used (Doke 1935), but also linguists working on languages from other parts of the world (see, e.g., Hinton, Nichols, and Ohala 1994). The claim in this brief presentation is that scholars, attracted by the exoticism (or even “cuteness”) of ideophones, have overemphasized the extent of their distinctiveness. Ideophones are somewhat different from prosaic words, but they are not “outre-système”, i.e., they usually stretch the system of some language a bit, but they do not totally disregard it. How far ideophones deviate from the normal system will vary from language to language, in some cases more, in some languages less; but in the final analysis ideophones are part of the structure of a specific language and have to be viewed in the context of that language. I shall illustrate this general point with examples from Hausa, a language whose ideophones have been the subject of numerous studies spanning almost a hundred years (see Prietze 1908; Galadanci 1971; Newman 1968, 2000).

1.

Consonants

The first thing to note is that there are no consonants found in Hausa ideophones that are not part of the normal phonological inventory. (The only possible exception is cwái ‘very sweet’ with the labialized /c/, which presumably is a contraction of the coexisting variant cákwái.)

252 Paul Newman

[Transcription note: (i) c represents the ch sound in English ‘church’. (ii) r represents the tap/roll rhotic that contrasts with the flap, indicated with regular r. (iii) Long vowels are indicated by double letters. (iv) High tone is marked á; Low tone à; and Falling tone â. With long vowels, the tone is marked on the first vowel only, e.g., áa, àa, âa.] Differences between ideophones and the prosaic lexicon primarily concern phonotactics. Most native Hausa words end in a vowel. There are some that end in a sonorant (liquid or nasal), but very few that end in an obstruent. Numerous ideophones , on the other hand, are consonant-final, e.g., (1) tíMís túkúf tsít wúlík tsán-tsán tsúlúm tsígíl kàzàr-kázár

‘shows intensity of tiredness’ ‘very old’ ‘in complete silence, hush’ ‘emphasizes shiny black or deep blue’ ‘cautiously, securely tied’ ‘sound of a small object falling in water’ ‘emphasizes smallness’ ‘in an energetic manner’

Although word-final consonants are rare in prosaic vocabulary, syllable-final consonants within a word are not, i.e., CVC.CV is a normal canonical shape. There are, however, restrictions regarding which consonants can occur in syllable-final position and, interesting, these same restrictions apply to the word-final consonants found in ideophones. These shared restrictions include: (i) no phonation contrast; (ii) no palatal(ized) or labialized consonants; and (iii) no /h/ or /‘/. As contrasted with native words or older loanwords from Arabic, many loanwords borrowed from English over the past century have a final consonant. The obstruents are limited to the same ones found in ideophones, e.g., (2) kámbàs têf fàamît jâk

‘tennis shoes’ (< canvas) ‘tape’ ‘permit’ ‘bicycle stand’ (< jack)

In addition to utilizing the same basic inventory as prosaic words, ideophones also obey standard phonotactic restrictions, e.g., (i) no true consonant clusters (although two consonants can abut across a syllable boundary); (ii) two glottalized consonants may not co-occur in same word, except (a) one can have the same consonant twice (e.g., MìiMàm (id.) ‘indicates standing silently ‘, cf. MwáaMèe ‘fade’; and (b) one can get /d/ followed by /1/ (but not /1/ followed by /d/), e.g., dú1úm (id.) ‘emphasizes darkness’, cf. dáa1íi ‘pleasantness’.

Are ideophones really weird and extra-systematic? 253

2.

Vowels

Hausa has five vowels with long and short counterparts. Ideophones make use of exactly the same inventory, e.g., (3) kícíi-kìcìi ‘making a serious effort’ búzúu-bùzùu ‘long, unkempt (of hair)’ dáráa-dàràa ‘bold and beautiful’ (of eyes or writing) záMée-zàMèe ‘unsuitably long’ bátsóo-bàtsòo ‘poorly made, ugly looking’

In the normal language, short /e/ and /o/ are limited to word-final position. A few ideophones violate this restriction. Examples (complete): (4) fés ‘very clean’ sól ‘emphasizes whiteness’ hóróo-hòròo ‘unusually large opening’ (esp. nostrils)

Ideophones are also limited to the two diphthongs found in the language, namely /ai/ and /au/, e.g., wásái (id.) ‘emphasizes brightness’, cf. bákwài ‘seven’; dáMáu (id.) ‘emphasizes finely ground’, cf. kíbáu ‘arrows’. (The otherwise non-occurring diphthong /oi/ in found in one word only, namely cói (= (and derived from) cwái) ‘very sweet’.) There are two points of difference between ideophones and prosaic words when it comes to diphthongs. First, in ideophones, diphthongs occur almost exclusively in word-final position, which is not the case with regular words where they often occur word-medially. Second, in ideophones, the diphthongs need to be analyzed as /aC/ sequences, i.e., /ay/ and /aw/, whereas in the prosaic language they pattern as long vocalic nuclei (Newman and Salim 1981).

3.

Tone

Hausa has two level tones, H(igh) and L(ow), and a F(alling) tone, which only occurs on heavy syllables. (For most purposes, F can be thought of as a combination of H+L on a single syllable.) There is no rising tone. Ideophones make use of exactly these same tones. Two things are a bit unusual regarding word formation. First, full reduplication in Hausa normally involves copying the tones along with the segmentals. This can be seen both in frozen reduplicative words, e.g., kwàlé-kwàlé ‘canoe’, dóolì-dóolì ‘a myriapod’, kwáaná-kwáaná ‘fire truck’, and in derived/inflected words, e.g., mázá-mázá ‘very quickly’ (intensive adverb < mázá ‘quickly’); wátàa-wátàa ‘monthly’ (distributive formation < wátàa ‘month’); jóojìjóojì ‘judges’ (plural < jóojì ‘judge’). ideophones, on the other hand, commonly

254 Paul Newman

have a pattern in which each duple has a single level tone with the tones of the two halves being different, e.g., (5) búzúu-bùzùu (H-L) wújígáa-wùjìgàa (H-L) cùkùu-cúkúu (L-H) kàzàr-kázár (L-H)

‘long, unkempt’ (of hair) ‘in a disheveled state’ ‘trying to obtain something in an underhanded way’ ‘energetic nature’ (of a person or animal), vigor, restlessness

Second, as observed many years ago by Leben (1971), it is extremely rare for Hausa words to end in L L tone and have a long final vowel. With ideophones, on the other hand, such occurrences are extremely common, e.g., (6) bútsúu-bùtsùu 'álóo-'àlòo hàyàa-hàyàa dòosòosòo shèeMèeMèe

‘untidy’ (hair, clothes, arrangement of teeth) ‘large and round’ (fruits, pimples, or other liquid-containing things) ‘describes people’s bustling about, talking back and forth’ ‘emphasizes ugliness of face or dullness of person’ ‘contemptuously’

In other respects, however, the tonal behavior of ideophones is the same as that of prosaic words. For example, the Hausa “stabilizer” (fem singular cee, not fem singular nee), a grammatical particle found, inter alia, in identificational and equational sentences, has polar tone, i.e., H after L and L after H. This polarity is equally operative if the preceding item is an ideophone, e.g., (7) máakòo née ‘it’s a week’, cf. zóomóo nèe ‘it’s a hare’, cf.

zágóo-zàgòo née ‘it’s dense and rich’ (eyebrows) (id.) màMòo-máMóo nèe ‘it’s miserly’ (id.)

As mentioned above, final L L with a long final vowel is a disfavored sequence in Hausa. It is found, however, not only in ideophones but also in a small number of recent English loanwords such as lóotàrèe ‘lottery’. The Sokoto dialect has undergone a regular sound change whereby the disfavored L L sequence has been replaced by L F. All words with the requisite shape have undergone the rule, whether ideophones or not, e.g., (8) Standard Hausa sákándàrèe támbùlàn búzúu-bùzùu tsáláa-tsàlàa

Sokoto sákándàrêe támbùlân búzúu-bùzûu tswáláa-tswàlâa

‘secondary school’ ‘drinking glass’ ‘long and unkempt’ (hair) (id.) ‘long and skinny’ (esp. legs) (id.)


4. Ideophones as reflections of the past Because of their expressive, onomatopoeic-like character, ideophones are commonly viewed as ephemeral and as such are totally ignored in historical/comparative work. A close analysis of ideophones can, however, throw light on the linguistic past. I give two examples. Synchronically, /h/ and /‘/ are regular Hausa consonants. In polysyllabic ideophones having shapes like CVCVC or CVCV-CVCV, these consonants never occur word-medially as the C2. (The word hànhái wide opening’, with /h/ in the second syllable, is an exception.) This gap provides further support for the analysis presented in Newman (1976) that /h/ and /‘/ historically developed fairly recently through phonemicization of what were originally phonetic manners of attack in vowel-initial words, i.e., *#ØV > #hV or #‘V (the choice of the guttural being determined by specific conditions irrelevant for the discussion here). The fact that most ideophones are (and presumably were) consonant initial also explains why /h/ and /‘/, which derived from vowel-initial words, are also rare in initial position. But here, the situation with regard to /h/ as opposed to /‘/ is not parallel. Whereas ideophones with initial glottal stop are essentially non-existent, there are some with initial /h/, e.g., hàm ‘emphasizes width of opening’; hàyàahàyàa ‘describes people’s bustling about, talking back and forth’, hábáa-hábáa ‘shows cheerfulness, being warm with people’. What this suggests is that the phonemicization of /h/ and /‘/ may not have been simultaneous, as I had thought, but rather that /h/ may have become established earlier, a possible temporal sequence that did not emerge in the original study from which ideophones were excluded. Falling tone occurs in only a dozen ideophones, mostly indicating the sound of something falling, e.g., bûm ‘sound of something heavy falling’, fâu ‘sound of a slap or beating with a whip’. The rarity of F in ideophones is consistent with the notion that at an earlier historical period, Hausa had two level tones only, the Falling tone being a new addition resulting historically either from vowel loss with L tone preservation, e.g., zôbbá ‘rings’ (< *zóobàbáa) or from tone bending with H-tone, heavy-syllable, monosyllabic nouns, e.g., mâi ‘oil’ (< *mái < *már) (see Newman 1992).

5.

Lexical connections

Most Hausa ideophones are lexically autonomous in the sense that they exist as independent lexemes distinct from other words in the language. They simply exist in the Hausa lexicon as such, e.g.,

256 Paul Newman

(9) fés wúlík zìgìdír

‘very clean’

dòosòosòo

‘shiny black or deep blue’ ‘stark naked’

sùmùmù

‘emphasizes ugliness, dullness of person’ ‘silently’

bútsúu-bùtsùu

‘untidy’ (hair, clothes, teeth)

In some cases, however, one can spot a phonological connection between the ideophone and a semantically related noun or adjective, or, more often, verb. One doesn’t have a productive rule of morphological formation, but one can see recurring patterns relating the prosaic and ideophonic word pairs like (a) final vowel omission, and (b) reduplication, e.g., (10) a.

b.

'ús (= 'ùs) cf. ‘describes breaking through’ cùnkús cf. ‘full of people or other countable entities’ 1ís cf. ‘sound of dripping’ dándán cf. ‘firmly pressed’ tsáy cf. ‘still, pensively’ bà1à1à cf. ‘emphasizes years hence’ búzúu-bùzùu cf. ‘long, unkempt (hair)’ máláa-màlàa cf. ‘describes minor flooding’ sákó-sákó cf. ‘loosely’ wárá-wárá cf. ‘spaced apart’

'úsàa ‘break through’ cúnkùshée ‘be crowded into’ 1ìsá ‘drip’ dánnèe ‘press down’ tsáyàa ‘stop, stand’ bà1í ‘next year’ búzúrwáa ‘long-haired goat’ màláalà ‘flow out, flow over’ sákìi ‘let loose, release’ wáarèe ‘separate, secede’

6. Grammatical relations The most striking illustration of the integration of ideophones in the grammar of Hausa is found with augmentative adjectives (R. M. Newman 1988). These adjectives, which primarily refer to things that are exceedingly large (or stupid), contain a suffix of the form -éeCèe (fem -éeCìyáa) where C is a copy of the preceding consonant, e.g., gábjéejèe/gábjéejìyáa) ‘huge (person)’ (cf. the exclamation gábjì ‘how huge!’). Semantically, augmentatives tend to be expressive, almost slangy, but in terms of their morphology and syntax, they are ordinary run-of-the-mill adjectives. What is curious is that the plurals corresponding to the singular augmentatives


have to be considered ideophones. To begin with, they have a distinctive ideophonic shape namely (a) full reduplication marked by non-matching level tones on the two parts, and (b) final L L with a long final vowel, e.g., gábzáa-gàbzàa ‘huge (people)’. (Note: the /z/ seen here is underlying; in the singular, the /j/ represents palatalization due to the following front vowel.) Unlike the singular augmentatives, which typically occur pre-nominally (with a gender-sensitive linker), e.g., fír1ée1èn dóokìi ‘a very large, strong horse’, sántáléelìyár bùdúrwáa ‘a slender good-looking young lady’, the corresponding plurals invariably occur after the noun, e.g., dáwáakíi fír1áa-fìr1àa ‘huge horses’; ýámmáatáa sántáláa-sàntàlàa ‘slender good-looking girls’. Examples: (11) gánsaméemèe/gánsaméemìyáa (masc/fem) gánsámaá-gànsàmàa (id/pl)

7.

‘tall and stout’

ríb1ée1èe/ríb1ée1ìyáa (masc/fem) ríb1áa-rìb1àa (id/pl)

‘huge and bulky’

shártá'ée'èe/shártá'ée'ìyáa (masc/fem) shártá'áa-shàrtà'àa (id/pl)

‘long, sharp’

tsáaléelèe/tsáaléelìyáa (masc/fem) táaláa-tsàalàa (id/pl)

‘svelte’

zúngúréerèe/zúngúréerìyáa (masc/fem) zúngúráa-zùngùràa (id/pl)

‘long, tall’

Conclusion

In many African languages — not to mention Asian or native American languages — ideophones constitute an extremely rich and important part of the language’s lexicon and expressive potential. These words typically have distinctive phonological characteristics and highly marked semantics. Nevertheless, in focusing on what is different about ideophones, scholars have tended to overlook the simple notion that to a great extent ideophones are part and parcel of whatever language they belong to. Ideophones in Gbeya (Samarin 1966), for example, may have some aberrant properties, but they can still be identified as Gbeya, and not Ewe or Kisi or Zulu or Malay or Hmong or Korean or Quechua, or what have you. In this paper, I have demonstrated how ideophones in Hausa are on the one hand like and on the other hand unlike words in the normal prosaic language. I have shown that the treatment of ideophones within the basic structure of Hausa is essential both synchronically and historically.

258 Paul Newman

References Doke, C. M. 1935. Bantu Linguistic Terminology. London: Longmans. Galadanci, M.K.M. 1971. “Ideophones in Hausa”. Harsunan Nijeriya 1: 12–26. Hinton, L., J. Nichols and J. J. Ohala (eds). 1994. Sound Symbolism. Cambridge: CUP. Leben, W. R. 1971. “The morphophonemics of tone in Hausa”. In C. W. Kim and H. Stahlke (eds), Papers in African Linguistics, 201–18. Edmonton: Linguistic Research, Inc. Newman, P. 1968. “Ideophones from a syntactic point of view”. Journal of West African Languages 5: 107–17. Newman, P. 1976. “The origin of Hausa /h/.” In L. Hyman et al. (eds), Papers in African Linguistics in Honor of Wm. E. Welmers 165–75 [Studies in African Linguistics, Supplement 6]. Los Angeles: Department of Linguistics, UCLA. Newman, P. 1992. “The development of falling contours from tone bending in Hausa”. Proceedings of the Berkeley Linguistics Society 18S: 128–33. Newman, P. 2000. “Ideophones”. In The Hausa Language: An Encyclopedic Reference Grammar, chapter 35. New Haven: Yale University Press. Newman, P. and B. A. Salim. 1981. “Hausa diphthongs”. Lingua 55: 101–21. Newman, R. M. 1988. “Augmentative adjectives in Hausa”. In G. Furniss and P. J. Jaggar (eds), Studies in Hausa Language and Linguistics. In Honour of F. W. Parsons, 99–116. London: Kegan Paul International. Prietze, R. 1908. “Die spezifischen Verstärkungsadverbien im Haussa und Kanuri”. Mitteilungen des Seminars für Orientalische Sprachen [Berlin] 11(3): 307–17. Samarin, W. J. 1966. The Gbeya Language. Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Ideas, phones and Gbaya verbal art Philip A. Noss Africa Inter-Regional Translation Services, Nairobi The Grandfathers left them in their abandoned villages and Badomo found them and arranged them in order.1 — Dogobadomo Béloko

1.

Introduction

Ideophones are an inherent and prominent feature of both the daily converse of the Gbaya community and of the world of myth and tradition, riddles and proverbs. They are used and appreciated by all segments of society in contexts as varied as conversation and oratory, arguments and sermons, compliments and insults. William Samarin first brought the ideophones of the Gbaya dialect cluster of Cameroon and the Central African Republic to the attention of the scholarly world. Since the publication of his ideophone article entitled “Perspective on African ideophones” in 1965, the shape and meaning of Gbaya ideophones has been the subject of a number of articles (Samarin, 1965, 1970, 1991; Noss, 1975, 1985; Roulon, 1983, 1996). The focus of this paper is on the significance of the Gbaya ideophone in artistic oral discourse. Ideophone occurrence and use is exemplified from three literary genres, all of which are rooted in Gbaya oral tradition. The first is traditional folktales, the second is modern written poetry, and the third is the contemporary ideophone poems of the artist Dogobadomo. Samples of texts are cited from the Yaayuwee and Lai dialects as spoken in east-central Cameroon. Instead of seeking to demonstrate the frequency and dramatic effect of ideophones in oral art forms, for these are without dispute, the primary purpose of this paper is to reveal some of the ways in which verbal artists employ ideophones structurally and thematically. The paper concludes with observations about the Gbaya ideophone as a literary device from the twin perspectives of discourse structure and literary aesthetics.

260 Philip A. Noss

2.

Folktales

The Gbaya community possesses a rich and living tradition of oral artistic expression. According to Gbaya taxonomy, narrative forms are categorized as riddle, proverb, parable, tale and story. The tale is formally the most complex genre: it may incorporate riddles; it may appear to be an expansion of a parable; it may be summarized by a proverb; and it is storylike. Tales are usually longer than the other genres and normally they include one or more songs that invite audience participation. Ideophones may occur in each of the five Gbaya genres and in the songs as well, but they are particularly prevalent in the folktale (Noss 1972). In the introductory formula at the beginning of the performance and in the closing formula at its end, ideophones constitute a dramatic frame for the performance. Solo: Chorus:

Young men, listen to a tale, z´7k´71´7-z´7k´71´7, Listen to a tale, a tale z´7k´71´7.

Solo: Chorus:

Young women, listen to a tale, A tale z´7k´71´7-z´7k´71´7. Listen to a tale, a tale z´7k´71´7.

Solo: Chorus:

Children, listen to a tale, A tale z´7k´71´7-z´7k´71´7, Listen to a tale, a tale z´7k´71´7.

Proclamation:

Hirr kpi]gim a tale-o!

Prior to beginning the performance of a tale, the artist often sings a formulaic song inviting the attention of the potential audience. An interpretive description of the tale is featured in the choral response. This is the repeated ideophone z´7k´71´7 in single or reduplicated form representing the sound of chuckling.2 The strophes may be repeated and new ones added until, abruptly, the song is interrupted by the artist’s proclamation Hirr kpi]gim to-o! Hirr is an ideophone that depicts a heavy weight being pulled or moved, either in the sound of the weight itself, or in the cry in unison of a group of men exerting great effort to move a heavy object. Kpi]gim is the sound of a heavy thud of a great weight crashing down or, for example, the sound of a big truck bouncing over a rough road. To-o is the noun “tale” followed by an emphatic sentence final particle. While the ideophone z´7k´71´7-z´7k´71´7 and its verbal form z´7k´71í refer to laughter and entertainment, the ideophones Hirr kpi]gim that comprise the performer’s enthusiastic call to attention warn of the serious import of the tale.3 As closure to their performances, artists may end with the formulaic proclamation, “Take the boar-killing-spear and strike the fig tree rok!” Performers, whether

Ideas, phones and Gbaya verbal art 261

men or women, may allude to themselves as a hunter and announce that they are jabbing the spear that is used for hunting wild boars into the trunk of a wild fig tree forcefully rok. Thus the hunter’s activity ceases for a moment of rest in the shade of the leafy savanna tree, a tree that has sacrificial significance. The final word marking the end of the performance is the ideophone rok.4 Abraham Yelem was a peasant farmer who lived in the village of Bouli across the Lom River from B’tar, Oya in the Eastern Province of Cameroon. He was an unassuming man in his fifties who told, in his own words, “just a short little tale.”5 It was a tale of Wanto and Laaiso, the hero and heroine of Gbaya tradition, and of their misadventure with their antagonist Rain. The setting was a small valley where Wanto lived with his wife and his son Mal7m from where he would go hunting. On one of his forays he happened upon the home of Rain and Rain’s family. Rain welcomed him effusively and when Wanto was leaving, he invited Rain to pay him a visit sometime. Very soon thereafter Rain honored the invitation, but when Wanto offered him food, he refused to eat any meat that was prepared for him. He demanded that Wanto kill and prepare his son Mal7m for him to eat, and only when his demand had been fulfilled did he express satisfaction over his reception. On his departure, he reciprocated with an invitation to Wanto to visit him again. Wanto returned the visit, but when he rejected Rain’s offers of food and demanded to eat one of Rain’s children, Rain thundered at him, forcing him to flee for his life. While Laaiso mourned her son’s death, Wanto plotted revenge. He constructed a marimba and went and hid in Rain’s granary while Rain and his family were in their fields harvesting maize. His singing attracted the attention of Rain who sent his three children, one after the other, to destroy whatever was making that noise in his granary. As each child came and thundered and then peered into the granary, Wanto pulled a noose around their necks and killed them. Finally, Rain’s wife came and then Rain himself and they all met the same fate. Wanto then returned to his weeping wife and brought her to live in the former home of Rain. They butchered Rain and his family and dried the meat to preserve it for eating, and they took possession of Rain’s property and fields. The performer concluded with the observation that this tale explains why there is vengeance when a member of one’s family has been wronged. He closed with the words, “My tale [is set] right under the fig tree gbat.” This is the storyline of the narrative without the texture that made it an entertaining performance. Among the discourse features and grammatical and lexical devices that are evident in the text of the tale, ideophones and ideophonelike features play a particularly significant role. If the ideophone is an icon, there are also iconic processes of lengthening and repetition that express meaning and that are frequently applied to ideophones

262 Philip A. Noss

(Childs 1994: 166). Vowel or consonant lengthening, for example, commonly indicates duration, and syllabic and lexical reduplication denotes repeated action and sometimes intensity. Usually, lengthening is applied to the final vowel or consonant, and reduplication to the final syllable. Both these processes are used by the artist in his performance of this tale. In Gbaya grammar these processes are most commonly applied to adverbs. Although geographic distance in this tale is never specified by the narrator, the distances that are traveled by Wanto are shown to be relatively great. This is done by the lengthening of the adverbial n´7n´77´7´ “a lo-ong time” and the repetition of n´7n´7 n´7n´7 n´7n´7 ”on and on and on.” More marked, however, is iconic lengthening when it occurs on a verb or noun. When Rain demands that Wanto kill his son Mal7m for him to eat, Wanto zúmmm, “Wanto lowered ….” Following the lengthened verb there is ellipsis. The narrator omits the normal object of the verthat would specify that Wanto lowered his head and he recounts Wanto’s thoughts without either introductory verb of thinking or discourse tag. This depiction of Wanto’s dilemma is paralleled by the lengthening of the verb that describes Rain’s reaction. Following the staccato citation of Wanto’s killing his son and cooking the meat, the lengthened verb yf]ááá portrays Rain’s action, “Rain ate and ate to satisfaction.” The pathos of Wanto’s despair is countered by Rain’s morbid pleasure and both are marked by the iconic lengthening of a verb. When the performer relates that Wanto carved a marimba, he also lengthens the verb to indicate the time-consuming nature of the task. Since the verb s´7k “to chisel” ends in a plosive that phonetically cannot accommodate lengthening, the narrator appends a nasal that can be extended s´7knnn “he chiseled and chiseled.” The narrator also lengthens nouns to indicate duration and intensity. When Wanto finds a root to chop for making a marimba, he chops it with his kpiRiii “with his axxx” or “for a while”. Then when he reaches Rain’s homestead, he climbs up the dammm “[right] up the granaryyy” and fastens a mbfl'fff “a noo-oose [all around the opening].” If the process of syllable lengthening is an important grammatical and semantic feature throughout the tale, the use of ideophones is even more significant. The performer’s style is sparse; there is no detail, only the identification of the characters and the citation of their actions in rapid succession. Literally, the performer recounts, “Wanto took sheep butchered, wife cooked, Rain zá1á1á.” The same sequence is repeated with the omission of the subject and the substitution of one object for another, “ …took goat butchered, wife cooked, Rain zá1á1á.” A third time this sequence is repeated, and a third time the identical result is reported, “Rain zá1á1á.” The ideophone zá1á1á marks unequivocal rejection. Rain categorically refuses to eat every kind of meat that is offered to him. The ideophone is not a verb and it


does not function as a verb although it does occur in the verbal position. It therefore stands as the predicate in relation to the subject, as the Verb Phrase following the Noun Phrase. It is never explained appositionally by a verb or paraphrased in any way. Its meaning is clear to the listeners. In its succinct and dramatic way, this first three-fold occurrence of an ideophone signals the conflict that is the structural basis of the plot. The same syntactic pattern occurs when Wanto pays a return visit to Rain. Three times Rain offers meat to Wanto and each time “Wanto zá1á1á,” each time Wanto declines in the same emphatic and elliptical manner. Thus, the battle between the two protagonists is joined by their common action encapsulated in the ideophone zá1á1á. When threatened by Rain, Wanto’s flight is headlong as revealed by the ideophone z´7r´7r´7r´7 and Laaiso sees him come trudging dejectedly home g7]7-g7]7g7]7. He explains that Rain thundered at him so loudly that his ears were ”completely plugged” 1ék¸íf´¸ and that he s7k “barely” escaped death. After making a marimba, when Wanto returns to Rain’s place, he finds the entrance to the granary to be wide open bó]. Setting an ambush, he climbs “right up,” fastens his noose “all around the opening,” and begins singing to the accompaniment of his marimba. The drama is now heightened by ideophones that depict successive clashes between Rain’s children and Wanto. Rain’s first child rushes zananana, ’or-’or-’or’or, it thunders, sticks its neck in, Wanto pulls the noose rot, and chops it dead tfkfflfk. The second child comes thundering 1o1o1o and meets the same fate tfkfflfk. The third child comes amid flashes tuR7-tuR7-tuR7-tuR7 with the same result rot tfkfflfk. Each of the three children of Rain is described differently. They all come rapidly through the sky, but the first approaches zananana like a blazing fire with thunderclaps ’or-’or-’or-’or, the second comes with the sound of rumbling thunder 1o1o1o, and the third is depicted by lightning flashes tuR7-tuR7-tuR7-tuR7. The choice and sequence of ideophones supports the expectation that the oldest child is the first to come and the youngest is the last. The performer specifies that the first child is caught sharply rot by the noose around its neck. This ideophone is omitted for the second child, but it is repeated for the third. All three fall to the ground limply tfkfflfk when struck by Wanto. Rain then sends his wife with the instruction that she should strike the granary and shatter it into tiny pieces s´71´7-s´71´7, but she also is caught rot and struck and killed tukfuluk. Finally, Rain himself comes and is treated to the same fate, rot, and then tukfuluk. The form tukfuluk is a variant of tfkfflfk but the meaning of the two forms is never made explicit in the text. That is, there is no explicit indication by adverb, adjective or verb of what these ideophones represent. The context indicates only

264 Philip A. Noss

that they relate to the verb“chop/strike”. However, the listeners recognize these ideophones as a common description of the killing of a wild animal. They depict both visually and audibly the limp lifeless fall of a corpse to the ground. The narrator uses the more common form for Rain’s children, and he uses the sharper and more marked form for the adult Mother and Father Rain. The scene then shifts back to Laaiso who is still weeping endlessly z7z7z7z7z7 to the point that she has become thoroughly emaciated g7]g7-l7]g7. Both ideophones are indicative of the artist’s attention to cohesion. Z7z7z7z7z7 depicts Laaiso’s tearful weeping, but it is also an allusion to Rain because this ideophone may be used to describe an all-night drizzle. The second ideophone g7]g7-l7]g7 is remindful of the earlier description of Wanto’s forlorn gait g7]7-g7]7-g7]7 as he trudged home from Rain’s place. The tale’s final two ideophones occur in the conclusion and in the formulaic closing. The members of Rain’s family were all killed and lie gb7y7] on the ground. Then the tale itself is set firmly and solidly gbat under the wild fig tree as the narrator rests from his performance. In the performer’s development of the plotline, zá1á1á has been pointed out for its structural significance. On the level of cohesion, the ideophones depicting Wanto’s appearance as he returns from Rain’s home g7]7-g7]7-g7]7 and Laaiso’s sorrowful condition g7]g7-l7]g7 have been noted as well as the allusion of Laaiso’s weeping z7z7z7z7z7 to a long rainfall. However, the performer’s use of ideophones in character description should also be observed. Rain is anthropomorphized as a human being in both his speech and his deeds. When he demands to eat Wanto’s son, he reveals himself to be a cannibal. But Rain is still a natural meteorological element and it is the ideophones describing the approach of Rain’s children that reveal them to be truly thunder and lightning. Tfkfflfk/tukfuluk reduces Rain and his family to wild game to be hunted and eaten by members of human society. This is remindful of the valley in the tale’s opening setting from where Wanto went on his hunting expeditions. The final description gb7y7] is an allusion to fruit fallen from a tree or to soldiers fallen on the field of battle. The character portrayal of Rain as offered by the ideophones strengthens the unity and the coherence of the tale.

3.

Written poetry

During the decade of the 1970’s, a poetry reading group was founded in Meiganga in the heart of Yaayuwee-speaking country. Members of the group included translators, school teachers, and other Gbaya intellectuals who shared a common interest in literature and in critiquing their writings with each other. Because of the nature of the group and its membership, the majority of the works that were


presented were poems written in the Gbaya language. The poems were often experimental. Some were adaptations of traditional song form such as hunting songs, plaintive soliloquies, dirges and laments. Others were imitations of poetic form that the writers had memorized as school children in French primary school. These included rhymed verse, free verse, and a miscellany of strophe patterns. An important feature of the poetic lexicon was ideophones. They were sometimes plentiful in a poem, sometimes few, and occasionally the poems exhibited no ideophones at all. The poem presented below was inspired by a well-known formulaic folktale that purports to explain the origins of the natural enmity between the big black ant and the termite (Dorson 1975: 375–377). In résumé, a woman was sweeping her child’s grave when her hand was pricked by Grass Stalk that had been bitten off by Termite. She flicked the blood from her wound into the eye of Fly who flew into Drum that sounded 1í] that frightened Colobus Monkey who fled and knocked down Zio fruit that broke loose b717k that fell onto the back of Elephant who ran and stepped on Tortoise who defecated fire that burned Black Ant’s eggs. When Black Ant retraced the sequence of events for an explanation of the origin of the fire that had burned her eggs, each character reported what had caused it to act as it had. Twice the sound of the drum is cited 1í] until the question reaches Termite who is unable to say why he cut Grass Stalk. His answer is “B777.” Asked what he had said, Termite only repeats “B777.” Therefore, black ants attack and capture termites to this very day. In the performance of the tale cited above, the ideophones are very sparse. There is only the thrice repeated sound of the drum 1í], the sudden breaking off of the fruit from the tree b717k and lastly the repeated comic imitation of Termite’s empty reply “B777”. Fire Chick was sweeping its grandma’s grave; Termite bit its hand ]got, It flicked its hand zat, blood landed in Fly’s eye, Fly flew párám into Drum, Drum sounded kpiii, Male Monkey bounded onto a tree ]gala] and stepped on Fruit, Fruit broke loose '7r7k and fell on Elephant’s back, Elephant climbed out of the valley bata-bata and stepped on Tortoise, Male Tortoise sprayed fire vurek and burned the grass. – Abbo Michel Théodore6

Although clearly based on the plotline of the traditional folktale, the poet ignores the explanation given by the tale for an event in nature. He chooses instead to select

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a single element from the tale, namely fire. The implications of fire as a theme are left for the reader’s reflection. In contrast to the version of the tale summarized above, the poet appears to experiment with a generous use of ideophones. With the exception of the opening introductory line, each line features an ideophone. got is the sharp bite of the termite, zat is the abrupt flick of the hand, párám represents rapid movement over a great distance, kpiii is the sound of the drum, ]gala] depicts the monkey leaping onto a tree or a tree branch, '7r7k is the sudden detachment of a large fruit, bata-bata describes the rapid heavy footsteps of the elephant, and vurek portrays something that is crudely exposed or obscenely turned inside-out. Three of the ideophones may be noted for their special use in the poem. The most significant is the sound of the drum. Kpiii represents a loud reverberating sound quite unlike the almost inaudible tap of a fly bumping its head against the surface of a drum. The 1í] of the ideophone in the narrative version is a much more credible sound for the fly to have made when it struck the drum.7 Secondly, although the action of the poem is brusque and rapid, an elephant would not normally walk bata-bata. This is more likely to be the footsteps of a person walking in mud, although an angered elephant might charge through the underbrush batak-batak. Thirdly, vurek represents the violent defecation of the tortoise in the form of flames that set the savanna grass on fire. These three ideophones introduce an element of comedy. Kpiii is onomatopoeia used as hyperbole because a fly is too small to cause a sound as loud as kpiii. Bata-bata is understatement because an elephant is too big and too slow and at the same time too agile to walk bata-bata. The connotations of vurek with its accompanying verb are disgusting and therefore this ideophone disparages Tortoise in its moment of tragedy.

4. Ideophone poems Taking his inspiration from the power of ideophones as used in ordinary Gbaya speech and in oral art forms, Dogobadomo, who is himself a master performer of oral tales, composes short poems that are comprised of a series of ideophones with a narrative conclusion.8 As has been demonstrated earlier in this paper, ideophones often occur in reduplicated form and in pairs. The pattern of juxtaposition may be extended to three or more ideophones within a given speech context, whether conversation or artistic composition. In his ideophone poems, Dogobadomo cites a sequence of ideophones, providing only the conclusion as context. In the following poem, the artist portrays an ordinary event in the life of the Gbaya community.


Gi1immm F´7-f7-f´77´ Kílá]-ki-kílá] Sélélé ma'¸i¸i¸i They were taking counsel.

A series of five ideophones, two of them in triplicate form, presents a set of five scenes. Gi1immm with its lengthened final consonant represents people gathering together quietly and deliberately over a period of some time. F´7-f7-f´77´ depicts soft consultation with one another like the sound of soft breezes blowing. The next ideophone signals a change in the people’s conduct. It implies that there is a hiatus in the ideophonic rendering of the event. Then the people are discussing among themselves again but in a more forceful and disjointed manner kílá]-ki-kílá]. This is followed by silence sélélé because those gathered for the meeting are all in agreement with the decision that has been taken. Finally, the people scatter ]ma'¸i¸i¸i in orderly fashion. The poet’s conclusion makes it clear that this was a solemn communal gathering for taking counsel. The ideophones portray and successively reinforce the sense of decorum and dignity that characterizes the council meeting. The descriptive prose statement elliptically affirms the successful outcome of the event. Other ideophones would have portrayed a different set of events. For example, after the opening ideophone, had the poet said kpo]go-yo]go, this would have indicated disorderly babbling. Gbftf]gflf] would have shown that a great argument broke out and kpamdal would have portrayed dispersal in disarray. In this poem and in others like it, Dogobadomo employs individual ideophones as complete syntactic units. Each ideophone represents a full clause. In Diffloth’s terms, each ideophone is a “microscopic sentence” (1972: 444). With a first ideophone the poet sets the scene. This general setting is modified by a second ideophone and the two are further constrained by a third, and a fourth and fifth until the final narrative conclusion is pronounced.

5.

Conclusion

Paul Zumthor has identified the density of the “ideophonic network” as one of the characteristics of poetic expression in African languages (1980: 395). Opinions vary, however, about the true significance of that network. Isidore Okpewho appears to be dismissive when he writes that ideophones “are simply sounds used in conveying a vivid impression,” although he does acknowledge that they are “more frequently used in narratives for achieving a stronger sensual or dramatic impact than any words available in the language could have done” (1992: 92). Abiola Irele, on the

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other hand, draws attention to “the special role played by sonic values” in oral literature (1990: 56), and Lupenda Mphande offers an example of a ChiTumbuka poem as evidence for how “ideophonic language …exploits the phonological properties of language to enhance the semantic content of the poem and to celebrate it” (1992: 127). Ideophones are used in Gbaya oral art in the same way that they are used in daily speech, except perhaps more consciously because they enter into the process that the Gbaya call “fixing the tale.” Ruth Finnegan writing about Limba storytelling has observed, “A style plentifully embroidered with ideophones is one of the striking characteristics of an effective storyteller” (1970: 384–385). This is what the Gbaya refers to as ólá-wen “warbling words”. This is eloquence and it is the mark of the oral artist. The style of Gbaya oral narrative is sparse. Emphasis is on the storyline, on action and not on description. ideophones and ideophone processes are a tool whereby the artist “vividly and economically” adds description to the story, the song or the poem (Finnegan 1970: 65). In Gbaya expression, ideophones “show” what the speaker has seen or experienced. They enable the audience to participate “in a happening,” as Daniel Kunene has written about Southern Sotho ideophones (1978: 12). The Gbaya performer therefore uses ideophones in the presentation of characters and in character development as well as to reveal what the characters see and experience. Actions, feelings, appearances, sensations and emotions are portrayed by ideophones. ideophones may be used by the artist to mock, to disparage, or to flatter the characters of the tale. The artist may temper the tone of the tale by ideophone choice according to connotation, whether for humor or for pathos. Through the ideophones, the audience identifies with the characters’ successes and predicaments alike. Ideophones are a prominent feature of the texture of the tale, but not merely for description and expressiveness. They are employed by the artist as an element of structure and intratextuality. They may be used within the tale to heighten conflict or even to establish the essence of the plot. They may express the climax and introduce the dénouement of the conflict. The artist employs ideophones in repetition and in variation to enhance cohesion. Between song and narrative text, ideophones frequently develop theme and provide unity. At the same time, another perspective on Zumthor’s ideophone network is the observation that ideophones are a familiar feature for the listeners who have heard them used in the same tale or for describing similar events and episodes and who have themselves used the same and similar ideophones in their own speech and in their own songs and performances. Ideophones, like familiar folktale characters, provide an important element of intertextuality. Against the backdrop of their wider occurrence and of listener expectation, they may be used hyperbolically,


ironically, or even metaphorically. There is not only internal coherence, but external coherence as well. In the choice of ideophones, the artist creates associations in the minds of the listeners thereby expanding the level of the performance from text to intertext, from the immediate artistic context to the broader context of Gbaya culture and aesthetics. When the artist Dogobadomo was asked about the ideophones that he used in his performances of traditional tales and in his own poetry and drama, he spoke in metaphors, “The Grandfathers left them in their abandoned villages and Badomo found them and arranged them in order.” In Gbaya aesthetic tradition, arranging and manipulating ideophones is requisite in the preparation of a tale performance. As the artists fashion and refashion their narratives and songs and poems, they create their own structures and they interpret according to their own perception. In their telling of the tale, the conceptualization of the Grandfathers is reborn in the expression of current experience. In conclusion, the meaning of the Gbaya ideophone is found in the network of ideas and sounds from which the artist draws; the meaning is in the aesthetic tradition and its interpretation before the audience; it is in the artist’s selection and placement of the ideophones in their poetic context; it is in the social and cultural setting that is the past and present world of the Gbaya; the meaning is in the vital and dynamic nature of the ideophones themselves.

Notes 1. A comment about ideophones in an interview with Dogobadomo Béloko, a Gbaya comedian, playwright and poet, in Meiganga, Cameroon, on 3 June 1980. This and all other translations in the paper are the author’s. 2. Tone is marked for each vowel. High tone is marked by an acute accent, extra-high tone is marked by a double acute accent, and low tone is unmarked. When a high tone follows a low tone, it is lowered to a mid-tone level. Vowel nasalization is marked by a cedilla. 3. A similar phenomenon occurs in the riddler’s challenge Súmgbá! and the audience response Girimm! The riddler’s call “Riddle!” is accepted by those whom he is challenging through their response Girimm! This is an ideophone that represents a loud crashing noise such as a flock of guinea fowl thundering into flight all at once, or the sound of an army charging into battle. The image of war is applied to the riddling contest. 4. This is one of several stock formulae for marking closure. In each formula ideophones are equally prominent except in the simple prosaic declarations, “That’s the end of my tale” and “My tale is finished.” 5. The tale was told to a gathering of family and friends in the home of André Abari in Bouli on 22 November 1966. It is Tale VIII, 2 in the Gbaya collection of oral tradition on deposit at the Archives of Traditional Music at Indiana University. 6. This poem was presented to the Poetry Reading Group on 31 August 1979.

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7. There is a Gbaya riddle, “If I beat my little drum 1í], everyone dances.” The answer is the wind. When the wind blows, all the leaves dance. 8. The poem presented here is one of fourteen ideophone poems composed by Dogobadomo Béloko of Meiganga between August 1979 and June 1980. For a more complete treatment of Dogobadomo’s ideophone poems, see Noss 1989.

References Childs, G. Tucker. 1994. “African ideophones”. In L. Hinton, J. Nichols and J. J. Ohala (eds), Sound Symbolism, 178–204. Cambridge: CUP. Diffloth, G. 1972. “Notes on expressive language”. In P. M. Peranteau, J. N. Levi and G. C. Pheres (eds), Chicago Linguistic Society: Papers from the 8th Regional Meeting, 440–447. Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society, . Dorson, R. M. (ed.). 1975. Folktales Told around the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Finnegan, R. 1970. Oral Literature in Africa. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Irele, A. 1990. “The African imagination”. Research in African Literatures 21(1): 49–67. Kunene, D. P. 1978. The ideophone in Southern Sotho. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer. Mphande, L. 1992. “Ideophones and African verse”. Research in African Literatures 23(1):117–129. Noss, P. A. 1972. “Description in Gbaya literary art”. In R. M. Dorson (ed.), African Folklore, 73–101. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, . Noss, P. A. 1975. “The ideophone: A linguistic and literary device in Gbaya and Sango with reference to Zande”. In S.H. Hurrreiz and H. Bell (eds), Directions in Sudanese Linguistics and Folklore, 142–152. Khartoum: Khartoum University Press. Noss, P. A. 1985. “The ideophone in Gbaya syntax”. In G. J. Dimmendaal (ed.), Current Approaches in African Linguistics 3: 241–255. Dordrecht: Foris Publications. Noss, P. A. 1989. “The ideophone poems of Dogobadomo”. In P. A. Noss (ed.), The Ancestors’ Beads: Oral art in contemporary africa, Special issue of Crosscurrent 2(3–4): 33–43. Hamilton, New Zealand: Outrigger Publishers. Okpewho, I. 1992. African Oral Literature: Backgrounds, character, and continuity. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Roulon, P. 1983. “Specificité de l’adverbe en Gbaya ‘’bodoe’”. In J. Kaye, H. Koopman, D. Sportiche and A. Dugas (eds), Current Approaches to African Linguistics 2: 378–389. Dordrecht: Foris Publications. Roulon, P. 1996. “Saveur et consistances: Le goût gastronomique chez les gbáyá ‘bòdòè de Centrafrique.” Journal des africanistes 66.1–2: 37–80. Samarin, W. J. 1965. “Perspectives on African ideophones”. African Studies 24: 117–121. Samarin, W. J. 1970. “Inventory and choice in expressive language”. Word 26.2: 153–169. Samarin, W. J. 1991. “Intersubjective and intradialectal variation in Gbeya ideophones”. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 1(1): 52–62. Zumthor, P. 1982. “Le discours de la poésie orale”. Poétique 52: 387–401.

Ideophones in Pastaza Quechua Janis B. Nuckolls University of Alabama

1.

Introduction

This paper will outline the main characteristics of ideophones in the Pastaza dialect of Ecuadorian Quechua. This is a necessary task because ideophones have received very scant attention from linguists of Native South America. Data on ideophones from Pastaza Quechua reveal many of the prototypical characteristics of ideophones in African languages (cf. Childs 1994) and are therefore a potentially important source of knowledge about a typologically widespread linguistic phenomenon. The Pastaza dialect of Quechua applies roughly to inhabitants of the Pastaza province which begins at the eastern foothills of the Andean mountain chain and stretches into the easternmost lowland rainforest frontier, as far as the contested border between Ecuador and Peru. Although their dialect is clearly related to the Inca lingua franca, the Pastaza Quechua identify most strongly in a cultural sense, with other lowland South American peoples, especially the Achuar and Shuar speaking Jivaroans, with whom they actively engage in trading and also frequently intermarry. In fact, there are a number of unresolved ethnolinguistic issues concerning how Quechua came to be spoken in the Ecuadorian lowlands. The most likely scenario entails some sort of diffusion from the western Andean highlands eastward into the lowlands of Ecuador after the seventeenth century, probably through Dominican missionization (Cerron-Palomino 1987: 343–344). Despite its western highland Andean origins, certain features of ideophone usage in Pastaza Quechua are strikingly similar to ideophone usage in non-cognate Amazonian languages. This can only be stated with utmost caution, however, as there is a real scarcity of data on ideophones in South American languages generally. Insofar as data on ideophones in Highland Ecuadorian Quechua can be found, there seems to be a consensus that they function as adverbs which occur with a semantically empty verb (Ross 1979: 158; Catta Q. 1994: 521). In Highland Quechua dialects the verb nina ‘to say, tell’, is the inflected verb that occurs with an onomatopoeic or expressive adverb which is usually repeated. Examples from Ross

272 Janis B. Nuckolls

(1979: 158–9) include: colon colon nina ‘to say’, i.e. ‘to go thump thump’ and achij achij nina ‘to say’, i.e. ‘to go shine shine’. In addition to grammatical descriptions, published texts of Highland Ecuadorian Quechua myths and folktales reveal that verb roots can also be repeated and used as expressive adverbs which modify a finite verb, as in the following example (Jara J. and Moya 1982: 135), where the verb root cati ‘follow’ is repeated as an expressive adverbial modifier of the verb callarirca ‘began’. (1) Chasna puri-cu-cpi, chai puncha-ca shuc jatun cuntur like that walk-dur-swrf that day-top one big condor huarmi-ta cati cati callari-rca, pai-ta muna-shpa woman-acc follow follow begin-3:past she-acc want-cor ‘That day, as they were walking along in that way, a big condor began following the woman, wanting her’.

The repetition of the root cati ‘follow’ is an expressive strategy which illustrates iconically, the iterativity of the action of following. There is a functional resemblance between the repetition of verb roots in an adverbial slot and the expressive repetition of ideophones. Besides the overlap in adverbial function between ideophones and verb roots there exists other data from highland dialects of Quechua outside of Ecuador which suggests that ideophones may not function as a robustly distinctive class in relation to the lexicon. In Ayacucho Quechua, spoken in south-central Peru, ideophones can be used to form verbs fully inflected for tense, person, and number (Parker 1969: 75–6). In another highland Peruvian dialect, that of Huallaga Quechua, ideophones are an open class of substantives which can function as verbs by suffixation with an inchoative morpheme (Weber 1989: 37). Contrary to typical reports of ideophones throughout the world, descriptions of ideophones in Highland dialects of Quechua do not claim any special or peculiar syntactic, morphological, or pragmatic characteristics for these words.1 Consider by contrast, the lowland Ecuadorian dialect of Pastaza Quechua, which is the focus of this paper. In Pastaza Quechua, ideophones are distinctive as a class by their morphological, syntactic, and semantic properties. Although words ending in consonants are quite rare in the lexicon, they are not at all unusual in ideophones (Nuckolls 1996: 139). Word-initial affricates occur commonly in ideophones, but only occur word-medially elsewhere in the lexicon. (Nuckolls 1996: 139). Although ideophones never take a verb’s inflectional endings, they can be used as substitutes for a verb omitted by a speaker, and can stand for an entire predicate or proposition. The pragmatic importance of ideophones in Pastaza Quechua is evident by their use in narratives of all kinds, and by their incorporation into the grammatical aspectual subsystem, to be discussed below. It is, in fact, not possible to speak this dialect of Quechua fluently and naturally without using ideophones. Reports on

Ideophones in Pastaza Quechua 273

ideophones from unrelated Amazonian languages suggest a number of parallels with Pastaza Quechua. Koehn and Koehn (1986: 124) state that in Apalai, a Carib language of northern Brazil, the ideophone is a “noninflected onomatopoeic word that denotes an action that is normally expressed by a finite verb form”. Also noteworthy is Apalai ideophones’ ability to substitute for a verb or an entire sentence, the slight variations they exhibit from regular Apalai phonology, and the frequency of their use in everyday conversation and storytelling (1986: 124–125.) The use of ideophones as verb substitutes has also been reported for another Amazonian language, Canela Kraho, a Ge language spoken in central Brazil (Popjes and Popjes 1986: 198). Having mentioned briefly some of the anomalous characteristics of Pastaza Quechua ideophones, I will devote the remainder of this paper to a description of their interesting semantic properties and functions. In attempting to compare ideophones with traditional parts of speech, two comprehensive surveys find the category of adverb to be the most useful, generally, for the varieties of ideophone functions (Childs 1994: 181; Samarin 1971: 131). In Pastaza Quechua as well, the term ‘adverb’ encompasses much of what ideophones do. Nevertheless, this term has been defined so broadly as the modification of constituents other than nouns (Schachter 1985), that it can’t reveal much about the subtle mechanisms by which adverb-like words can function. This paper, then, will outline the main adverbial functions of ideophones in Pastaza Quechua. When they function as manner adverbs, ideophones specify configurational patterns of an action, the direction of an action’s movement, the medium in which it takes place, the manner in which it was executed, and even, the shape of an action’s agent. Often, however, an ideophone will assume such a major collaborative role in communicating a predicate’s meaning that its function goes beyond modification. Many combinations of a Quechua verb plus ideophone encode meanings which in English are expressed in one finite verb’s lexical structure. The terms “co-verb” or “compound verb” describe this ideophonic function. In yet other uses, an ideophone seems to restate the meaning of the verb, adding no new content whatsoever, but intonationally foregrounding the meaning of an utterance’s finite verb. If we adopt the position of Bolinger (1985), that intonation is part of language’s gestural complex, and we consider gestural expression along a continuum, manifested in rudimentary form by the up and down movements in voice pitch that grade into actual physical movements of the hand and body, then in such uses ideophones can be considered a kind of verbal gesture. The last characterization of ideophonic function will describe how some ideophones can function grammatically, within the aspectual subsystem, in a way that is somewhat analogous to particles in English. One ideophone in particular, is undergoing changes characteristic of a grammaticalizing form and giving this dialect of Quechua new tools (Hopper & Traugott 1993) for expressing grammatical aspect.


2.

Ideophones functioning as manner adverbs

Part I considers combinations of ideophones and verbs which most closely approximate the kind of semantic relationship found with adverbs of manner and direction and their verbs. The verb, usually a verb of motion or bodily configuration, is modified by an ideophonic adverb which may be performatively foregrounded by repetition or intonational changes. The data are drawn from naturally occurring discourse in personal narratives, myths, and brief exchanges, and also from elicited examples in structured interviews. The verb lyukshina ‘to leave, emerge’ encodes only an idea of a change of location from one physically or socially defined space to another. It can be modified by a number of ideophones which specify configurational aspects of leaving or emerging, the direction of its movement, the medium in which it takes place, the manner in which it is executed, and even, the shape of what is emerging. When modified by the ideophone polang, lyukshina describes emergence from underwater to the surface. Polang, therefore, encodes the medium — water — as well as the direction — upward, of emerging. The following example, taken from a legend, features polang in a description of the way a submarine emerges from underwater to the surface, seemingly out of nowhere. (2) Emerging from underwater Amishkay polang lyukshi-g ma-n, ni-sha kwinta-g ma-ra Ilya-n! be lacking-3 later emerge-ag be-3 say-cor tell-ag be-past ‘(At first) it wasn’t there and then later polang it would emerge’, saying this, he would tell (us).’

In addition to polang which occurs with at least ten different verbs besides lyukshina and describes anything at all that emerges from underwater, there is an extremely restricted ideophone which also describes emergence from underwater. The ideophone bhux occurs only in descriptions of a freshwater dolphin called bugyu, which is now practically extinct due to overhunting. Bhux describes an energetic burst out of the water. The word initial aspiration is imitative of the force of the burst. The word final velar fricative is often extended to imitate an idea of the dolphin’s path of movement through the air. The following example, taken from a mythic narrative describes the bugyu’s emergence from underwater to the surface, as it swims upriver. (3) Emerging from underwater with a forceful burst Sika-sha ri-shka-una chi bugyu-guna hanak-ta bhuxx bhuxx climb-cor go-perf-3:pl that dolphin-pl upriver-adv lyukshi-sha emerge-cor ‘Climbing upriver, those dolphins went, emerging bhuxx bhuxx.’


The next two examples demonstrate how ideophones functioning as adverbs can select for one interpretation of a verb’s senses over another. The verb urmana can describe a falling as it is executed, or a fall that is complete. Consider the difference in English between ‘to fall’ and ‘to fall down’, where the completed fall is specified by the adverb ‘down’. Ideophones occurring with urmana not only specify the completeness of the falling action, but also encode information about the physical properties of what has fallen. In the first example below, the ideophone pak describes the moment of contact, and, or, the sound of contact made by an object or substance when it falls onto a surface and is reconfigured or changed by its fall. Its meaning might be roughly equivalent to the expressive noun ‘splat’. This example is taken from a report of a dialogue between two women, in which one was scolding another about the improper way she had dried some stingray meat. Each repetition of pak describes how a piece of meat fell off of the drying rack on which it had been set. (4) A falling down resulting in reconfiguration Kan mana alyi chaki-chi-shka-ngi-chu, raya, pay ismu-sha you neg well dry-caus-perf-2-neg stingray it rot-cor ismu-sha pay pak pak pak pus pus urma-w-ta ni-ni rot-cor it fall-dur-acc say-1 ‘Saying ‘you haven’t dried it well’, I tell her that the stingray meat is rotting, rotting away, frothing, frothing, and falling pak pak pak’.

The next example of falling down uses patang, which describes the moment of contact, or an idea of the sound of contact made with a surface by falling upon it, without any evident loss of wholeness or shape. Whatever falls patang tends to be higher in animacy than what falls pak. The following example, taken from a personal experience narrative, describes how a large snake that had coiled itself around a man as well as the tree he was hugging, fell to the ground after being whacked by the man’s wife’s machete. The other ideophone dziri, describes the sliding motion, and also the sound of the snake sliding itself open from its coiled position, as it releases its grip on the man. (5) A falling down that leaves something intact Piti-kta wakta-shka-y dziriririririri patanng-shi urma-ra! cut-until hit-perf-nom dziriririririri patanng-ev fall-past ‘As she had hit it so hard that it was cut apart, it (went) dziriririririri (uncoiling its grip), and patanng it fell.’

Having discussed a variety of ideophones specifying configuration, medium, direction, shape, and the physical properties of a verb’s agent, I present in the next section combinations of ideophones and verbs in which the ideophone contributes so much semantic information to the predicate, that it is analogous to a co-verb or compound verb.


3.

Ideophones functioning as co-verbs

Co-verbs or compound verbs are common in Australian languages (McGregor, this volume; Schultze-Berndt, this volume) where they are described as an open class of non-inflecting lexical items which, together with verbs, form complex predicates. I consider below complex predicates consisting of ideophonic co-verbs and verbs that are so semantically interdependent, they can be translated as one English verb. The examples below feature the ideophone dzir which describes a frictional movement. In the first example dzir combines with aysana ‘to pull’ to yield a meaning which is best translated with the English verb ‘to drag’. This example comes from a myth about malevolent forest spirits which stupefy humans with drugged beverages and then decimate the forest while the drugged humans sleep. The following sentence describes the effort of one woman to drag her drugged brother along the ground and out of danger. The ideophone describing frictional movement undergoes extended reduplication to express this dragging motion. (6) ‘To pull’ + frictional movement = ‘to drag’ Turi-ta chaki-manda dziriririririri-shi aysa-sha ri-ra. brother-acc foot-from dziriririririri-ev pull-cor go-past ‘Pulling her brother’s foot dziriririririri (i.e. dragging) she went’.

Dzir combines next with pitina ‘to cut’ to describe a sawing motion. This example comes from a fantastic legend about an iron tooth backed anaconda that would wait for boats to pass over it and then saw them in half. Dzir undergoes expressive reduplication to gesture the anaconda’s sawing motion. The other ideophone tas is comparable to a completive particle insofar as it communicates the definitive moment when the sawing is completed. (7) ‘To cut’ + frictional movement = ‘to saw’ Lancha-y-ga dziriririririririri tas piti-g a-ra. boat-loc-top cut-ag be-past ‘Into the boat dziriririririririri tas it would cut (i.e. saw apart).’

Dzir combines next with urmana ‘to fall to describe a falling that slides downward along a surface. It occurs in a version of the jaguar myth, describing the way a woman’s dribbling saliva alerted a group of bloodthirsty jaguar brothers to her presence. This woman had eaten a type of persimmon-like fruit, the apiyu, which causes excessive salivation. Although the jaguars’ mother attempted to protect the unfortunate woman by hiding her from her sons, her dribbling saliva gave her away. (8) ‘To fall’ + frictional movement = ‘to dribble, drool, or slide’ Yanga dziiiiiiir-shi urma-ra. just dziiiiiiir-ev fall-past ‘(The saliva) just fell (dribbling) dziiiiiiir.’


4. Ideophones functioning as verbal gestures The foregoing examples demonstrated that ideophones can contribute crucial semantic concepts to a verb or predication. In this section, by contrast, I supply examples of ideophones which seem to simply restate the meanings of their verbs. In the literature on ideophones, it is this relationship which often suggests to linguists that ideophones function as intensifiers of their verbs. A more daring explanation is offered by Kita (1997) who postulates a two-dimensional semantic framework consisting of an affecto-imagistic dimension for ideophonic meaning and an analytic dimension for non-ideophonic meaning. His argument draws from experimental evidence demonstrating an overwhelming correlation between ideophones and gesture (Kita 1993). Many of ideophones’ strange properties make sense if one considers them hybrid forms combining properties from what are traditionally circumscribed as verbal and gestural domains. In all of the following examples, the ideophone supplies a verbal gesture of the action denoted by a verb. I do not, however, intend to claim that the following ideophones are restricted to the verbs which match their meanings. All of the following ideophones can and do occur with anywhere from ten to thirty different verbs. The first example features dzir (cf. examples (6), (7), and (8) above) with the verb kakuna ‘to rub’ in a description of a kind of hunting magic. Dzir describes the way a type of leaf is rubbed repeatedly over a fishing hook before casting it out in the water to ensure a good catch. (9) ‘To rub’ + dzir Anzelo panga-ta anzelo kiru-wan dzir dzir dzir dzir kaku-ngi. hook leaf-acc hook tooth-inst rub-2 ‘You rub the fish hook leaf over the tooth of the hook (going) dzir dzir dzir dzir.’

The next example features the ideophone tyapi, which describes the moment of contact between two surfaces resulting in their adhesion. Although tyapi may once have been used exclusively to describe an actual physical adhesion of sticky surfaces, it is no longer so restricted. A strong attraction to another person is said to result in two people clinging together tyapi. This particular ideophone seems to have more non-ordinary contexts of use than any other. There are a number of horror stories involving severed limbs, decapitated heads, and so on, which can cling tyapi back onto their bodies. The verb most closely associated with tyapi is lyutarina ‘to stick to’. It occurs below in a sentence from the Star Woman myth. According to this myth a star takes the form of a human woman and goes for a time to live on the earth. The following sentence describes her return to the sky, despite all attempts by her human husband to keep her with him. Tsyun describes the sound of her whizzing upward into the sky. Pundzhang describes the streak of light she created


while moving. Finally, tyapi describes how she appeared to stick back into her place in the sky. (10) ‘To stick’ + tyapi pundzhaaa-ng; riku-lyayta-shi Tsyunnnnnn-shi ri-ra y Ts unnnnnn-ev go-past day-inst look-cir-ev chasna-y-ga tyapi-shi lyutari-gri-ra. like that-loc-top tyapi-ev stick-trslc-past ‘She went tsyunnnnnn, brightlyyy; and as he watched, she went and stuck back onto the sky tyapi.’

The next example features the ideophone ling which describes any act of insertion into an enclosed space and also, into a malleable medium such as earth or wood, and even water or fire. One puts a stick ling into a hole to probe its depth, a manioc cutting ling into the ground to propagate a new plant, or a plantain ling into a fire to roast it. The following example, taken from a myth, features ling with the verb satina ‘to insert’. It describes a magical procedure involving the insertion of peppers into a decaying tree stump, in preparation for burning them. (11) To insert + ling Chi washa-ga ling ling ling ling ling ling sati-sha-ga nina-ta that back-top insert-cor-top fire-acc hapi-chi-nau-ra. catch-caus-3pl-past ‘After that, inserting (the peppers) ling ling ling ling ling ling they lit the fire’.

5.

Ideophones functioning aspectually

In this section I consider one ideophone tak which is undergoing changes characteristic of a grammaticalizing form. This ideophone is undergoing semantic reanalyses which are having grammatical consequences for its meanings and usage. If we consider the concept of a cline as used by Hopper and Traugott (1993), who characterize it as a continuum along which grammaticalizing forms develop, then tak is still closer to the lexical or content end, than the grammatical or function end. However, if we consider grammaticalization as a process of increasing generalization of semantic content with concomitant reanalysis of a form’s meaning and function, then we will be justified in claiming that the ideophone tak shows evidence of undergoing such a process. Nevertheless, this ideophone does not, as yet, display evidence for increasing boundedness, which is also essential for a grammaticalizing form, according to Hopper and Traugott (1993). Tak is not an affix, and it may never fuse with its verbs. It may be the case, therefore, that this


ideophone is in an arrested state of development along its path, possibly permanently. At present, however, some of its meanings are becoming generalized in ways that are congenial with non-durative aspectual functions. The ultimate outcome of these changes is impossible to determine at present, due to the complexity of this ideophone’s semantics. Because tak encompasses both extremely concrete, sensorily based meanings along with relatively abstract ones it is creating some grammatical indeterminacy within the aspectual subsystem. Aspect encodes temporal concepts such as momentaneousness, completiveness, and durativity. It is often difficult, however, to isolate the temporal dimensions of an action’s unfolding from the spatial and perceptual features of its greater semantic landscape. The sentence ‘He walked around the block’ is aspectually perfective because the phrase ‘around the block’ gives the action a definite spatial and therefore temporal closure. The encoding of aspect expression is linked to spatial, perceptual experience. Ideophones assist in the expression of aspect because they encode ideas of perceptually salient experiences such as moving from one space to another, falling through the air, experiencing a sudden impact, or altering the physical shape of some object. To further clarify the complex relations between ideophones and aspect categories, it is also necessary to consider that aspect is realized throughout different levels of linguistic structure. Chung and Timberlake (1985: 214) state that aspect can be analyzed throughout the following four levels: 1) the lexical semantics of a verb root or stem; 2) the verb in relation to its arguments, i.e., the predicate level; 3) the predicate in relation to a selected interval of time, i.e., the propositional level; and 4) in the relations between sets of propositions, i.e., the narrative level. The verb ‘chew’ for example, is lexically durative because it denotes an action that is repetitive. In combination with ‘up’, however, it becomes a completive predicate, because it denotes an action with closure by its suggestion that something was chewed to its utmost capacity. In an utterance this completive verb/particle combination can occur with an auxiliary verb and progressive suffix to yield a construction that is durative at the propositional level: ‘My dog was chewing up shoes all day long’. Each level of aspect expression, then, is potentially independent of any other. The particles and prepositions in constructions such as ‘eat up’, ‘sit down’, ‘jump over’, ‘run out’ and ‘walk in’ affect a verb’s lexical aspect with perfectivity. Yet, these constructions can be further modified morpho-syntactically with progressive suffixation and periphrasis to indicate the ongoingness of their verbs’ actions. One linguistic level’s aspect distinction may, then, be counterpoised by another more encompassing level of structure. In English, particles and prepositions provide tools for this juxtapositional process. In Pastaza Quechua many ideophonic adverbs provide aspectual tools that function in an analogous way with English particles, adverbs, and prepositions. The variations in the meaning of one ideophone in particular, tak, show how an extremely


concrete, sensorily grounded meaning can undergo reanalyzes and reinterpretations for grammatical purposes. Tak is one of Pastaza Quechua’s most widely used ideophones, occurring with at least sixty-five different verbs. At its most concrete and sensorily grounded, tak imitates an idea of the sound of contact between two firm surfaces, one of which, typically, is manipulated by a force higher in agency than the other. Such brief, nonreverberative sounds seem intuitively well suited for representation by a monosyllable ending in a stop consonant. The idea of contact is the most general meaning or Gesamtbedeutung (Jakobson 1984: 62) uniting the many apparently diverse uses of this ideophone. Beginning with the simple idea of contact, we can build a semantic network of linked concepts, some of which are extremely concrete and sensorily grounded, others of which are more abstract and grammatically salient. My discussion of this ideophone will be divided into two main sections. The first part will consider examples of tak where the momentaneousness of contact, whether concretely involving surfaces that touch each other, or metaphorically implied, are all infused with the grammatical idea of punctuality. In the second part, I discuss examples where the one dimensional idea of a point of contact, or a moment of contact, becomes extended into three dimensions to suggest contact throughout a contained space, i.e., an idea of filling, with secondarily associated ideas of pressure and pain, all of which imply the aspectually grammatical idea of completiveness. 5.1 The punctual meanings of tak The punctual uses of tak will be discussed in an order which reflects their ability to become more and more abstracted from the concrete notion of two surfaces coming together in a way that is acoustically evident, in a definite place or at a definite moment of physical contact. The following are just a few of the uses of tak at its most concrete: to describe the way a gourd growing on a vine can be tapped tak, to test for ripeness; to describe the way a pot filled with water can be placed tak into the center of logs pushed together to make a fire; to describe the way a stalk of sugar cane is cut down by hitting it tak with a machete. In all of these examples, the contact described by tak is auditorily salient. This is true as well of the example in Quechua that follows. It is taken from a conversation I had with a young boy who explained to me the workings of a magnet by demonstrating the way it caused an object to cling to its surface tak, when the magnet itself was held above the object. By making explicit the exact moment when the object makes contact, the ideophone tak foregrounds the punctual aspect of its verb.


(12) Tak as the sound of contact Tak taka-kpi hawa-manda lyutari-n. touch-swrf high-from stick-3 ‘When it is touched tak from above, it clings.’

Not all uses of punctual tak are about auditorily evident contact. One verb it occurs with quite frequently is hapina ‘to take, catch or grab’. The example that follows, from a personal experience narrative, describes the grabbing of a machete as a woman leaves her hut to go to her agricultural field. (13) Tak as soundless contact Sawli-ta tak hapi-sha ri-ra-ni. machete-acc grab-cor go-past-1 ‘Grabbing my machete tak I went off.’

Punctual tak can also describe a positioning within a definite point in a spatial field, even though no actual contact with another surface has been made. In such instances the idea of contact described by punctual tak is metaphorically extended to describe a situation where some object or entity behaved as if it had made contact with a surface. The example that follows, from a personal experience narrative, describes an encounter with a poisonous snake. This sentence describes the snake’s successive coiling of its body with repetitions of the ideophone dziri, and the final placing of its tail tak at a point in mid-air, in preparation for striking. Both of these ideophones are syntactically isolated insofar as neither of them has a finite verb in the sentence’s surface representation.2 (14) Tak as contactless contact tak dziriri dziriri dziriri dziriri Na kay- bi- ga dziriri chupa-ta hawa-y. new here- loc- top tail-acc above-loc ‘Then here (it coiled itself) dziriri dziriri dziriri dziriri and (placed) its tail tak above.’

5.2 The completive meanings of tak In many of its uses tak’s one dimensional idea of a point of contact, or a moment of contact, becomes extended or expanded into three dimensions to suggest an all encompassing contact, such as an experience of being completely surrounded, impeded, or contained. A boa constrictor wraps itself tak around a tapir. In a popular folk tale a jaguar is tricked by a rabbit into trying to pass through an opening too small for its body and is stuck there tak, unable to get through. From


the notion of three-dimensional contact that completely surrounds, impedes, or contains, it is not a difficult leap to an idea of filling, again, using bodily experience as the primary model. Many kinds of physical experiences described with completive tak are based on a subjective experience of something from inside the body expanding and pushing outward. During the late stages of pregnancy, a friend told me, the growing fetus rose up tak inside her. It is this idea of filling, which, by implying that a spatially bounded limit has been reached, implies the aspectually grammatical idea of completiveness as well. This idea of filling, furthermore, lends itself to the expression of more concrete and sensorily grounded ideas such as pressure, swelling, and even pain. A man reported that the lymph nodes in his groin ‘sat up’ (i.e., were swollen) tak after walking an extremely long distance. The examples that follow, then, will illustrate not only the productivity of tak ‘s three dimensional senses, but also the unifying power of the grammatical notion of completiveness which underlies its varieties of three dimensional contact. The first example of three dimensional tak is drawn from a folk tale concerning an affair between a hawk and a human woman which takes place in the woman’s dreams. The hawk appears in these dreams as an attractive man wearing a feathered headdress that is tied around his head tak. In this extract tak’s idea of three dimensional contact describes how the headdress spans the complete circumference of the man’s head. (15) Tak as contact that surrounds Chi-ga musku-ra-shi musku-ybi-ga ima alyi runa that-top dream-past-ev dream-loc-top what good man tawasamba-ta tak watari-shka runa. headdress-acc tie-perf man ‘Then, she dreamed and in her dream (appeared) such a good looking man with a headdress tied tak (around his head)’.

When three dimensional tak describes contact that surrounds the complete circumference of an object or entity, it may also suggest ideas of constraint and enforced immobility. In such contexts, the idea of completiveness, which is already suggested by the notion of a complete surrounding, is reinforced by the complete immobility of what is surrounded. The following example illustrating this sense of tak is taken from a conversation between myself and a friend who was warning me about the dangers of traveling through the forest. My friend expressed concern about the possibility being captured by an Achuar. She asked what I’d do if I were hugged tak, i.e., immobilized by someone. (16) Tak as contact that surrounds and impedes Tak kipiri-kpi-ga? hug-swrf-top ‘And what if he hugged you tak ?’


Three dimensional tak has so far been used to communicate ideas which can be linked to to a single point of contact between two objects or entities. These include an idea of contact that surrounds and an idea of contact that impedes. Another set of three dimensional meanings related to the foregoing, concern ideas of filling a defined space as completely as possible. The following example illustrating one idea of filling describes a procedure for propagating grubs by filling up a large clay jar with peelings from the fruit of a palm tree. (17) Tak as filling up Chunda kara-ta tak hundachi-u-ga, chasna chura-nawn chunda peeling-acc fill-dur-top like that put-3pl ‘Filling the chunda peelings tak, they put them like that.’

When the idea of filling up communicated by three dimensional tak is experienced within a body, it is expressed as an idea of swelling. Swelling implies completiveness because a given bodily space is filled so completely that it goes beyond its own limits. In the following example the swelling is described as taking place in a person’s lymph nodes within his groin after walking an extremely long distance. (18) Tak as swelling Ishkandi changa-ma papa muyu tak tiyari-wa-shka-ra, both leg-dat large seed sit-1acc-perf-past pungi-wa-shka-ra. swell-1acc-perf-past ‘In both of my legs the lymph nodes sat up in me tak, they swelled up in me.’

Tak’s idea of swelling often overlaps with ideas of pain and painful pressure as well. When it communicates an idea of pain or pressure tak recalls its original, simplest meaning, that of a point of contact. Pain or painful pressure can be conceived as an extreme form of contact, because the painful area feels as if it is being touched excessively, which is why touching is precisely what is avoided. Tak’s grammatical completiveness, in such usages, is implied by the intensity of its meaning. The last example, from a personal experience narrative, illustrates the use of tak as uncomfortable pressure and pain. A man who was about to die was reported to have complained of pain all over his chest, after he returned home from a lengthy hunting trek, soaked with rain and feverish. (19) Tak as uncomfortable pressure, pain Chi-ga pichu-ga thaaak-shi nana-shka pay-ta. that-top chest-top thaaak-ev hurt-perf he-acc ‘And so his chest, apparently, it hurt him thaaak.’


6. Conclusion I have outlined four semantic functions for adverbial ideophones within Pastaza Quechua. Further study would likely reveal more. It is important to emphasize the point that none of these functions can be restricted to or identified with particular ideophones, as there is great potential for interlocking and overlapping, even within a single usage. While tak affects its predicate with non-durative aspect, it may also be gesturing verbally, the meaning of its finite verb, as it does in example (12) with the verb takana ‘to touch’, where it describes a magnet. A related observation is that even though a number of ideophones can be identified semantically with a particular verb, and compared to a gesture of that verb, most of these are not restricted to their semantically related verb. In other words, the “tight collocational restrictions” observed for ideophones and verbs in Africa (Childs 1994: 188) do not apply in Pastaza Quechua. Detailed comparative data on ideophones from Amazonian languages is crucial for determining whether the lack of collocational restrictions is typical for Native South American ideophone usage or simply an aberration.

Abbreviations acc ag adv caus cir cor dat dur

accusative agentive adverbializer causative circumventive coreference dative durative

ev inst neg nom perf pl swrf top

evidential instrumental negation nominalizer perfective plural switch reference topicalizer

Notes 1. It is quite possible, however, that Highland dialects of Quechua were once replete with ideophones with all of the typologically typical characteristics. The most likely explanation for their present moribund status would be sought in the complex sociolinguistic situation resulting from intensive and repressive colonization by Spanish speakers for whom ideophones were an unfamiliar form of expression. 2. All of my examples feature some kind of intonational foregrounding that coincides with the ideophone. Because it was so marked in this particular example, I have attempted to give an impression of the foregrounding which accompanied this utterance.


References Bolinger, D. 1985. “The inherent iconism of intonation”. In J. Haiman (ed.), Natural Syntax: Iconicity and erosion, 97–108. Cambridge: CUP. Catta Q., J. 1994. Gramatica del Quichua Ecuatoriano. Quito: Abya-Yala. Cerron-Palomino, R. 1987. Linguistica Quechua. Cuzco, Peru: Bartolome de Las Casas. Childs, G. Tucker. 1994. “African ideophones”. In Leanne Hinton et al. 1994: 178–204. Chung, S. and A. Timberlake. 1985. “Tense, aspect and mood”. In T. Shopen (ed.), Language Typology and Syntactic Description . Vol. 3: Grammatical categories and the lexicon, 202–258. Cambridge: CUP. Derbyshire, D. C. and G. Pullum (eds). 1986. Handbook of Amazonian Languages, Vol. 1. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Hinton, L., J. Nichols and J. J. Ohala (eds.) 1994. Sound Symbolism. Cambridge: CUP. Hopper, P. J. and E. C. Traugott. 1993. Grammaticalization. Cambridge:CUP. Jakobson, R. 1984. “Contributions to the general theory of Russian case: General meanings of the Russian cases”. In L. R. Waugh and M. Halle (eds.), Russian and Slavic Grammar Studies 1931–1981, 59–103. Berlin: Mouton. Jara, F. and M. Ruth. 1982. Taruca; La Venada. Quito: Consejo Provincial de Pichincha. Koehn, E. and S. Koehn. 1986. “Apalai”. In D. C. Derbyshire and G. Pullum (eds), 1986: 33–127. Kita, S. 1993. Language and Thought Interface: A study of spontaneous gestures and Japanese mimetics. PhD. thesis, Univiversity of Chicago. Kita, S. 1997. “Two dimensional semantic analysis of Japanese mimetics”. Linguistics 35: 379–415. McGregor, W. This volume. “Ideophones as the source of verbs in Northern Australian languages”. Nuckolls, J. B. 1996. Sounds Like Life: Sound-symbolic grammar, performance, and cognition in Pastaza Quechua. Oxford: OUP. Parker, G. 1969. “Comparative Quechua phonology and grammar IV: The evolution of Quechua A”. Honolulu: University of Hawaii. Working Papers in Linguistics 1 (9): 49–204. Popjes, J. and J. Popjes. 1986. “Canela-Kraho.” In D. C. Derbyshire and G. Pullum 1986: 128–199. Ross, E. 1979. Introduction to Ecuador Highland Quechua. Madison, WI: Foundation for InterAndean Development. Samarin, W. 1971. “Survey of Bantu ideophones”. African Language Studies 12: 130–68. Schachter, P. 1985. “Parts-of-speech systems”. In T. Shopen (ed.), Language Typology and Syntactic Description . Vol. 1 Clause Structure, 3–61. Cambridge: CUP. Schultze-Berndt, E. This volume. “Traces of ideophones in complex predicates of Northern Australia”. Weber, D. 1989. A Grammar of Huallaga (Huanuco) Quechua. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Le statut des idéophones en Gbaya Paulette Roulon-Doko LLACAN du CNRS (UMR 7495) Paris

1.

Introduction

L’utilisation du terme d’idéophone1 a pris une importance grandissante tout particulièrement dans la description des langues africaines sans pour autant acquérir une définition qui fasse l’unanimité. L’importance des idéophones en gbaya a déjà été soulignée dans plusieurs études (Samarin 1965, 1970, 1991; Noss 1975, 1985; Roulon 1983). L’étude présente concerne plus précisément le dialecte ’bodoe2 parlé au sud-ouest de Bouar, dans la commune rurale de Bingué, en République Centrafricaine. Les idéophones constituent en gbaya une catégorie grammaticale que j’appelle adverbe-adjectif (Aa). Loin d’être marginaux dans le lexique,3 ces adverbes-adjectifs représentent plus du tiers du lexique, dont une moitié est constituée de noms et où les verbes ne représentent qu’un sixième. Les autres catégories noms qualificatifs, adjectifs verbaux, adjectifs qualificatifs et adverbes ne représentent, tous ensemble, que 3,2% du lexique. N (noms) Nq+Q (qualificatifs) V (verbes) Av Adjectifs verbaux) Aa (Adverbes-adjectifs) Adv (adverbes)

2751 0035 680 0055 1940 0086

49,6% 000,6% 12,3% 001% 35% 001,5%

Total

5547

100%

Figure 1.La structuration du lexique

Ces adverbes-adjectifs ont une fréquence moyenne de 8% dans le lexique et ne sont absents d’aucun type de discours comme l’indique le tableau ci-dessous :

288 Paulette Roulon-Doko

Tableau 1.Fréquence des adverbes-adjectifs en discours Type de discours

Nbr total de phrases

Phrases incluant des Aa

%

Conte A Conte B Discours Texte technique

114 106 277 10

15 7 14 4

13,2 6,6 5,1 40,

Total

507

40

7,9

Partout ils expriment la qualité ou la manière et sont, de ce fait, en plus grand nombre dans tout texte technique descriptif. Comme tout élément non verbal ils ne supportent pas la négation qui, en gbaya, est une modalité verbale. Cependant ils peuvent se trouver dans une phrase négative, ainsi : (1) yák-t7´-t`µf wèn tà'à-tà'à ná imp+obligatif nÈgatif+dire parole en tous sens pas ‘Il ne faut pas parler en sautant du coq à l’âne.’ (2) kà ‘´f '`fl-'`fl ná, kéí sub+alors inac+se-tenir mou au toucher pas alors+il(di) wéí h´fà ná yè inac+être cuit encore pas certes ‘Si ce n’est pas mou quand il le touche, alors il n’est pas encore cuit.’

2.

Analyse formelle

Afin de cerner au plus près les éléments qui peuvent être retenus pour caractériser les idéophones en gbaya, j’ai comparé le corpus des adverbes-adjectifs4 au corpus de base5 ayant servi à établir la phonologie du gbaya, en utilisant les pourcentages et non les chiffres absolus.

Les structures syllabiques L’importance relative des structures à syllabes ouvertes par rapport aux structures à syllabes fermées qui est respectivement de trois-quarts à un quart dans le lexique de base s’établit à moitié-moitié pour les seuls adverbes-adjectifs. Toutes les structures syllabiques attestées dans le lexique de base se retrouvent pour les seuls adverbes-adjectifs à l’exception de la structure CV, elle, totalement absente.

Le statut des idéophones en gbaya 289

Aux dix-sept structures syllabiques attestées dans le lexique de base s’ajoutent six structures (soulignées dans le tableau ci-dessous) qui ne sont attestées que pour les seuls adverbes-adjectifs (Tableau 2). Ces nouvelles structures sont représentées par quatorze CVVV, trois CVCVVC et deux CVVCVCVV, les trois autres n’étant attestées chacune qu’une seule fois. Elles ne représentent en tout que 1,24% du total des Aa. Tableau 2.Les structures syllabiques du gbaya nombre de syllabes

1

2

3

4

5

CV

CVCV

CVCVCV

CVCVCVCV

CVCVCVCVV

CVV

CVCVV

CVCVCVV

CVCVVCVV

CVVCV

CVVCVCV

CVVCVCVV

CVVV

CVCVVCV

type ouvert

CVVCVV

CVC type fermé

CVCVC

CVCVCVC CVCVCVCVC

CVVC

CVVCVC

CVVCVCVC

CVCVVC

A cela s’ajoute des structures qui comportent une succession de deux consonnes, phénomène qui n’est pas attesté dans le lexique de base. La première portion du terme est CVC, CVCVC ou CVCVCVC. Sont attestées les structures suivantes qui représentent 7,45% du total des Aa : Tableau 3.Les structures à succession de consonnes 1er CVCCVCVCCVCVCVC-

CV CVC CVCV CVCVC CVV CVCVVC CVCVCVC 5

48 4

37

43

1

2 2

1

Total 136 [7,1%] 006 [0,3%] 001 [0,05%]

Le Tableau 4 permet de visualiser les grandes tendances des particularités structurelles des adverbes-adjectifs. Tandis que pour les structures à syllabes ouvertes de deux syllabes6 et pour les structures fermées monosyllabiques, leur importance se réduit de façon notable dans le corpus des Aa, de la moitié au quart pour les CVCV


et des trois-quarts à un tiers pour les CVC, et que les CVV se maintiennent à peu près (12,9% ~ 12,4%), les structures d’un plus grand nombre de syllabes7 y acquièrent une importance beaucoup plus grande, doublée pour les CVCVCV, les CVCVC, et les quadrisyllabes de structure ouverte à l’exception des CVCVCVCV dont l’importance est triplée, quadruplée pour les CVCVV et multipliée par quinze dans le cas des CVVC. Enfin ne sont attestées que pour les seuls adverbes-adjectifs des structures à cinq syllabes qui comportent une succession de deux consonnes, à l’exception des trois structures déjà présentées (Tableau 2). Du point de vue de la structuration syllabique, le corpus des Aa sans être hors système, développe de façon considérable des structures qui représentent, dans le corpus de base, moins du quart du total et y atteignent là presque les deux tiers.8 Quant aux structures à succession consonantique dont l’importance reste limitée9 elles innovent par rapport au corpus de base mais sont courantes dans les termes composés dont le premier élément est une structure fermée. L’ensemble des composés n’appartient pas au corpus de base mais représente cependant un tiers du lexique total. La structuration idéophonique des adverbes-adjectifs du gbaya consiste donc à utiliser le potentiel structurel existant en lui donnant un champ effectif de réalisation.

Les consonnes finales et intervocaliques Sans entrer dans une analyse trop détaillée, hors de propos dans cet article, je signalerai seulement les principales tendances qui se dégagent. Tableau 4.Fréquence comparée en % des consonnes finales 30 Gnl 25 Aa 20

15 10 5 0

p

t

s

k

m

n

g

l

r

Les consonnes finales p, t et s rares dans le lexique de base ( >

45 85 29 001

CVCVC CVVC

264 94

> >

154 008

Le redoublement expressif Il existe par ailleurs un redoublement expressif des structures simples qui marque soit l’existence d’un mouvement, soit qu’il s’agit d’une pluralité d’éléments : –

k`fr`f] ‘long et horizontal’ (5) tè m´f ‘µ7` yá k`fr`f] k`fr`f] bois le ceci inac+rester long et horizontal long et horizontal ‘Ces bois sont longs et à plat’ (6) ‘àµ bàá tè k`fr`f] k`fr`f] il acc+prendre+d bois long et horizontal long et horizontal ‘Il porte un long bois qui touche le sol par moments’

Dans le cas des adverbes-adjectifs structurellement redoublés, ils peuvent être triplé pour, de la même façon, insister sur l’expression du mouvement, ou la pluralité d’éléments : –

póp-póp ‘large et épais’ (7) gbàkµúµí bù\à póp póp póp t`77` gú nù tourterelle acc+voler+d large et épais ×3 acc+venir+d i.acc+se poser à terre ‘La tourterelle à collier vole les ailes bien raides et va se poser par terre.’

–

1ík´f-1ík´f ‘le bec cloué’ (8) ‘7´7´ yá 1ík´f 1ík´f 1ík´f nous inac+rester le bec cloué ‘Nous restons là sans savoir quoi dire’


Enfin il existe un triplement avec un raccourcissement du deuxième élément à CV, le tout portant un schème tonal HBH, qui permet d’exprimer à la fois la quantité, le mouvement et une forte fréquence : –

l´fk ‘forme une goutte’ (9) kórò ‘áí l´fk l`f l´fk pluie inac+tomber en pluie forme une goutte × 3 ‘La pluie tombe à grosses gouttes rapprochées’ sìµµì ‘douleur ponctuelle en tête d’épingle’ (10) súmùí \`f]ám sµí µí sìµ sµí µí fourou acc+manger+d+moi douleur sp.×3 ‘Les fourous m’ont piqué de partout’ pòkòm ‘qui fait une cloque souple’ (11) mààdµà sí wán n`7n´7 sín´7 venin inac+retourner donc instrumental en retournant pókó pò pókó qui fait une cloque souple ×3 ‘Le venin se disperse en produisant beaucoup de cloques souples.’

A l’inverse, il peut arriver qu’un adverbe-adjectif de structure redoublée soit employé sous forme simple, cet usage insiste sur l’unicité de l’élément ainsi caractérisé. –

v`fkàì-v`fkàì ‘en s’emmêlant les pieds10’ (12) bêm ‘µì sà bé k`frá v`fkàì. enfant acc+écraser avec le pied petit poulet en s’emmêlant les pieds ‘L’enfant a écrasé le poussin en faisant un faux pas.’ ]`7ì-]`7ì ‘fissuré, faire des lignes’ (13) ngê] g`fná ]`7ì. mur acc+couper+d fissuré ‘Le mur a une fissure.’

Le jeu de la réduplication expressive au sein du corpus des adverbes-adjectifs souligne qu’ils sont un domaine privilégié de l’expression des choix sémantiques du locuteur.

La structure tonale Les adverbes-adjectifs portent un schème tonal lexical soit haut, soit bas et l’on peut trouver des paires telles : '´ft´f-'´ft´f ‘étroit’ '7´ t-'7´ t ‘entièrement’

'`ft`f-'`ft`f ‘à tâtons’ '7´ t-'7´ t ‘en frissonnant’


La répartition des schèmes tonals dans le lexique de base, dont sont exclus les verbes qui n’ont pas de schème tonal lexical propre, manifeste une importance deux fois plus grande du schème bas (47%) par rapport au schème haut (24,5%), le quart restant rassemblant les schèmes modulés — HB, BH, BHB et HBH. Pour les adverbes-adjectifs, les schèmes modulés disparaissent presque complètement (1,2%) au profit du schème bas qui voit son importance croître (73,2%) tandis que le schème haut, lui, se maintient (25,6%). Cependant il existe, se substituant au schème tonal lexical, un usage motivé des schèmes tonals haut et bas que j’ai déjà présenté (Roulon 1983: 383–385) et dont je ne rappellerai que brièvement les effets de sens. Schème haut

Schème bas

petite taille vu de loin nuance, tendance degré extrême

bonne taille près du locuteur qualité

–

'´7t´7-'´7t´7 ‘avec un bruit régulier’ (14) kórò ‘áí '´7t´7-'´7t´7. pluie inac+tomber en pluie avec un bruit régulier ‘La pluie tombe, ça fait un bruit régulier.’ [faible et lointain] (15) 1¦fr d`fk ‘áí '`7t`7-'`7t`7. excrément+d chenille inac+tomber en pluie avec un bruit régulier ‘Les excréments des chenilles tombent avec un bruit régulier.’ [de près]

Dans ces conditions il est dans bien des cas difficile de déterminer, à partir des seuls exemples trouvés dans le discours, la nature du schème tonal lexical. La seule façon sûre de déterminer le schème tonal lexical de base d’un adverbe-adjectif est de voir quel est son comportement en position épithète. En effet l’adverbe-adjectif à schème tonal lexical bas est alors soumis à un relèvement tonal, tandis que celui à schème haut demeure inchangé. -

mb`fr-mb`fr ‘uniformément mou’ (16) mb`fr-mbf´r tè uniformément mou+Rt bois ‘Un bois tendre’ (17) ‘èì \´f] bé n´f7´, ká ‘´f mb´fr-mb´fr. sub+on inac+manger petit oiseau alors inac+se tenir tout mou ‘Quand on mange un petit oiseau, c’est tout mou’ [petite taille] (18) gb`7-g`fr`f ngáí ná, ‘àµ ‘´f mb`fr-mb`fr arbre sp. inac+être dur pas il inac+se tenir tout mou ‘Cet arbre n’est pas dur, il est tout mou’ [bonne taille]

Enfin, tout adverbe-adjectif mis en tête d’énoncé ou après une pause marquée


supporte le plus souvent un schème HHB quelque soit son schème tonal lexical : -

kàràk ‘qui tombe d’un bloc’ (19) ‘àµ kúr k´fí, kárâk yór il inac+se lever pour+lui qui tombe d’un bloc inac+se tenir de bout mb´f1´f-nù m`7 sol là ‘Il se lève, et comme une masse tombe à terre.’

-

púrúm ‘façon de voler des petits oiseaux’ (20) ká púrûm, kµáàµ bù\á alors façon de voler des petits oiseaux alors+il acc+voler ‘Alors en battant des ailes, il s’envole’ (le petit oiseau)

Enfin les adverbes-adjectifs qui expriment un bruit peuvent être dits avec le schème BH, entre deux pauses légères : -

kìlìm ‘bruit du pilon dans le mortier’ (21) kóò tó gèì kìlím, kìlím femme inac+piler argile bruit sp. bruit sp. ‘La femme pile de l’argile, ça cogne, ça cogne.’

Le schème tonal effectif est donc, le plus souvent motivé, prenant en compte des choix sémantiques qui se surajoutent au schème lexical propre de chaque adverbeadjectif.

3.

Analyse syntaxique

Je rappellerai brièvement les constructions qu’admettent les adverbes-adjectifs.

Postposé au groupe verbal (22) ná]áà hµàáµ '`fm-'`fm. jambes+d+lui acc+enfler+d enflure sur qqch de court ‘Ses jambes sont en partie enflées.’ (23) bé zµí yé k`f g´7rám kàràk. petit mouche inac+entrer dans+d bouche+d+moi d’un bloc ‘La petite mouche a foncé d’un bloc dans ma gorge.’

Postposé au verbe ‘´f ‘se tenir’ (24) t´7 gbàbéí ?´f '`fm-'`fm. corps+d personne forte inac+se tenir enflure sur qqch de court ‘Les personnes fortes sont gonflées (chair molle et ramassée).’


(25) wáyá '`fìndò] ‘´f 'òlò]. fruit+d plante sp. inac+se tenir pointu ‘Le fruit de Mondia whitei est pointu.’

Préposé à un nom [épithète] L’adverbe-adjectif est soumis à un relèvement tonal (rt) qui n’est perceptible que pour ceux à schème tonal lexical bas. (26) '`fm-'´fm t`7m´7 ! enflure sur qqch de court+rt corps+d toi ‘Corps gonflé et ramassé !’ [insulte]

['`fm-'f` m]

(27) kpír-kpír gè1à m´f ‘`µ7 dí ná. très amer+rt manioc le celui-ci inac+plaire pas ‘Ce manioc très amer n’est pas bon.’

[kpír-kpír]

(28) ‘ám k`µfµf` p`7t´7r´7 nù gán kàyà. je acc+aimer+d plat+rt terre i.acc+dépasser montagne ‘J’aime mieux la plaine que la montagne.’

[p`7t`7r`7]

Emploi nominalisé Comme les qualificatifs et les adjectifs verbaux, les adverbes-adjectifs peuvent supporter l’élément -à et s’employer alors sous cette forme nominalisée, soit comme n’importe quel nom, soit précédé du fonctionnel n`7 ‘en tant que’. (29) bérà wáí n`7 'òlò]-'òló]à. calebasse sp. Inac+fructifier en tant que la pointue ‘La calebasse Lagenaria vulgaris donne des fruits pointus.’

Emploi de prédicat (30) kàà zeˇr sà1ì h`µ7 bìít. rÈpÈtitif-additif oreille+d animal ce en morceau court ‘Les oreilles du gibier font un tas de petits morceaux courts’ (31) ‘àµ ?é ndàyáà nù ná kèyà]-kèyà] nén´7. il inac+poser fesses+d+lui à terre pas en tous sens en allant ‘Il ne reste pas assis, il n’en finit pas de se déplacer.’

4. Analyse sémantique Comme le fait apparaître certains des emplois syntaxiques des adverbes-adjectifs, ils ont un sens précis. Dans tous les cas ils permettent de caractériser un élément ou


une situation et correspondent au champ sémantique qu’expriment généralement les adjectifs et les adverbes. Or, en gbaya, les qualificatifs simples sont peu nombreux. Ce sont d’une part les adjectifs verbaux qui expriment la qualité comme le résultat du procès exprimé par le verbe et d’autre part les adjectifs qualificatifs (Q) qui, très peu nombreux, expriment certains états qui ne peuvent jamais résulter d’un procès, tels ‘neuf ’, ‘cru’, ‘nature’, etc. L’adjectif verbal et l’adjectif qualificatif sont conceptuellement complémentaires, le second prenant en compte l’expression d’états premiers, en nombre d’ailleurs réduit, conçus comme “primitifs”, alors que le premier exprime des états qui sont conçus comme résultant d’un procès. Ce sont donc les adverbes-adjectifs qui, lorsqu’on veut exprimer un état simplement constaté, offrent le plus de possibilités pour manifester un grand éventail de nuances. L’originalité des adverbes-adjectifs est qu’ils fonctionnent, en conservant le même sens, comme adverbes permettant de nuancer la qualité du procès exprimé par le verbe. Le Tableau 6 donne un exemple ponctuel de la finesse des distinctions manifestées par les adverbes-adejctifs, ici pour l’expression du ‘mou’. Tableau 6.L’expression du ‘mou’

'`fl-'`fl mb´fr-mb´fr y`fk`f-y`fk`f y`fk`ft`f tùµ t`µ7 µ7` 'ùlà`7

contact tactile

contact gustatif

mou sans ressort

spécifique des pâtes

‘mou’ ‘uniformément mou’ ‘ramolli’ ‘humidifié’ ‘ramolli par cuisson’ ‘blanc-souple’

mb`flà`7-mb`flà`7 tùlàì-tùlàì 'ùtùkùyù h`fw`77` y`fl`fp-y`fl`fp

‘en masse molle’ ‘ramolli’ [boule ‘ramolli’ [pâte oléagineuse] ‘trop ramolli’ ‘coule d’un trait’

spécifique des viandes et tubercules mou avec ressort fùkàm gb`ff`l

‘élastique’ ‘flasque’ pâteux

hè1è-hè1è b`7t`7-b`7t`7 dèkpè-dèkpè h`flàli

‘en pâte’ ‘en pâte liquide’ ‘en masse boueuse’ ‘mou comme de la merde’

ùd`µ7 -mùd`µ7 mù1`7k`7 y`fr-y`fr ‘´7tu-‘´7tu fùfùp ; fùp-fùp

‘tendre’ ‘fondant’ ‘délitescent’ ‘trop mou’ ‘spongieux’

spécifique des feuilles-légumes mb`fr-g`f1`f h`fr-g`f1`f r´7k´7-r´7k´7

‘onctueux’ ‘très onctueux’ ‘trop onctueux’

L’investigation concernant des règles régulières quant à l’expression de certaines tendances comme je l’ai présenté à propos des schèmes tonals est ici très difficile.


Tout au plus je peux signaler, pour exemple, quelques séries intéressantes bien qu’elles ne puissent être, en l’état actuel de mon travail systématisables.

Variation de structures '`fmb`ft '`fm-'`fr`fm '`fm-'`fm zó1óm < zó1ó-zó1ó < zó1ó1ó z´7k´7-z´7k´7 < z´7k´7k´7

‘enflure totale’ ‘enflure longue’ ‘enflure sur qqch de court’ ‘acide’ [degré dans l’acidité] ‘amer’ [degré dans l’amertume]

Variation de voyelles –

kpV]-kVlV] kpè]-kèlè] kpù]-kùlè]

‘gros et lourd’ ‘très gros, énorme’

Le passage du e au u semblerait marquer ici une taille plus grande. –

kV]-kVtV] kè]-kètè] ‘recourbé’ k`7]-k`7t`7]

‘en forme de hameçon’

kà]-kàtà]

‘décroché’

kò]-kòtò] kù]kùtù]

‘forme en crochet qui saille’ ‘célibataire’ (homme ou femme)

[position accidentelle] ex. ongle soulevé sous un choc [caractérisation de la forme définitive] [distance plus grande que le 1er, 6ème doigt] [état temporaire] individu décroché de son état habituel

Dans un tel exemple, la modulation sémantique liée à la présence d’une voyelle plutôt que d’une autre est déjà beaucoup plus complexe et, de ce fait, plus difficile à cerner.

5.

En conclusion

Le domaine des idéophones que manifeste le corpus des adverbes-adjectifs en gbaya a, dans cette langue, une présence bien attestée dans l’ensemble du lexique, une structure formelle stable qui s’inscrit dans les normes phonologiques, un comportement syntaxique régulier qui permet l’expression des nuances dans la caractérisation sémantique d’un objet ou d’un procès.


La valeur sémantique qui a pu être attribuée à certaines réduplications et à certains schèmes tonals font de ces adverbes-adjectifs un domaine où se manifeste une transparence exprimant que certains choix sémantiques sont clairement perçus par le locuteur. Même si l’état actuel de l’analyse ne permet pas d’étayer aussi clairement des hypothèses à propos des voyelles ou des consonnes, ce corpus est assurément un domaine motivé de façon importante.

Annexe Fabrication du fusil jouet (1) ‘ó bêm sá màá m´7-n`7 les enfant inac+appeler les uns les autres i.virtuel+aller 'á'árí fálá-t`f1`f ‘în wéí-gb´f\´f m´7-d`7 i.acc+tordre arbre sp avec arbuste sp i.virtuel+faire n`7 ngòmbè instrumental jeu d’enfant ‘Les enfants s’appellent les uns les autres pour aller tordre du bois de Stereospermum kunthianum et de Steganotaenia araliacea afin d’en faire des fusils.’ (2) k`fwà h´f s`7n´7 m`7 ‘é, k´fwà sub+quand+ils inac+arriver dedans là-bas déjà alors+ils kìyà dí b´f\áà. acc+chercher+d bon rectiligne+d+cela ‘Quand ils sont arrivés là-bas, ils cherchent un bois bien droit.’ (3) wà 'ír zúà pµí nù, ils inac+couper sommet externe+d+cela i.acc+jeter à terre ‘èé wà \´7k ndàyáà. puis+d ils inac+couper en rond fond+d+cela ‘Ils coupent l’extrémité [qui tombe] à terre, puis ils rétrécissent le bas.’ (4) wà tír ‘á s`7n´7 ils inac+se rassembler i.acc+mettre dedans ‘Et ils s’y mettent tous dessus.’ (5) wà 'á'árí, wà dák kpòyò] ]. ils inac+tordre ils inac+tirer en se détachant ‘Puis ils le tordent et retirent [l’écorce] en la détachant.’ (6) 1àfà núà hµá \´7m màá. acc+arranger+d bout+d+cela pour que inac+convenir l’un l’autre ‘Et ils arrangent le bout pour bien l’égaliser.’ (7) wà d´7 wá\á gbérè, wà \í]. ils inac+faire feuille Aframomum sp ils inac+frotter en rond


‘Puis ils prennent des feuilles d’Aframomum latifolium et les écrasent à la main.’ (8) wà kµ7´ ngbàráà yíítòó, wà pµí mà ils inac+partager milieu+d+cela deux ils inac+jeter un certain hµá dúk núà m`7, ‘èé wà pour que inac+rester au bout+d+cela ce(loin) puis+d ils pµí hµá dúk péí 1ò] nà. inac+jeter pour que inac+rester vers(cpète) arrière ici ‘Puis ils les divisent en deux tas, ils mettent l’un au bout et l’autre pour qu’il reste derrière.’ (9) wà g´fn bé tè, wà 1áfí núà ils inac+couper petit bois ils inac+arranger bout+d+cela hµá ngbùùm. pour que bien plat ‘Puis ils coupent un petit bois et arrangent le bout pour qu’il soit bien plat.’ (10) wà yúr k´µfà, wà pµí ils inac+enfoncer intérieur(plein ou vide)+d+cela ils inac+jeter kpòl, z´µ7 wèéà h´f tùrùrù. qui fait un bruit de pétard fumée+d feu+d+cela inac+sortir en volutes ‘Puis ils l’enfoncent dedans, ils le lancent à l’intérieur ça éclate et il sort des volutes de fumée.’

Abréviations Nbr = Str = Aa = Nq = Q = H = B = V = C =

nombre structure adverbe-adjectif nom qualificatif adjectif qualificatif ton/schème haut ton/schème bas voyelle consonne

imp = inac = acc = i.acc = d = rt = di = sub = sp. =

Impératif Réel inaccompli Réel accompli Infinitif accompli morphotonème relationnel relèvement tonal discours indirect subordinatif species

Notes 1. Dont la première occurrence remonte à Doke, 1935. 2. Le gbáyá 'odòè est un dialecte du gbáyá kàrà, langue du groupe gbaya-manza-ngbaka, parlée à l’ouest de la République Centrafricaine et au centre-est du Cameroun. Il s’agit d’une langue dite


“oubanguienne”, correspondant au groupe 1 de la branche orientale de la sous-famille 6 “Adamawa oriental” de la famille Niger-Congo, dans la classification de Greenberg. 3. Il s’agit d’un lexique de 5821 termes. 4. Il y a 1909 adverbes-adjectifs dans mon corpus actuel. 5. Je réutilise ici les données chiffrés du corpus de base utilisé pour l’établissement de la phonologie (Monino et Roulon, 1972) qui représente 2022 termes simples. 6. Les monosyllabes à structure ouverte étant, eux, complètement absents. 7. Au delà du dissyllabe pour les structures ouvertes et du monosyllabe pour les structures fermées. 8. Soit respectivement de 22,6% à 58,2% pour les structures ouvertes et 24% à 57,4% pour les structures fermées. 9. 5% de structures ouvertes et 10% de structures fermées, soit 7,5% du total des structures. 10. Lorsqu’il ne s’agit pas de se déplacer mais de manger ce terme signifie ‘en mélangeant des choses à ne pas mélanger’.

Références Doke, C. M. 1935. Bantu Linguistic Terminology. London: Longmans Green. Dumestre, G. 1998. “Les idéophones : le cas du bambara”. In S. Platiel et R. Kaboré (eds), Les langues d’Afrique subsaharienne. Faits de langues 11 et 12, 321–333. Paris: Ophrys. Kaboré, R., 1993. Contribution à l’étude de l’idéophonie. Paris: Inalco [CEROI]. Monino, Y. and P. Roulon. 1972. Phonologie du Gbaya kara ’bodoe de Ndongué Bongowen (région de Bouar, R. C. A.), Paris : Bibliothèque de la SELAF, n°31. Noss, P. A. 1975. “The ideophone: A linguistic and literary device in Gbaya and Sango with reference to Zande.” In S. H. Hurreiz and H. Bell (eds), Directions in Sudanese Linguistics and Folklore, 142–152. Khartoum: Khartoum University Press. Noss, P. A. 1985. “The ideophone in Gbaya syntax”. In G. J.Dimmendaal (ed), Current Approaches in African Linguistics 3: 241–255. Roulon, P. 1983. “Spécificité de l’adverbe en Gbaya ’bodoe”. In J. Kaye, H. Koopman, D. Sportiche and A. Dugas (eds), Current Approaches to African Linguistics 2: 378–389. Roulon-Doko, P. 1994. “ L’expression de la qualification (l’exemple du gbaya ’bodoe de Centrafrique)”. In T. Geider and R. Kastenholz (eds), Sprachen und Sprachzeugnisse in Afrika, 345–356. Köln: Rüdiger köppe Verlag. Roulon-Doko, Paulette, 1996. “Saveurs et consistances : le goût gastronomique chez les Gbaya ’bodoe”. Journal des Africanistes 66–1: 37–80. Samarin, W. J. 1965. “Perspectives on African ideophones”. African Studies 24: 117–121. Samarin, W. J. 1970. “Inventory and choice in expressive language”. Word 26(2): 153–169. Samarin, W. J. 1991. “Intersubjective and intradialectal variation in Gbeya ideophones”. Journal of Linguistics Anthropology I(1): 52–62.

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Iconic morphology and word formation in Ilocano* Carl Rubino Australian National University

Preamble Speakers, linguists, and language students of Philippine-type languages are quick to learn that once they have reached the state where they have entered the ‘spirit’ of their target language, certain words, heard for the first time, are immediately accessible to them. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that certain sound sequences shared by Philippine speech communities are conventionalized in such a way that semantic associations are immediately apparent. Philippine languages undoubtedly have well defined language-specific, seemingly iconic patterns of word formation and thus offer ample evidence for us to further uphold the idea that the relation between the Saussurian signifier and the signified is significantly less arbitrary than originally assumed. This paper will introduce a language, Ilocano (Iloko), where sound symbolism is a pervasive feature of the lexicon, and even manifests itself in parts of the morphology. Ilocano is a Northern Philippine language of the Cordilleran language family spoken by about ten million people originally from Northwest Luzon Island, the largest island of the Philippine archipelago. Because the Ilocanos have been historically a very migratory people, the language is also spoken by large groups in certain enclaves of the Philippine archipelago, and even by large communities in the major urban centers of the United States.

1.

Ilocano sounds in the lexicon

This section will focus on a class of words with one thing in common: they all refer to sounds. They are true words in the language, and act as roots that may be thoroughly integrated into the highly productive derivational and inflectional

304 Carl Rubino

morphology of the language. Unlike sound words in many other languages, these words do not have any unusual phonological characteristics; they utilize the same phonemic system of non-sound symbolic words. Like prototypical ideophones, these words may be argued to have a phonological form that bears a resemblance to the sound they describe, but because of their full productivity as derivable roots, they do not resemble ideophones in the African sense (Samarin 1965; Childs 1989, 1994). As roots, they may take verbalizing affixes to denote various actions associated with the sound they designate. In this section, I will illustrate the noise words as roots only, categorized by sound class and phonetic structure, and then offer some examples of their use as derived verbs. I present the data as synchronic, as I believe the recurrent sound patterns have psychological reality to the Ilocano speakers who do not have access to the historical data which can attest to similar patterns appearing in related languages. Although the meaningful sound sequences to be detailed cannot be used independently, many of the sound patterns do contribute to the overall semantics. Many of the sounds involved share the final -CVC sequence of the root, recognized by Austronesian scholars to be a meaningful unit in many languages (Brandstetter 1916; Blust 1988). 1.1 Breakdown of iconic sounds Words describing thumping sounds or violent falls that result in a thump often have the back vowel ‘o’ followed by a voiced velar consonant: bitog ‘thump’, togtog ‘knock on the door’, paltog ‘gun’. The sounds of breaking, splitting or cracking are often represented in the lexicon with the low vowel ‘a’ for high pitched sounds or the back vowel ‘o’ for low pitched sounds followed by the voiceless velar consonant ‘k’: litak ‘sound of splitting (dried) bamboo, bursting sound’, litok ‘sound of a cracking joint’, pakpak ‘sound of a wooden club beating the laundry’, ripak ‘sound of a slammed door’, ritok ‘crackling sound of joints’, and toktok ‘sound of knocking on something hard’. The velar nasal in coda position is often associated with buzzing, resonant, or even moaning sounds: wengweng ‘buzz’, areng-eng ‘muffled moaning sound of pain’, baeng ‘sneeze’, bariwengweng ‘sound of stone swishing in the air’, ing-ing ‘sound of a violin; violin’, kiling ‘sound of bell’, kutibeng ‘sound of a guitar, guitar’, kutengteng ‘sound of a guitar’, tingting ‘sound of a small bell’, kalangiking ‘jingling sound (of coins)’, kalangokong ‘resonant sound of a coconut shell jar’, kilang, klaang ‘sound of an object in a tin can’, and sayengseng ‘buzzing sound of mosquitoes’. The high front vowel (often followed by a voiceless consonant) is often used in words denoting high pitched sounds: singgit ‘high pitched voice’, sing-i ‘sobbing (of a child)’, sultip ‘whistle’, and riri ‘whimper’. The alveolar fricative is often used to represent rustling sounds or the sound of

Iconic morphology and word formation in Ilocano 305

water. Unlike the more prototypical disyllabic roots, many of these onomatopoetic roots can be tri-syllabic: karasakas ‘rustling sound of leaves’, karasikis ‘rustling sound of bamboo’, kiras ‘sound of slippers’, saraisi ‘sound of rippling water’, barasábas ‘sound of heavy rain, downpour’, barasíbis ‘sound of light drizzle, drizzle’, and dissuor ‘waves breaking’. Words representing continual and repetitive instantaneous actions often include a geminate consonant in their root and are composed of 3 syllables: saiddek [sa.?id.dek] ‘hiccup’, saibbek [sa.?ib.bek] ‘sob’, sainnek [sa.?in.nek] ‘sob’, and tarattat [ta.rat.tat] ‘sound of typing’. Words denoting abrupt, instantaneous actions are likely to have a glottal stop onset in the second syllable of the root, followed by the vowel ‘i’ for a high pitched sound, or the vowel ‘o’ for a low pitched sound: dol-ok ‘burp’, tig-ab ‘burp’, kur-it ‘sound of striking a match’, bang-es ‘sniffle through the nose’, dir-i ‘shriek’, say-a ‘clear one’s throat’, ug-ug ‘weep with the closed mouth’, and kuy-at ‘kick the legs’. The velar nasal in onset position is frequently used in words representing nasal sounds: ngongo ‘talk through the nose’, and ngesnges ‘breathe through the nose’. Final diphthongs are used in words denoting loud shouts or screams: riaw ‘scream’, onnoy ‘moan, sigh’, pukkaw ‘shout, scream’, ananay ‘moan out of pain’, dung-aw ‘lament’, and laaw ‘scream, moan’. The following are some of the other common miscellaneous sounds that are lexicalized: aridakdak ‘noise of approaching feet’, arinebneb ‘plunge in water’, paratopot ‘sound of diarrhea’, payakpak ‘sound of diarrhea’, retret ‘sound of the spinning wheel, sound of a grating door’, arasaas ‘sound of whispering’, ariwawa ‘sound of many voices at the same time’, werwer ‘sound of the sewing machine’, yubuyub ‘sound of the bellows’, eddek ‘moaning while defecating, grunt’, ibit ‘cry of children, whimpering’, puglit ‘sound of a small piece of excrement; small stool’, suyaab ‘yawn’, tanabutob ‘mutter’, urok ‘snore’, uyek ‘cough’, kabbot ‘puffing sound of boiling sugar’, bayakabak ‘heavy rain’, begbeg ‘pestle and mortar sound’, berber ‘strong wind’, sarua ‘vomit’, ngarasngas ‘crunch while eating’, garadugod ‘gurgling of the stomach’, saretset ‘hissing sound of frying lard’, sanerser ‘sound of an ascending kite’, waneswes ‘sound of bats, people hustling’, nguyngoy ‘whimper, pant’, tabbuga ‘stomp with the feet’, kayabkab ‘sound of flapping wings’, wagwag ‘shake’, and ngalngal ‘chew’. 1.2 Animal sounds The sounds animals make are often lexicalized in Ilocano by a process of languagespecific onomatopoeia. Like all roots in the Ilocano language, these sounds may also be verbalized with the appropriate morphology to encode the action most associated with the animal as it produces the sound. Sounds pigs and piglets make include: gokgok ‘short cry of a hog’, ungik ‘shrill

306 Carl Rubino

of a hungry pig’, ngurisngis ‘cry of hungry pigs’, ngusab ‘snapping the jaws while eating (hogs)’, and uriris ‘cry of a hungry hog, cry of piglets’. Dog sounds include: taul ‘barking’, taguub ‘howl’, angangek ‘whining of puppies’, and ngernger ‘growling’. Chicken sounds include (notice predominance of the voiceless velar k): arakiak ‘sound of many hens’, kakak ‘cry of a hen’, kekkek ‘cry of a hen (when calling her chicks)’, kiak ‘shrill cry of a caught hen’, kokkok ‘clucking sound of chickens’, kotak ‘cackling sound’, taraok ‘crowing sound of the rooster’, tarektek ‘cry of the rooster calling hens’, Other specific animal sounds are: ngiaw ‘meow of a cat’, ngotngot ‘gnawing’, nguy-a ‘writhe in pain upon being slaughtered’, emmak ‘bleating sound of a sheep’, gakgak ‘croaking sound of frogs’, garraigi ‘neighing of horses’, garikgik ‘neighing of horses, bleating of goats’, it-it ‘the cry of a rat or snake’, kakkak ‘cry of frogs’, gikgik ‘cry of the gikgik bird’, nguak ‘cry of the water buffalo’, ukik ‘cry of the fruit bat (panniki)’, riari ‘sound of a cricket, cry of a cicada’, salaksak ‘sound of the kingfisher’, sayengseng ‘buzzing sound of mosquitoes’, tektek ‘cry of the house lizard (alotiit)’, torokotok ‘cooing sound of pigeons’, tottot ‘cry of rats’, uga ‘cry of cows or deer’, and wak ‘sound of crow; crow’. Like most roots in the language, the above lexicalized sounds are used in Ilocano discourse either alone as nouns, or as fully productive derived verbs or adjectives: (1) N-ag-bales ti kuyegyeg ken ngaretnget pf-i-alternate art tremble and gnash ‘The trembling and gnashing of the teeth alternated (in fear)’. (2) Na-buak ni Celine idi n-ag-kilang ti kampana invol.pf-scamper pa Celine pst pf-i-ring art bell ‘Celine scampered when the bell rang’. (3) Kasla naka-ngalngal iti sili-ti-sairo iti like adj-chew obl pepper-art-devil obl pan-ag-diwig=na nom-i-crooked.mouth=3se ‘His crooked expression looks as if he chewed on hot sili pepper’. (4) Simminggit a simminggit ti uni agingga iti singgit{in-um} a Word.1 ti uni agingga iti shrill{pf-i} lig Word.1 art sound until obl n-ag-tungpal a kasla ma-buong a baso. pf-i-end.up lig like invol-break lig glass ‘The shrill sound kept screeching until it ended up like broken glass’.


2.

Derived onomatopoetic words

Aside from deriving different types of verbs from onomatopoetic roots by means of various affixes as described above, there are certain morphological processes involved solely with onomatopoetic roots. Section 2.1 will deal with some sound symbolic morphological processes, and Section 2.2 will exemplify the three infixes that seem to have onomatopoetic origin: the productive -an- infix, and the fossilized (no longer fully productive) infixes -ar- and -ag-, -al-, and -ay-. 2.1 Morphological processes associated with onomatopoetic roots Morphological processes dealing with ‘noise words’ are not common in the world’s languages. Childs (1994:185) asserts that African ideophones display little morphology, usually the only productive processes available to them are iconic lengthening or reduplication. There are, however, some languages that have specific morphology used only with sound words. Rhodes (1994: 290) demonstrates that English, for instance, could be analyzed to have a derivational prefix ka- (ker- before s, pl, and for some speakers, w) used with some onomatopoetic words to designate extra loudness or acoustic complexity: ka-pow, ka-bang, ka-thump, ker-splash, ker-smack, ker-plop. In Ilocano, there are a great number of onomatopoetic roots of either two or three syllables in length whose initial phonological sequence is CV(Cx).CxVC which undergo specific morphological processes which may be iconically associated with the sounds and/or actions they represent. Whether they form a separate lexical class is debatable (as all lexical classes are in Philippine-type languages), but they can be distinguished morphologically as a class which allows certain patterns of prefixation and reduplication not available to non-onomatopoetic roots. Onomatopoetic roots that fall into this category include are: (5) bilong birang bisit bisut bitog dilug dipag dipak dipur gilong girud gulong kilang

‘explosion’ ‘thump, slam’ ‘crack’ ‘farting’ ‘thump’ ‘thunder’ ‘crumble’ ‘crack’ ‘crumble’ ‘rumble’ ‘thunder’ ‘thunder’ ‘clatter’

kitol libang libug libong lipag lipak lipit litak litik piling ripak ripuk ripug

‘knock’ ‘bang’ ‘bang’ ‘bang’ ‘crumble’ ‘slap’ ‘slap’ ‘burst’ ‘click’ ‘shrill’ ‘crack’ ‘crash’ ‘crumble’

308 Carl Rubino

kiling kilong kirad kiras kiring kiris kitek

‘ring’ ‘shaken jar’ ‘slam’ ‘slippers’ ‘bell’ ‘shrill’ ‘tick’

rissak rissibok rissik rissit rikad risud rittok

‘rustle’ ‘splash’ ‘spark’ ‘crack, hiss’ ‘grating’ ‘crumble’ ‘crackle’

The onomatopoetic roots undergo no phonological alteration with the verbalizing prefixes ag- or i-. The intransitive ag- prefix is used to indicate the occurrence of the sound, while the prefix i- designates that the action denoted by the sound is performed on another entity (a theme) which is conveyed physically or psychologically. With the transitivizing suffix -en, however, the second vowel of the root may or may not reduplicate. The prefix i- and the suffix -en create transitive verbs in which the sound is produced on or for something or someone. (6) Root kiring ‘ring’ tupak ‘sound of drop, fall’ kilang ‘resonate’ ripuk ‘crash’

ag- verb agkiring ‘to ring (bell)’ agtupak ‘fall down’ agkilang ‘to ring (bells) agripok ‘crash’

i-, or-en verb kiringen ‘to ring a bell’ itupak ‘throw down’ ikilang ‘to toll bells (for the dead)’ ripuoken ‘to smash something’

(7) Intupakna ti bagina a timmugaw. i{n}-tupak=na ti bagi=na a tugaw{in-um} t{pf}-fall=3se art body=3se lig sit{pf-i} ‘He threw down his body upon sitting’.

With the intransitive verbalizing infix -um-, the roots usually undergo a major alteration. As if reflecting phonetically the iterative or loud nature of the sound, the second vowel of the stem is repeated, while the first (unstressed vowel) is lost: (8) Root kirad ‘creak, grate’ gilong ‘rumble’ rissit ‘hiss’ tupak ‘fall’

-um- verb kumraad gumluong rumsiit tumpaak

Gloss ‘to creak, grate (door)’ ‘to rumble (thunder)’ ‘to hiss (burning meat)’ ‘to fall down with a thump’

The causative prefix pa- may be used with onomatopoetic roots to indicate that the action associated with the sound of the verb root is caused or indirect. As with the intransitive -um- infix, when used with certain roots, the second vowel of the root reduplicates. These pa- forms are verbalized into transitive verbs either with the prefix i-, or the suffixes -en or -an:


(9) Root libag ‘slam’ lusot ‘pop’ lisit ‘whish’

pa- stem palbaag palsuot palsiit

transitive verb palbaagen ‘to slam (a door)’ palsuotan ‘to shoot at someone with a pop gun’ palsiitan ‘to shoot at someone with a slingshot’

(10) Pinalbaagna ti ridaw. pa{in}-liba{r}g ti ridaw caus{pf}-slam{onom} art door ‘He slammed the door’.

2.1.1 The onomatopoetic affix C1a- -Va2A few onomatopoetic roots take a special prefix consisting of a copy of the first consonant of the root and the vowel ‘a’. The vowel of the second syllable of the root is also reduplicated, while the first vowel of the stem is lost. Most of the sounds expressed by these words are loud and prolonged or iterative: (11) Root bitog ‘thump’ biset ‘fast sound’ kireb ‘wave crash’ kitol ‘click’ dipor ‘crumbling’ dissuor ‘waterfall’

C1a- stem babtuog babseet kakreeb kaktuol dadpuor dadsuor

Gloss ‘thumping sounds’ ‘darting out; spank’ ‘sound of crashing waves’ ‘clicking sounds (heels)’ ‘crumbling or rumbling sound’ ‘fall down with a thump’

These C1a- -V2- stems may be combined with a variety of prefixes, infixes or suffixes to create endless permutations of onomatopoetic lexemes, i.e. madadsuor ‘to fall down with a thump’, pababtuogen ‘to slam the door’, agbabtuog ‘to make thumping sounds’, mababseet ‘to dart out’, pababseeten ‘to spank’, kumaktuol ‘to click (heels when walking)’, makakreeb ‘to crash (doors, waves)’, etc. 2.1.2 Full reduplication of onomatopoetic roots Some onomatopoetic roots may be fully reduplicated to express the continual or repeated occurrence of a sound or an action associated with the sound. The reduplicated stem may be verbalized with a variety of affixes. (12) kiras ‘scraping sound’ kiring ‘ring’ padak ‘trot’ libong ‘bang’

kumiraskiras agkiringkiring agpadakpadak aglibonglibong

‘to continually scrape against the ground (slippers)’ ‘to ring continually’ ‘to trot (horses)’ ‘to explode continually’

(13) Kumiraskiras ti tsinelasna iti datar. kiras{um}-r ti tsinelas=na iti datar scraping.sound{i}-cont art slipper=3se obl floor ‘Her slippers kept scraping on the floor’.

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2.2 Sound symbolic infixes Of the three infixes outlined in this section, only one is still productive to a certain extent, the -an- infix. The other infixes, -ar- and -ag-, are usually not meaningfully decomposable by Ilocano speakers and are therefore not considered separate morphemes. They clearly derive, however, from an onomatopoetic pattern of word formation. 2.2.1 The -an- infix The -an- infix is responsible for a large number of lexical items in Ilocano. It is also used in a few morphological patterns to indicate the intensity or continual nature of an action. (14) Root sao ‘speak’

-an- derived form sanao

sakuntip ‘smack lips’

sanakuntip

saltep ‘smack lips;

sanaltep

bingrot ‘suck up (nasal mu- baningrot cus)’ singlot ‘suck up nasal mucus’ saninglot sang-i ‘sob’ tabbaaw ‘curse’

sanang-i tanabbaaw

taul ‘bark’ tupra ‘spit’

tanaul tanupra

tang-ab ‘reveal’

tanang-ab

Gloss ‘speak vociferously and continually, stomp while talking; blab’ ‘continual smacking of lips’ ‘continual smacking of lips’ ‘repeated sniffling’ ‘sob (while sucking up nasal mucus)’ ‘sob continually’ ‘curse repeatedly and vociferously’ ‘repeated barking’ ‘continual spitting (while talking)’ ‘gossip’

Like the infixes -ar- and -ag-, the -an- infix is often used with disyllabic roots of a reduplicated CVC sequence to indicate the continual aspect of the action or sound associated with the referent specified in the root. In some cases, this creates new lexical items. (15) Root satsat ‘tear’ setset ‘hissing sound’

-an- derived form sanatsat sanetset

Gloss ‘continual whipping’ ‘hissing sound; burning heat’

Iconic morphology and word formation in Ilocano

berber ‘draft of air’

banerber

batbat ‘whip, throw down’ besbes ‘bundle’

banatbat banesbes

perper ‘abundant’ pekpek ‘cram’

panerper panekpek

pirpir ‘flutter’ sapsap ‘scrape’

panirpir sanapsap

‘swift breeze, strong current’ ‘fall from high place’ ‘sound of rapid movement’ ‘do one after another’ ‘resound’ (wood when hit) ‘continual fluttering’ ‘chomp on food’

The -an- infix is placed before the first vowel of the root, not the prefix, when deriving verbs. The vowel of the second syllable of the stem does not reduplicate in this case if the root is a C1VC2-C1VC2 sequence: (16) karkar saltep sapsap togtog begbeg

Æ kanarkar ‘raspy voice’ Æ sanaltep ‘smacking lips’ Æ sanapsap ‘chomping food’ Æ tanogtog ‘rumbling sound’ Æ banegbeg Æ ‘knocking sound’

Æ Æ Æ Æ

agkanarkar ‘to have a raspy voice’ agsanaltep ‘to smack the lips’ agsanapsap ‘to chomp on food’ tumanogtog ‘to make a rumbling sound’ banegbegen ‘to knock on something’

(17) Kasla nasam-it a samiweng ti panagdengngegna dagiti. kasla na-sam’it a samiweng ti panag-dengngeg=na dagiti like adj-sweet lig music art nom-hear=3se pl anit-it dagiti andidit iti kakawatian. anit-it dagiti andidit iti kakawati-an creak pl cicadas obl cacao-loc.nom ‘His listening to the creaking sounds of the cicadas in the cacao grove is like sweet music (to the ears)’.

The infix -an- may be combined with the intransitive affixes ag- or -um- to form iterative verbs associated with the action designated by the root. (18) Simmanengseng ti bala iti ngatuen ti ulona. sengseng{{an}{in-um} ti bala iti ngatuen ti ulo=na whiz{{cont}pf-i} art bullet obl over art head=3se ‘The bullets whizzed over his head’.

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(19) Nagranipak dagiti bato ken naganek-ek dagiti piek n-ag-ripak{an} dagiti bato ken n-ag-anek’ek dagiti piek pf-i-slam{cont} pl stone and pf-i-sob pl chick a baddeken dagiti ayup. a baddek-en dagiti ayup lig step-t pl animal ‘The stones slammed down (the mountain) and the chicks sobbed out of pain from being trampled by the animals’.

The causative affixes pag- -en, or pa- -an may also be used with the infix -an- to form causative iterative verbs. (20) Pinagbanesbesko ti bisikletak. pag{in}-banesbes ti bisikleta=ko caus{pf.t}-swift art bicycle=1se ‘I sped up my bicycle (whizzing it through the air)’.

In order to further specify the continual or frequent nature of an iterative verb stem with the infix -an-, full reduplication may also be employed. (21) Sumanaosao diay balasang. sao{um{{an}-r diay balasang speak{I{{iter}-cont dist young.woman ‘That young (unmarried) woman keeps on blabbing’.

2.3 The prefix k[an]a- and m[an]a- with CV(Cx)-CxVC onomatopoetic

roots The infix -an- may be used with onomatopoetic roots of CV-CVC structure with the intransitive prefixes ag- or ma- to designate iterative or continuous sounds or events. The -an- infix in this case is placed before the ‘a’ of the prefix ka-, while the first vowel of the CV-CVC stem is dropped and the second vowel (in the second syllable) is reduplicated. The stress of the resulting kana- onomatopoetic noun falls on the first of the reduplicated vowels: (22) Root dipág ‘crumble’

kana- -V1 + V2² kanadpáag

gulóng ‘rumble’

kanaglúong

ripák ‘cracking sound’

kanarpáak

kiláng ‘clatter’

kanakláang

Gloss ‘sound of continuous crumbling’ ‘sound of continuous rumbling’ ‘successive cracking or firing sounds’ ‘successive clattering sounds’


tipák ‘thump’

kanatpáak

lipít ‘slapping sound’

kanalpíit

risúd ‘crumble’ dilúg ‘thunder’ girud ‘thunder’

kanarsúod kanadlúog kanagrúod

‘falling down with thumps’ ‘succession of light slapping sounds’ ‘continuous crumbling’ ‘continuous thunder’ ‘continuous thunder’

The k[an]a- prefix may also attach to roots of a CVCi-CiVC structure, where the medial consonant is the same (geminate). In this case, the vowel of the first syllable is still dropped, and the vowel of the second syllable of the root is repeated. The underlying geminate consonant of the root is shortened to a single onset consonant. Roots longer than the CVC-CVC sequence that have a geminate consonant undergo the same phonological alternation with k[an]a-, but the extra phonological material in the stem in unaltered. (23) Root rissík

kana- noun kanarsíik

rittók

kanartúok

rissibók rissibák rissak

kanarsibók kanarsibák kanarsáak

rissit

kanarsíit

Gloss ‘succession of crackling sounds’ ‘sound of continuous crackling’ ‘splashing in water’ ‘sound of falling rocks’ ‘sound of crushed dry leaves’ ‘sound of hissing (frying lard)’

(24) Napardas ti kanaktuol ti sapatos nga immadayo. na-pardas ti ka{an}-kitol ti sapatos nga adayo{in-um} adj-fast art onom{cont}-click art shoes lig far{pf3-i} ‘The sound of the clicking heels of the shoes running away was fast’.

The intransitive prefixes ma- and ag- may be employed with the onomatopoetic -an- stems to form onomatopoetic verbs. The same phonological rules apply as described above. With the prefix ma-, the ka- prefix is dropped, and with the prefix ag-, it is retained. (25) rissit kanarsiit agkanarsiit manarsiit rissibok

‘sound of burning flesh’ ‘hissing sound of burning meat’ ‘to produce a hissing sound’ ‘to produce a hissing or crackling sound’ ‘sound of splashing in the water’

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kanarsibok agkanarsibok manarsibok

‘sound of continuous or loud splashing’ ‘to make a loud splash’ ‘to fall in the water with a splash’

With the transitive causative prefixes ipa- or pa- -en, the causative morpheme pafunctions as part of the stem with regard to reduplication. The -an- infix is placed before the ‘a’ of the causative prefix pa- to designate indirect verbs associated with a particular sound. (26) rissibok ipanarsibok rittok panartuoken libong panalbuongen lipag panalpaagen lipak panalpaaken birang ipanabraang rissak panarsaaken

‘sound of splashing in the water’ ‘to plunge something into the water’ ‘crackling sound of joints’ ‘to repeatedly crackle the joints’ ‘sound of a gunshot’ ‘to fire a gun, make firing sounds’ ‘sound of knocking or crumbling’ ‘to knock down (a building)’ ‘sound of a slap in the face’ ‘to slap someone in the face’ ‘sound of a slam or thump’ ‘to slam, produce thumping sounds’ ‘sound of crushed leaves’ ‘to step on leaves, producing a crushing sound’

(27) Pinanalbaagna ti ruangan sa pimmanaw. pa{in}-libag{an}=na ti ruangan sa panaw{in-um} caus{pf}-slam{onoma}=3se art door then leave{pf-i} ‘He slammed the door and then left’.

3.

The -ar- infix

The -ar- infix is no longer productive. It is often used with reduplicated disyllabic CVC sequences, placed before the first vowel of the stem to create onomatopoetic words or lexicalized items associated with the sound of the word. In some roots it may be morphologically decomposed, as the phonological material without the infix also exists as a word in the language that can be related to the derived form with the infix, i.e. satsat ‘tear, rip garments’ Æ saratsat ‘unseam; gut; disembowel’; tedted ‘drop, droplet’ Æ taredted ‘continual drops’; togtog ‘knock’ Æ tarogtog ‘repeated knocking’; medmed ‘restrain’ Æ maredmed ‘hesitate to do’. The -ar- infix seems to be quite productive in the history of the language. Many words that contain the now fossilized prefix may no longer be semantically or auditorily associated with the non-infixed stem as shown in the table below:


(28) Root tengeteng bekbek et-et gingging

Gloss

-ar- derivation

Gloss

‘stretch, extend’ ‘stocky’ ‘tight’ ‘envious’

tarengteng barekbek aret-et garingging

‘go directly to’ ‘bubble’ ‘creaking sound’ ‘straddle’

The following lexical items contain the -ar- infix and designate particular sounds. They may all be verbalized with the intransitive affixes ag- or -um-. aret-et ‘creaking sound’, baresbes ‘sound of water (besbes- bundle)’, barekbek ‘to bubble (bekbek-stocky)’, barokbok ‘bubbling sound’, barutbot ‘frequent farting’, garakgak ‘loud laughter’, garalgal ‘stammer’, garikgik ‘neigh (horses); bleat (goats)’, karekkek ‘sound a hen makes when calling chicks’, karikkik ‘tickle’, marekmek ‘bubbles coming from the bottom of a glass’, ngarasngas ‘crunch’, ngarebngeb ‘gnash the teeth’, ngaretnget ‘gnash’, parokpok ‘rapids, bubbles’, parotpot ‘sound of ammunition’, sarangsang ‘crispy; humorous (laughter)’, saratsat ‘disembowel; unravel, unseam (sound of pulling thread to unravel)’, saretset ‘sizzle’, sarotsot ‘come in quick succession (bullets)’, taredted ‘drop, drip’, tarektek ‘cry of rooster, change of voice in puberty’, tarogtog ‘knock at the door’. (29) Agsasarotsot ti pabanto dagiti kabusor. ag-r-sarotsot ti pabanto dagiti ka-busor I-pl-quick.succession art missle pl comit-oppose ‘The enemies’ missiles came in quick sucession’. (30) Pinusiposna ti as-asarenna ket nagsaretset ti apuy. pusipos{in}=na ti R-asar-en=na ket n-ag-saretset ti apuy turn{pf.t}=3se art cont-roast-t=3se and pf-i-sizzle art fire ‘He turned (on the stick) what he was roasting and the fire sizzled’. (31) Gumluong met no dadduma ti nasarangsang a katawana. gulluong{um} met no.dadduma ti na-sarangsang a katawa=na thunder{i} also sometimes art adj-crispy lig laughter=3se ‘Sometimes his crispy laughter thunders’.

The following reduplicated CVC roots contain the -ar- infix, but the semantics of the resulting lexical item can no longer be immediately associated with onomatopoetic processes in lexicalization. Like all roots in Ilocano, all of the following may be derived and verbalized with affixes. barosbos ‘grow well, shoot (plants)’, darekdek ‘stake’, daremdem ‘project, plan’, darepdep ‘dream’, darisdis ‘slope’, darosdos ‘slide’, garadgad ‘scrape, scratch’, garaygay ‘tassel’, karadkad ‘health’, karangkang ‘immodest behavior’, karapkap ‘grope in the dark’, karengkeng ‘flirt’, karetket ‘wrinkle, contract’, karuskos ‘slide down’, marangmang ‘front row’, maredmed ‘refrain’, ngaramngam ‘seine’, ngarayngay ‘test sharpness of knife’, ngaruyngoy ‘food craving’, saragsag ‘restless’, saramsam

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‘snack’, sarawsaw ‘botch, do unevenly’, saribsib, sagibsib ‘shoot of banana’, saripsip ‘cut grass to the roots’, saluksok, saroksok ‘insert between’, tarektek ‘cry of a rooster; change (said of pubescent voice)’, tarengteng ‘go directly to a place’, tariptip ‘sp. of fish, kind of herpes’, taroytoy ‘sprinkle lightly (liquids)’, waragwag ‘spongy, porous’. The infix -ar- also has a peculiar morphological use. When infixed to the prefix ka-, it expresses frequent action: (32) umay agkaraumay agkanalduok agkarakanalduok agpanateng agkarapanateng

‘to come’ ‘to frequently come’ ‘to swallow noisily’ ‘to swallow noisily and repeatedly’ ‘to have a cold’ ‘to always have a cold’

4. The -ag- infix The infix -ag-, like all infixes in Ilocano is placed before the first vowel of the root. Like the infix -ar-, it is often used with disyllabic reduplicated roots of a CVC sequence. The lexical items created with the infix -ag- are less likely to represent onomatopoetic words associated with the sound of the referent designated by the root, but many form lexical items specifying iterative processes that may have evolved onomatopoetically in the history of the language. (33) Root sepsep singsing sorsor wayway tadtad

Gloss

-ag- derived form

Gloss

‘suck’ ‘ring’ ‘wander’ ‘entension, allowance’ ‘chop’

sagepsep sagingsing sagorsor wagayway

‘absorb ‘distinctive feature’ ‘loose ends of thread’ ‘flag’

tagadtad

‘line, row; arrangement’

ageb-eb ‘species of black freshwater shrimp’, bagaybay ‘encircle game with a long rope made of palm leaves’, dagoldol ‘insist, force’, pagetpet ‘kind of grass’, pagawpaw ‘overfill’, pagudpod ‘Bermuda grass’, pagospos ‘fade’, pagotpot ‘bamboo strips (used in basket weaving)’, sagadsad ‘in succession’, sagaysay ‘comb’, sagepsep ‘absorb, soak’, sagiksik ‘brisk, lively’, sagerser, sagorsor ‘entangled; full of knots’, sagingsing ‘distinctive feature’, sagitsit ‘hissing sound; very hot’, sagiwsiw ‘whistle’, sagorsor ‘loose ends of a thread; full of knots; entangled’, tagadtad ‘arrange in a line, row’, tagamtam ‘include (what is not supposed to be included)’, tagingting ‘young bulo bamboo’ wagayway ‘flag’.


Palugodannak kuma nga agpalawag ti pan-ag-sasagadsad pa-lugod-an=mo=ak kuma nga ag-pa-lawag ti pan-ag-r-sagadsad caus-permit-t=2se=1sa opt lig i-caus-clear art nom-i-pl-succession dagiti pasamak manipud pinanawannak. dagiti pasamak manipud panaw{in}-an=mo=ak pl happen from/since leave{pf}-t=2se=1sa ‘You should allow me to explain the succession of events that occurred since you left me’.

5.

C1V1.C2V.C1V1C2 Sequences

The last common pattern of word formation I will detail in this paper consists of root sequences with two identical CVC sequences separated by an intervening vowel, resulting in a tri-syllabic root. This particular pattern is rather marked with regard to word formation because most Ilocano roots are bi-syllabic. These particular words usually carry stress on the vowel separating the two identical CVC sequences.2 It is clear that some of these lexical items denote sounds, so it is not surprising that they are expressed with more phonological material than the prototypical nononomatopoetic root. Most of them, however, are no longer associated with the sounds they might have once represented. Words in this category include (Rubino 1997: 20): bukibuk ‘scatter; overturn’, gusugus ‘scrub; rub hard’, ngudangud ‘knock down to the ground’, basibas ‘hurl a long object’, pidipíd ‘closely set together’, ngurungur ‘cut the throat’, bugabug ‘to be mixed (varieties of rice)’, supusup ‘lengthen; join; add’, guyuguy ‘suggest; convince’, widawid ‘swing the arms when walking’, dumudum ‘fall prone’, salisal ‘contest; competition’, balabal ‘scarf, muffler; wrap snugly’, wingiwing ‘to shake the head’, wisawis ‘fishing tackle’, watiwat ‘long, extended (roads)’, talatal ‘revolve on an axis’, palipal ‘black magic’, layalay ‘subside; slow down; species of marine fish’, dayuday ‘place of shelf; wooden shelf ’, kayakay ‘withdraw, stay at a distance’, payapay ‘summon with the hand, wave the hand at’, rangirang ‘dry, parched land’, samusam ‘medley; mixture of rice’, sapasap ‘common, usual, ordinary’, sapisap ‘gourd plate’, yungayung ‘jut out, protrude’, yabayab ‘flap (flags), flutter’, yakuyak ‘diffuse’, gulagul ‘struggle’, yubuyub ‘billow’, yugayug ‘tremble, shake’, kupikup ‘thrifty, holding on to possessions’, kunukun ‘pile of stones’, darudar ‘third night of a full moon’, gamigam ‘tool, implement’, garagar ‘fervent wish’, langalang ‘wilderness, uninhabited spot’, nukunuk ‘heap, pile, concentration of things in one area’, nurunur ‘erode from water contact’, ngalangal ‘dislocated’, ngasangas ‘wear out (shoes); suffer an injury’, ngatingat ‘chew betel nut’, ngayangay ‘plan, purpose’, and ngitingit ‘middle; climax’.

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Some of these roots also include the fossilized prefix ari-: arimokámok ‘slight drizzle’, arimasámas ‘red skies at moonrise’. These words may also include a fossilized infix, resulting in completely new lexical items. Infixes used with these roots are -ag-, -ar-, -an-, and -ay-. With the -ar- infix: {ar}asaas [‘a.ra.sa’.as] d{ar}asadas ng{ar}adangad ng{ar}asangas b{ar}atabát b{ar}awabaw b{ar}ayubay s{ar}abasab s{ar}agasag s{ar}abusab s{ar}amisam s{ar}ungusung d{ar}angadang d{ar}awidaw g{ar}amugam g{ar}awigaw

‘whisper’ ‘sound of rain’ ‘sound of log over gravel’ ‘crunch’ ‘following in quick succession, hustling sound’ ‘hole in a jar’ ‘fringe of cloth; hair falling on the forehead’ ‘roast in the fire’ ‘gauzy, transparent’ ‘greedy eater; inconsiderate’ ‘drive away insects at night with torch; roast’ ‘funnel’ ‘faint light of heavenly body’ ‘loquacious’ ‘lascivious; rash’ ‘snoopy, unruly’

With the -al- infix: s{al}awasaw k{al}awakaw b{al}agubag b{al}agibág t{al}agitag t{al}amitim t{al}awataw s{al}ayasay s{al}iwasiw s{al}abusab g{al}asugas

‘prone to gossip, with a loud mouth’ ‘empty’ ‘bark, soft wood around the core of a tree’ ‘temporary fence’ ‘bamboo poles used to support roofing’ ‘mumble, make a muffled sound’ ‘wander’ ‘sparse’ ‘to meet each other from different directions; ‘transgress’ ‘voracious; inconsiderate’ ‘obstinate’

With the -an- infix: t{an}abátab t{an}amítim t{an}akatak

‘sound of voices from afar’ ‘murmur, move the lips without speaking’ ‘sound of a typewriter’

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With the -ag- infix: s{ag}awisiw s{ag}abasab s{ag}angasang

‘whistle’ ‘rise in body temperature’ ‘pungent’

With the -ay- infix: d{ay}asadas b{ay}ungobung t{ay}abutab t{ay}amutam

‘torrential downpour, sound of showering’ ‘diarrhea; cholera’ ‘loquacity, rambling talk’ ‘loquacity’

6. Summary This exposition has shown that iconicity plays an important role in the Ilocano lexicon and morphology. Many patterns outlined herein attest to the fact that certain actions in Ilocano are represented in the lexicon by recurrent patterns of onomatopoetic sequences mimicking the sounds they produce. The meaningful sound correspondences described in this paper are conventionalized by Ilocano speakers to represent particular realities of the environment, and are in no way universal in their form or function. It has also been shown that in Ilocano, words with an onomatopoetic origin may freely participate in the morphological processes available to non-onomatopoetic words and in fact may have even more morphological categories available to them, as iconic patterns of word formation have made their way into the morphology. It is my hope that more data are provided from other languages to portray the use of onomatopoeia in word formation and morphology to show that the nature of the sign in certain languages is much less arbitrary than previously assumed, and to enhance our understanding of the role of sound symbolism in the world’s languages, speakers, and linguistic communities.

Notes * Special thanks to Lawrence Reid and Nikolaus Himmelmann for helpful comments on a previous version of this paper. Coding conventions are: a absolutive; adj adjective; art Core article;

320 Carl Rubino

caus comit cont dist e i iter lig loc invol

causative; comitative; continuative; distal; ergative; intransitive; iterative; ligature; locative; involuntary/non-volitional;

med nom obl onom pf pl prox pst r t

medial; nominalizing morpheme; oblique; onomatopoetic; perfective aspect; plural; proximal; past marker; reduplication; transitive.

Standard Ilocano orthography is used in this paper. Glottal stop is not represented word-initially. Word-medially, it is represented with a hyphen. A two vowel sequence is pronounced with an intervening glottal stop, e.g. saan ‘no’ > [sa.‘an]. Exceptions to this include the sequences ia, iu/o, ua, and oa. The vowel /u/ in word-final position is pronounced as [o] and thus represented in the orthography. In native Ilocano words, [o] and [u] are not contrastive. The velar nasal is represented by ng. 1. The few exceptions to this rule are the words yakayák ‘sieve’ and pidipíd ‘closely set together’ (Rubino 1997: 20).

References Blust, R. A. 1988. Austronesian Root Theory. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Brandstetter, R. 1916. Root and Word in the Indonesian Languages. An introduction to Indonesian linguistics, translated by C. O. Blagden, 1–65. London: The Royal Asiatic Society. Childs, G. Tucker. 1994. “African ideophones”. In L. Hinton et al. (eds), 1994: 178–204. Hinton, L., J. Nichols, and J. J. Ohala. 1994. Sound Symbolism. Cambridge: CUP. Rhodes, R. 1994. “Aural images”. In L. Hinton et al. (eds). Rubino, C. 1997. Reference Grammar of Ilocano. PhD thesis, University of California, Santa Barbara. Rubino, C. 2000. Ilocano Dictionary and Grammar. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Samarin, W. J. 1965. “Perspective on African ideophones”. African Studies 24: 117–121.

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Testing hypotheses about African ideophones1 William J. Samarin Toronto

1.

Hypotheses

The following set of twenty-two hypotheses are being presented as guide for research on ideophones in the field. 1.1 Ideophones are collectable2 Although we assume that the ease of collecting a corpus of ideophones will vary in different parts of the world and even in Africa (see [02]), I can suggest for natural languages in Africa at least a few procedures I have found useful. For special cases, see the last hypothesis. (1) One can begin by tape-recording traditional tales, relations of life-threatening experiences, descriptions of landscape, etc. (see [22]). Since almost every predication, it seems to me, can contain an ideophone, I had traditional tales ad libbed in the following manner. Here I quote from a letter: What I instructed the three men to do (there were four men, but the original story-tellers did not ad lib on their own stories) was to add [ideophones] wherever they thought they were appropriate. This was done by playing the original recording on one tape-recorder and having the informant push the pause button whenever he wanted to say something. It was beautiful the way they managed this procedure. There was no hesitation and groping for words. They put themselves into the work as if they were really a part of an audience (in spite of the fact that they were facing a microphone [that was] set on the table within a suitcase partly opened on its end and covered by a blanket [to improve the quality of the recording]). The first participant gave me almost nothing but ideophones, but the others couldn’t help but play a more realistic part, so they uttered phrases and sentences, some of them containing ideophones, and some of them not.3

322 William J. Samarin

(2) If ideophones are used in insults, as they are in Gbeya (Samarin 1969), subjects can be asked to insult each other in play; or individuals, stimulated by photographs, can be asked to make injurious remarks in private.4 (3) Having extracted ideophones from these texts, one can use them to elicit others that might be used in the same contexts (“In the story he said [ … ]. Could you use another word?”). Naturally, the larger the number of trained assistants, the larger would be the corpus. (4) In some languages subjects can simply be asked to provide words that are similar to a sample. I found no difficulties with this technique among the Gbeya (see below). (5) A variety of protocols can also be used for eliciting data. One could also focus in one questionnaire on a few areas of meaning: e.g., shortness, heaviness, redness. Assistants can be used in collecting a great amount of data, but unless they are exceedingly well-trained one should not expect them to record exceptional spontaneous information.5 Thus, on one occasion when I was interviewing a young man, I was given huk huk in a sentence describing vomiting. A woman standing by said that a dog would vomit in this way; a person would vomit h¢fk h¢fk. And since bystanders are sometimes responsible for the word that one writes down, assistants will have to be taught to make notations as to the source of a particular word. In the case of this subject, for example, the female bystander jumped in three times before the young man responded, and another young man once in this single interview. 1.2 The ease in collecting ideophones varies from language area to lan-

guage area This is a cautionary hypothesis based on what we know about how different African languages are — even, sometimes, languages in the same closely-related group. 1.3 Children acquire ideophones at the same time that they acquire

other words in their language According to this hypothesis, ideophones constitute no challenge to the languageacquisition competence of children for phonological, grammatical, or semantic reasons. I once observed the use of an ideophonic word by a child hardly two years old. A single word, it was the only thing the child said to her mother at my side. When the latter smiled, I asked what the girl wanted. Apparently hungry, she wanted some pumpkin that was being cooked. The word, as I recall, was not part of the repertoire of another adult, but it was both phonologically and semantically similar. This anecdote would suggest that the child had learned something about the formal nature of ideophones and perhaps the productive process that allows adult speakers to ‘play’ with these words in some way or another.6 On one occasion I gathered about twenty young children (between the ages of

Testing hypotheses about African ideophones 323

three and five, I would guess), dismissing others whose age disqualified them. Promising the children candy for playing a game with me, I had them sit in a circle and told them I wanted from each one a word like X, Y, Z, uttering in isolation what I thought were some common ideophones of various phonological types. It was important for the game, I told them, that each person give a different word. The thirty or so ideophones tape-recorded on this occasion were transcribed and submitted to some adults for judgement without their knowing the way in which they had been collected. (In other words, I deliberately concealed their origin.) Every one of the words turned out being an authentic ideophone.7 1.4 Women and men differ in their knowledge and use of ideophones I never undertook to test this hypothesis in a rigorous way. Part of the reason is that working with females was difficult: adolescent girls, both rural and urban, were shy, and women were generally preoccupied with chores and children. However, I was happy to learn that women, who tell their children traditional tales (and possibly even more frequently than their husbands), used ideophones richly in their narratives. An analysis of my questionnaire data might reveal some differences. One relatively easy means of studying variation with gender and age as independent variables is to obtain recordings of the same traditional tale from different subjects. 1.5 Urbanized speakers of a language have a poorer inventory

of ideophones than their more traditional co-ethnics and use ideophones less competently Some such hypothesis is justified even though the definition of ‘urbanized’ might be problematic. What I have in mind is, first, the kind of person who acquired his or her ethnic language in a rural village, but then has lived mostly in a city where the individual uses the ethnic language less frequently than the city’s lingua franca — Sango, in the case of Bangui. The ethnic language of such a person might be faultless in grammar, but deficient in lexicon — and especially in ideophones (see also Childs 1994, 1996). This is a reasonable hypothesis, and it is confirmed by my own observations. Indeed, I believe that the hypothesis will be supported by an analysis of some of the data collected from Gbeya who had lived in Bangui for some time and had been well educated. Further evidence is the Nigerian speaker of Yoruba who was the informant in a course in field linguistics at the University of Toronto. Every attempt I made to elicit ideophones from him was in vain until he exclaimed, “Oh, you mean those slang terms!” He then recalled having used them in primary school. — The issue with which we are concerned here is something like language death: because of personal history, some people become less competent


linguistically than their co-ethnics. It should be understood that urbanization in itself is not an overwhelming independent variable. Language maintenance is possible even in a city. 1.6 Ideophones are vulnerable to attrition to a degree greater than any

other part of a language’s lexicon in situations of rapid change, such as pidginization Therefore, eliciting ideophones in pidgins — such as Sango — may be more difficult if for no other reason than that they are not as ubiquitous as they are in, say, Gbaya. In Sango there are very few of them (see Samarin 1967a, 1979). I would say that most of the alleged ideophones in Sango are spurious or limited in knowledge and use. From others one might get a different impression. M. Diki-Kidiri, for example, has claimed that there were at least thirty in Sango (personal communication, ca. 1977). In putting this claim to test by examining his recent dictionary (1998), in which they are classified as adverbs, I found forty-two of them (forty-one, since two are variants), of which only six are familiar to me.8 All of his words were checked against the dictionary compiled by Bouquiaux et al. (1978); Diki-Kidiri was one of the three collaborators. Nineteen of these words are not in this work; twelve others are described as being (not derived from) words in “sango riverain” (i.e., the ethnic river-language, not pidgin Sango) — of which three are said to be ideophonic, the others just adverbs or adjectives or both adverbs and adjectives; only the remaining ten are alleged to be authentic Sango words, but only four of these ideophonic, the others being considered either adjectives or adverbs, or both. 1.7 The phonological shapes of ideophones associated with a certain

meaning are similar to some degree It was found, for example, that many of the adverbs that collocated with gb˜7 ‘be red’ had high tones: e.g., kpír kpír, kpírírí, kílá kílá, kítá kitá, ngb´fkí ngb´fkí.9 One subject judged all these words appropriate for a ripe t˜7n˜f (Solanum Snoussii A. Chev., “grosses baies jaunes”). And among the thirteen words obtained for the sentence ‘A zozo’s tail is not long, so it’s …’ most of them contained the vowel /u/: thus, nguturu, nduturi, ndútúrí, ngutu kuru, ngútú kúrú, ndúsú1ú, ndususu, nduturu, ndútúrú. Of twenty-seven persons interviewed, nine of them gave nduturi in this sentence. The reason for sound-form continuities in banks of words is dealt with in the next hypothesis.


1.8 Ideophones linked with a given essence of meaning increase in num-

ber by natural evolution In some instances variant forms can be explained by a rule that reduplicated forms can occur in another form while still showing reduplication. Thus, kpírírí, cited above, may be derived from kpír kpír, or vice versa, of course. The pair kílá kílá and kítá kítá also seem to be related, but not so easily accounted for. 1.9 Ideophones, like other words in a language, can be borrowed from

other dialects of a language, from other co-territorial languages, and from foreign languages There would not appear to be any constraint on borrowing other than that borrowers recognize ideophony in the form and meaning of the borrowed words (Childs 1988). It is quite probable that some French and English words have become ideophones in African languages. French depuis in a number of languages means ‘a long time ago.’ In Sango it is pronounced dìpíì, but it is modified in an exaggerated manner, for example, by increasing the length of the final vowels to mean ‘a very, very long time ago.’ 1.10 Reduplication in some ideophones is inherent in their canonical (i.e.,

dictionary) form; it is otherwise an artifact of the use of language Sometimes nonlinguistic expressive features may suggest that reduplication also is being used expressively. Only by taking each word one-by-one can we arrive at the canonical form. 1.11 Ideophones vary intersubjectively in a manner that resembles geo-

linguistic variation This means that even when the contexts for the use of an ideophone are well defined — as with a color chip, for example — a number of different words will be given by subjects native to a particular village.10 If this hypothesis is valid, one cannot be allowed to give meanings or examples based on what one or two speakers of the language say. This is one place where many opinions must be obtained if the aim is a representative dictionary of ideophones. (On variation see Samarin 1971, 1972, 1991; Childs 1998.) 1.12 The use of ideophones is constrained by stylistic factors I tested this hypothesis in 1966 — believing that in an effort to tell a story ‘simply’


the narrator will delete some information and will also be less concerned with performance — by having different subjects recount a traditional tale to an imaginary person who was learning Gbeya. My notes also record the following possible experiments: 1.Using different informants, get several to dictate a text [tale] sentence by sentence.11 2.Have some informants start with dictating [a text] and switch to tape-recorded narration. 3.Have others start with non-interrupted narration and switch to dictated [narration]. 4.Have others give uninterrupted narration. 5.Have informants shorten a text to see if they leave out ideophones.

1.13 Ideophones contribute meaningfully to an utterance This means that they do not merely add affect. Like all words of ‘quality’ they specify the very nature of an object, event, phenomenon, etc.: that is, they add meaning. (Whereas I have never made a claim to this effect, it is implied in Samarin 1967b and Samarin 1974. See the paper in this collection by Philip Noss.) 1.14 Ideophones belong to the lexicon of a language This, a corollary of the preceding, means (1) that they are liable to description as any other word in the language and (2) that they do not belong to individuals or small groups of individuals, but to a whole speech community. This does not mean, however, that they are invariant in form or use, or both form and use; nor does it mean that there is no Intersubjective variation. 1.15 Ideophones are definable in a lexicographic manner (On early attempts to address this topic see Samarin 1967b). It is here assumed that if there are enough examples of the use of an ideophone in different linguistic contexts, one will be able to give it a dictionary meaning. It follows that definitions are only as good as the richness and variety of the attestations. I suspect, in any case, that some ideophones have a greater range of meaning than others. I found some ideophones, like zólóló, quite specific in meaning: This one means ‘pure white’ (like a newly washed white shirt). Also, for the sentence ‘The [piece of] paper is not wide, so it’s ….’ seventy-two percent of the subjects gave p´7l´7m p´7l´7m, although two other words were quite similar phonologically (i.e., p´fl´fm and p´7l´7]). For the sentence ‘His neck is not big [zı˜], so it’s ….’ there was even greater agreement by virtue of the


fact that only four ideophones were given, all with high tone: pírí wírí (70.3 percent) and tírírí (22.2 percent). By context is meant both ‘immediate linguistic context’ and general context. In Gbeya, for example, certain ideophones collocate with certain verbs. The word zólóló, for example, would occur with the verb f˜7] ‘to be clean, white.’ Here are two interviewing protocols that I used. 1.Sentence-completion protocol. The subject is required to supply an ideophone at the point where one stops in reading a sentence, both affirmative (1) and negative (2). Thus, in (1) the subject might say bá]: (1) wesé d¢f-á go bá nu __ sun burn-sfx so seize earth __ ‘The sun is shining so brightly that the earth is hot __’ (2) te-í gan tán ná, go f´ __. tree-det neg be-straight neg so be __ ‘The tree (or stick) is not straight, so it is __.’

Since it follows that if a stick is not straight, it is bent; in this way one elicits contrastive ideophones. One would therefore be given appropriate words for ‘bent’ in describing such an object. One of these is gf1ilf, which collocates with the verb bii/bir-[morphological variants] ‘to bend.’ Having obtained different ideophones for this sentence, one could then check them by asking subjects “What thing is gf1ilf?” 2. Illustrative object. The subject is asked to name an object which would be described in each of the sentences. Each sentence in this questionnaire would start with the phrase ge m´f ge ‘what thing?’: (3) ge m´f ge a yóó wey sésésé ge ndé. nt thing int link stand fire sésésé int clt ‘What thing is hot sésésé?’

The purpose of this protocol was to arrive at some idea of semantic consensus, which is hypothesized with respect to the definability of ideophones. My notes include this query: “Starting with the definitions, what chances [are there] of getting the [same] ideophones?” 3. Appropriateness test. Having found a number of ideophones with similar meanings, one asks the subject if he or she would use each of them (read one by one from a list) in the sentence. The subject is encouraged to modify any ideophone that is not pronounced in exactly his or her manner. One might also include words that could not possibly be appropriate as a means of measuring the subject’s competence in performing the task.12


(4) 1o]-áa yu½ m, ga ã gú gf1f gf1f. back-3sfx hurt, so 3s bend-over gf1f gf1f. ‘Her back hurts, so she bends over in a gf1f gf1f manner.’ It is also assumed that meanings are ‘extracted’ from words by comparing them in different contexts. It is quite possible, therefore, that whereas zólóló can be used when one wants to say ‘pure white’ (that is, it expresses that particular concept), its core meaning may have little or nothing to do with color. Perhaps brilliance is its semantic domain. Thus, for the word kpír kpír, which I had glossed as ‘red,’ I obtained eight different illustrative objects: gbére (Aframomum sanguineum K. Schum., whose fruit is yellow or red), mı˜rı˜ (unidentified), mángo, corn tassel, corn, kuro (Striga senegalensis Bth., “les fleurs d’un beau rosé”), sízo (Cucumis melo L., var. Agrestis Naud.), tomato. (The botanical identifications are from Tisserant 1950.) If one is close to understanding the meaning of an ideophone, one will expect more agreement with respect to a certain object. In this instance, gbére was cited more frequently than anything else; the mango was next in frequency even though the variety of mango that is found in the Central African Republic never becomes fully red.13 It should go without saying that arriving at the semantic essence of an ideophone is not always easy. For example, one subject gave nduturi for both the sentence that read ‘The spear’s blade is not sharp, so it’s …’ and for ‘The zozo’s tail is not long, so it’s …’ But whereas both nduturi and ndútúrí were given by several subjects for the latter sentence, none gave ndútúrí for the first. The explanation may lie in the fact that high tone is frequently used with ideophones for small objects even though some ideophones are differentiated by tone alone. There is no reason, of course, for assuming that arriving at a dictionary meaning for an ideophone should be easy. The naiveté of linguists who have not had previous lexicographic experience in their own languages should not be allowed to influence what we believe about ideophones. Therefore, one must be prepared to study a word with as many techniques as possible. For example, kpírírí was one of those words that I had glossed as ‘red.’ When I went back to my data, I found that it was cited for several different objects: viz., the surface of sorghum beer in one of its stages of preparation, blood, the sun, the wild fruit gbére, the fruit of the palm tree Borassus aethiopum Mart., the fruit of the kóló tree (possibly Canthium venosum Oliv.), mango fruit, mbongo-duwa (unidentified fruit), meat (subject pointing to a crimson object), mı˜rı˜ (Ximenia american L.), peanuts, pindi (unidentified), gaga (a certain pumpkin), guave fruit, t˜7n˜f (Solanum Snoussii A. Chev., “grosses baies jaunes”), tomato, zı˜ã (a certain tree). By comparing uses, one would hope to differentiate, in this case, between different kinds of ‘redness.’ What frustrates the semantic analysis, however, is variation. On the other hand, this hypothesis is based on the presupposition that in all languages some kinds of words are more difficult


(that is, require greater effort) to define than others. These words, I speculate, are ‘quality’ words — in Eugene A. Nida’s typology (Nida & Taber 1974). The definer, of course, is any person most qualified for the task. The ideal person would be a fluent native speaker of the language sufficiently trained in linguistics for this task. The following means were used to test this hypothesis. I employed two young men whom I had trained to write in Gbeya to provide illustrative sentences for all the ideophones I had collected. On a separate slip of paper they translated the sentence into Sango as best they could, Sango having hardly any ideophones at all. On a third slip of paper they provided antonyms and synonyms.14 1.16 Definitions of ideophones are replicable (a corollary of the preceding). This means that a number of lexicographers will arrive at the same or very similar definitions on the basis of the same data. This is certainly what we would expect for other kinds of words in African languages and for all words in other languages. Corollary to the preceding. Ideophones cannot be invented by an individual, contrasting with one in the affirmative: Ideophones can be created by any member of a speech community I have been satisfied by my own research that the latter statement is not true. Of course, utterances resembling ideophones can presumably be created by all human beings. I have myself created some, like the occasion when I said “I feel X!” in trying to describe the terrible headache that was obliging me to spend the rest of the day in bed. My having to describe it by X reveals that it did not enter our private language, and I am not sure if I can even remember what it was: knocky-wocky, I think, because I recall having the idea that I was knocked out by pain. But when we say that ideophones can be created by an individual, we imply that the neologisms are remembered either by the creator or the interlocutor, or both of them, and that they become part of the ideophonic repertoire of a community of speakers, small or large. My argument is based on the restrictive definition of ideophones: they are words in the linguistic sense, not gestures. 1.17 Ideophones can be incorrectly or inappropriately used (a corollary of the above). Thus ngit is ‘short’ for a tree stump. When applied to a short person, informants either laugh or say it can’t be used in this way.”15


1.18 In certain contexts there is variation in a range of meaning This means that whatever the stimulus might be, subjects will respond in different ways. I learned this from my first experiment. Subjects were to describe certain objects by touching or smelling them, and, in one instance, to describe a sound. For example, I had them rub their fingers over the fibers of a scrub-brush after I had showed them what they were to do, saying at the same time, am tám mf n¢ff go ¢f __ (1sg touch thing this, so be) ‘I touch this thing, and it’s __.’ This object proved to have more stimuli than I imagined in my naiveté. All I could think of (without enough thinking, obviously) was that the surface of the fibers were rough, but they had others as well: e.g., sharp, scratchy, yielding to touch, dry, etc. Assuming that in narrating ‘the same thing’ people would vary in the use of ideophones, I had a number of subjects relate one of the better known spider stories: ‘How islands were made.’ (The rather large Ouham [Waam] River flows through the Bossangoa sous-préfecture.) The data have not been analyzed. I had planned on using another technique to study variation: I would provide the details of an exciting episode and have subjects relate it to different individuals: a Gbeya friend who hadn’t heard about it, a policeman or judge, an interpreter who would translating into French, and an interpreter who would be translating into Sango.16 1.19 Some ideophones are specific enough in meaning that it is possible to

find for them synonyms and antonyms No rigorous definition of these appositive terms is necessary, since, it should be clearly understood, we are concerned here also with ascertaining the amount of semantic regularity — if not, indeed, structure — there is among ideophones.17 In my field work, the concept of ‘same’ and ‘opposite’ was explained without difficulty to assistants in 1966. The purpose on that occasion, however, was primarily to elicit more ideophones than I already had. In 1972 I undertook a synonym-cycling analysis of the data that had been entered into a computer. Its purpose was to determine the extent to which ideophones could be related to each other as synonyms and antonyms. This would, I believed, be a delicate tool with which to test my hypothesis concerning the lexicographic nature of ideophones. Although a thorough study of the print-out has never been made, enough of the data have been examined to satisfy me that ideophones are conceived by native-speakers to be contrastive or complementary.18 Here, for example, is a summary of the analysis for ba1a kara ‘short, stout, fat,’ all of the glosses being those that were entered into the computer after I had studied the exemplifying sentences:

Testing hypotheses about African ideophones

Synonyms: gbi1i kiri df½tf½] r717] r717k

‘large and fat, short and fat’ ‘short (rope)’ ‘short’ ‘short’

Antonym: zf177

‘tall’

For each of these words in turn were printed the synonyms and antonyms that had been given for them. What I expected was that if B was given as a synonym of A, I would find that the assistants would cite A as a synonym of B. Exactly this kind of cycling was found.19 For example, for r717ng ‘short’ there were these synonyms: 17t7 ngb7] ri1i] b717m r717k

‘short, low’ ‘short and stout, stout and short’ ‘short’ ‘short’

Then antonyms were for the most part what one would expect. Thus: yfng77 ndongbo]

‘long’ ‘tall’

There were, however, some apparent aberrations, although the meanings are in some cases not distant from the expected ‘tall.’ Thus: '7½n '7½n ng´fl ng´fl ng´7l ng´7l mb´7l mb´7l

‘pointed, sharp’ ‘pointed, long and pointed’ ‘thin, narrow, small’ ‘shiny, clean, white, wide, long, tall’

And when the words are cycled again, we find happily that some of the words are found again. Thus, since r717ng was cited as a synonym for ba1a kara, we would expect that the latter would be cited as a synonym for the former. This was indeed the case. And under yfng77 ‘long’ is found the expected df½tf½] ‘short (rope).’

1.20

Some ideophones are marked, socio-culturally not linguistically, for evaluation

The possibility that this might be true occurred to me on those occasions when people laughed when some ideophone was used. Moreover, in trying to understand the meaning of some ideophones I wondered if they might not mean ‘more’ or ‘less’ of X than might be expected or desired. I proceeded to devise a ‘Value Differential Test.’ This consisted of sentences which ended with either ‘therefore it’s good’ or

331


‘therefore it’s not good’ in response to which the subject was asked to name the object. For example: (5) wá d7-á mf-í lfngffiyf, gó gan r´fk ná 3p do-sfx thing-det lfngffiyf, so neg be-good neg ‘They made the thing long, so it’s not good.’

The response from one person was, ‘When they make a spear’s shaft, and it’s too long.’ Other kinds of sentences, of course, could be used to elicit this kind of response. For example, my assistant suggested the following sentence: (6) ge a r´fk ná go f´ lfngffiyf, y½ı n mf-í yege ndé int link be-good neg so be lfngffiyf name [of] thing-det int clt ‘What [i.e., name something that] is not good in being lfngffiy¢f?’

1.21 The meanings of onomatopoeic ideophones can be studied by the

same means as other kinds of ideophones For a list of such ideophones the subjects were asked the question, ‘What things goes (wéé/wér- [morphological variants] ‘to make a sound’)?

1.22

In some languages ideophones can be modified phonologically and morphologically for stylistic or expressive purposes

In making this hypothesis one presupposes that it has already been agreed that ideophones in themselves do not have expressiveness as their sole or primary function. I maintain that in Gbeya at least expressiveness is a function added to the denotative one. I base this claim, first, on observation. By this I mean all my experience in living with Gbeya-speaking persons in all kinds of situations, but I have a tape-recording that alone would defend my claim. Standing at one particular spot that happened to be at the intersection of two paths, facing a garden plot, I asked people to describe what they saw. In plain, matter-of-fact language they enumerated them: “There’s peanuts piled up X [describing a pile] over there, which the owner has not yet collected”; “I see T [kind of] trees standing Y [tall] over there”; “I see corn that is not fully ripe, so it’s Z [green, unripe, soft].” Some persons saw more than others, all varied in what they saw, but they frequently used the same ideophones in describing what they saw — and they all behaved in a rather disinterested manner, puzzled, I suppose, by not knowing what I was really doing. — Tucker Childs takes a view opposite to my own and despite extensive correspondence (Childs 1990). Ideophones, he says, form a “linguistic category whose primary function is expressiveness.” This is their “unique character” (Childs, personal communication, November 1998). My views are found in Samarin (1970b, 1974, 1976, 1978).


In other situations, however, ideophones are indeed manipulated for expressivity. Although this manipulation was not formally studied by me, I can report that there are different patterned ways: for example, raising or lowering the height of the pitch above what might be normal in an utterance; reducing the height of the pitch of high tone in small degrees (in steps) over a stretch of syllables, as with the word zólóló in its normal or lengthened form; adding syllables to a word that already had reduplicated ones ( zólóló > zólólólóló ‘white’); altering the dictionary-form of a complex ideophone (e.g., ngalang > ngáláng ngalang ngáláng); and others, not to speak of ways that are more difficult to describe, like changing timbre, using falsetto, and so forth. The expressive use of ideophones is not beyond the limits of research techniques. The best means, of course, is to record instances in extemporaneous speech. Traditional tales again would be the best place to start. One could follow by having people engage in improvised skits in which the scenario leads to heightened emotions. And one can easily find subjects who have had life-threatening experiences (like my own with lions and elephants).20 1.23 The use of ideophones varies according to the competence

of the speakers of a language This is to be expected, because competence in the practice of language is variable in speech communities throughout the world. The richness of one’s vocabulary, the range of complexity of one’s sentence structures, the organization of one’s discourse, and many other features of the use of language are known to us without study. There are people in our acquaintance whose conversation is interesting, others who have a gift in narration, and so on. It should be expected, therefore, that there would be variation in the use of ideophones. One of my Gbeya friends who helped me to learn his language hardly ever used them with me or in my presence, and he was also not a very good conversationalist. His blindness, with which he was stricken at the age of fourteen during a meningitis epidemic, may have handicapped him. But what about one woman who was asked to describe what she saw in a garden (see above)? She did not use a single ideophone. Whatever may be the explanation for differences between speakers, we are entitled to distinguish those who are creative, imaginative, and expressive from those who are not.

2.

Conclusion

Although this is a rather modest and ad-hoc set of hypotheses, they will, I hope, lead to more attention being paid to hypotheses when investigators address themselves to ideophones.

DEST "sam-n*">


Notes 1. My study of ideophones must have begun while learning Gbeya, which I committed myself to on arriving in the District de Bossangoa in February 1954. (This is the pronunciation used by people in their own area, a variant of Gbaya. Elsewhere — in Bangui, for example — people, including natives of the area, might refer to the language as the Gbaya of Bossangoa.) Gbeya was the language I used most on a day-by-day basis from 1954 until February of 1960, leading to the publication of Samarin 1966. However, I practiced it during every one of my subsequent trips to the CAR: namely, 1962, 1966, 1972, 1988, 1991, 1992, and 1994. And I get to practice it on a monthly basis in Toronto with a Gbeya living here permanently. — It is a pleasure to acknowledge financial aid that helped me pursue my research on ideophones. (1) The National Science Foundation, U. S. A., ‘Correlates of expressive language in African ideophones,’ 1 July 1966–30 June 1967. (2) University of Toronto, Humanities and Social Sciences Committee of the Research Board, ‘The semantics of African ideophones,’ 1971–1972, with the assistance of Walter Berndl; (3) University of Toronto, Humanities and Social Sciences Committee of the Research Board, ‘Computer analysis of semantic consistency in Gbeya,’ 1 March 1975–30 April 1976. For a brief note on ‘Field procedures in ideophone research’ see Samarin 1970. — I am grateful to Philip Noss and Tucker Childs for comments and questions that led to both clarification and enrichment. 2. This hypothesis does not imply another one: namely, that ideophones are universal. That must be explicitly stated as a testable hypothesis or explicitly rejected for one or more reasons. See below. Philip Noss (personal communication, 21 December 1998) expresses this view about elicitation: “I don’t know whether it is useful to draw so basic a research distinction as that between elicitation and observation …” I do. 3. I found on one occasion that young boys were uninhibited around the hearth at night even when adults were present, but an adult whom I engaged refused to utter any insult in public, insisting on our going into a cotton shed and shutting the door. 4. 14 August 1966, Bata, letter to Henry Alan Gleason. 5. In the project I had planned for the summer of 1966 I was going to use “ten catechist-level field assistants” (i.e., men who were literate in Sango and had had a bit of religious education; twenty according to letter to Charles Taber, 14 August 1966) to collect words for me after training and “one full-time assistant (maybe collège trained)” (letter to Martin Garber [Bangui], 1 May 1966). What I needed were people who were already literate and able to write. At that time among the Gbeya these would have been Bible-school trained men literate in Sango. I would have to teach them to use the orthography I had devised for Gbeya. In the period 4 June – 14 August I had about forty candidates whom I tried to train, my success being about ten percent (14 August 1966, letter to Charles Taber). It turned out, in any case, that using assistants in the field may not have been a good idea. The “bright and trustworthy” young man I sent to work in the villages around Bossangoa was not taken seriously and accomplished little in two weeks (letter to Charles Taber). 6. Thanks to Philip Noss for inciting these remarks. 7. I draw these remarks from memory. In a letter (21 August, 1966, Bata, to Howard Law), however, I wrote that I had used this technique with eight — to ten — year — old girls. However, because of the thirty or so younger children who surrounded us in the village, I took boys into our house. The novel environment awed them into good behavior but did not prevent them from ejaculating ideophones, one after another.


8. My knowledge of Sango is, of course, that of an expatriate, but it is also that of a linguist who has recorded and studied extemporaneous speech of the kind that in ethnic languages would be rich in ideophones. 9. The orthography here differs slightly from the one used in Samarin 1966, because I subsequently concluded that nasal consonants and pre-nasalized stops are in complementary distribution, the former occurring with nasalized vowels and the latter with oral vowels, but in this paper they are written as if separate phonemes; it was also found that pre-glottalized nasals [‘m] and [‘n] occur before nasalized vowels whereas the implosive stops ['] and [1] before oral vowels. The sequence ngm represents a bilabial-velar nasal. In Gbeya the vowels of ideophones are either all oral or all nasalized and the tones either all high (marked) or all low. Short and long vowels are phonemically distinct. — I will not address myself to the question as to how ideophones should be written. It is seen from my examples that I prefer to write complex and reduplicated ideophones as a sequence of two words: i.e., neither solid nor with a hyphen — kítá kítá (a single word) and gbi1i kiri. I have no principled justification for my convention and could possibly be convinced to use another one. In Gbeya the vowels of a word are either all nasalized or all oral. — Abbreviations used for the examples are the following: 3s, third person singular pronoun; 3sfx, third person singular pronominal suffix; clt, clitic; det, determiner; int, interrogative; link, linking particle; neg, negator; sfx, perfective suffix. 10. “Some people use ngb¢f1¢f k¢fr¢f and ngbi1i kíri for a short person with apparently the same meaning, some accept one and not the other, and some say that there is a difference of meaning. But do [both of ] these words belong in their speech? Sometimes I get very clear evidence of recognition [of an ideophone in the questionnaire]; but in giving the example there will be a change of pronunciation: e.g., ngb¢f1¢fng is replaced by ngmu˜1uñg [the causative difference being in nasalization]” (14 August 1966, to Henry Alan Gleason). 11. This was done with one story in 1966. Even the dictated narrations had ideophones. 12. I had one such protocol with instructions to assistants in Sango and another for a different sentence with instructions to assistants in French: “Demander quels adverbes parmis les suivants s’attachent mieux à la phrase donnée. On cherche à établir la convenabilité de ces adverbes à la phrase. Mettre X devant les adverbes qui ne sont pas appréciés par la personne interviewée.” 13. To maintain some control over the range of objects that might be named I asked subjects to name things that they might find in the rural areas. If one were working with city-dwellers, one might not want to make this requirement. In any case, constraints have to be carefully chosen. It would be interesting, incidentally, to learn what objects and experiences in cities are used to illustrate ideophones. 14. “I figure that if I can get four or five different illustrative sentences I will have a better-than-50 percent chance of determining the meanings. Defining must come later on. I’m having enough trouble just getting the illustrative sentences” (14 August 1966, Bata, letter to Charles Taber). 15. 14 August 1966, letter to Henry Alan Gleason. Noss agrees (personal communication, 21 December 1998) that “ideophones can be used incorrectly or inappropriately, but this is the artist’s game!” He points out (but here I state in my own words) that they lend themselves to creative use, and this possibility lies in what ideophones connote; their use can be metaphorical. The point is developed in his paper in this collection. 16. A man sneaks up and enters a house. He is seen by a woman, who screams. The man runs out. He falls, injuring his nose; it bleeds. Several men run up and seize him. 17. In other words, our aim is not to arrive at an understanding that would justify a dictionary label of ‘synonym’ or ‘antonym.’ Indeed, I would claim that this would be impossible. In field work we are concerned primarily with (1) collecting data and (2) organizing them provisionally.


Ideally, a thorough analysis of one’s corpus of ideophones would (or could) result in a semantic grouping. 18. One is justified in demurring by saying that a certain amount of consistency would be expected from a person providing synonyms and antonyms. That is, if he cites B as a synonym for A, when he gets around to providing an example of B, he will cite A as a synonym. Although this may indeed have happened in some instances, I do not think that, since there were three men involved and since this work went on for several weeks, all of the consistency can be explained in this manner. 19. The word gloss might, however, be inappropriate. Since my goal was to arrive at a rigorous dictionary of Gbeya ideophones, these ‘glosses’ were more like semantic clues that I drew from the data as I sat before the card-punching machine. 20. When I recount these events in Gbeya, I ask someone to ad lib ideophones wherever they can be used to prevent my narrative from being flat and banal. The performance thereby becomes more dramatic.

References Bouquiaux, L., M. Diki-Kidiri and J-M. Kobozo. 1978. Dictionnaire sango-français et lexique français-sango. Paris: SELAF. Bouquiaux, L. and J. M. C. Thomas (eds). 1987. L’enquête de terrain et l’analyse grammaticale. Vol. 1. Avec la collaboration de S. Arom, J-C. Rivierre et G. Guarisma. Paris: SELAF. Bouquiaux, L. and J.M.C. Thomas. 1990. Studying and describing unwritten languages. Dallas, TX: Summer Institute of Linguistics. Childs, G. Tucker. 1989. “Where do ideophones come from?” Studies in the Linguistic Sciences 19(2): 55–76. Diki-Kidiri, M. 1998. Dictionnaire orthographique du sängö. Reading, UK: BBA. Nida, E. A. and C. R. Taber. 1974. The theory and practice of translation. Leiden: E. J. Brill. Samarin, W. J. 1966. The Gbeya language: Grammar, texts, and vocabularies. Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press. Samarin, W. J. 1967a. A grammar of Sango. The Hague: Mouton & Co. Samarin, W. J. 1967b. “Determining the meanings of ideophones”. Journal of West African Language 4: 35–41. Samarin, W. J. 1969. “The art of Gbeya insults”. International Journal of American Linguistics 35: 323–329. Samarin, W. J. 1970a. “Field procedures in ideophone research”. Journal of African Languages 19: 27–30. Samarin, W. J. 1970b. “Inventory and choice in expressive language”. Word 26: 153–169. Samarin, W. J. 1971. “Measuring variation in the use of Gbeya ideophones”. Proceedings of the Eighth Congress of the West African Linguistic Society, Abidjan. Vol. 2: 483–488. Samarin, W. J. 1972. “Appropriateness and metaphor in the use of ideophones”. Orbis 20: 356–369. Samarin, W. J. 1974. “Semantics without native intuition”. In Les langues sans tradition écrite: Méthodes d’enquête et de description. (Actes du Colloque International du CNRS, Nice 28 juin 28–2 juillet 1971.) Paris: Société d’Études linguistiques et anthropologiques de France [SELAF]. No. 3, Numéro spécial, 149–174.


Samarin, W. J. 1976. “Inventory and choice in expressive language”. In W. Winter and E. Polomé (eds), Festschrift for Archibald Hill, 313–329. Lisse: Peter de Ridder Press. Samarin, W. J. 1978. “Linguistic adaptation to speech function”. In W. C. McCormack and S. A. Wurm (eds), Approaches to Language: Anthropological issues, 594–614. Paris: Mouton Publishers. Samarin, W. J. 1979. “Simplification, pidginization, and language change”. In I. F. Hancock (ed.), Readings in Creole studies, 55–68. Ghent: E. Story-Scientia. Samarin, W. J. 1991a. “Intersubjective and intradialectal variation in Gbeya ideophones”. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology 1: 52–62. Samarin, W. J. 1991b. Review of Bouquiaux and Thomas 1990. Anthropological Linguistics 33(3): 213–215. Tisserant, Charles. 1950. Catalogue de la flore de l’Oubangui-Chari. Toulouse: Imprimerie P. Julia.

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Ideophonic adverbs and manner gaps in Emai* Ronald P. Schaefer Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville

1.

Introduction

This paper examines syntactic and semantic properties of ideophonic adverbs in Emai, a Benue-Congo speech variety of Nigeria’s Edoid group (Bendor-Samuel 1989). As an adverb subclass, ideophonic forms express meanings augmenting event intensity from the speaker’s point of view. To construct a typological scaffolding for this analysis, I rely on Slobin’s (1997) two-tier hypothesis distinguishing basic from expressive manner verbs and Talmy’s (1985) distinction between S-languages and V-languages. The latter, where manner and motion are lexically segregated, appears conducive to the ideophonic adverb’s highly expressive intensity meanings and speaker perspective.

2.

Ideophonic adverbs in Africa

In his useful overview, Childs (1994) reminds us of contrasting research traditions regarding ideophone investigation in African languages. One tradition views ideophones as a distinct word class or part of speech based on class-specific phonological and/or morphological properties. Ignored are potential syntactic relationships between ideophones and other clausal constituents. An alternative tradition interprets ideophones as members of existing word classes, often adjuncts of adverbial or adjectival type. The latter tradition guides the present investigation. According to Childs, ideophonic forms exhibit a range of typical properties. Among others, these include appearing in limited construction types, e.g. declaratives only; occurring in limited discourse genres, e.g. narratives only; exhibiting partial or complete morphological reduplication or triplication; performing adverbial grammatical functions; and showing tight co-occurrence restrictions

340 Ronald P. Schaefer

relative to verbs. The latter two lead Childs to the claim that ideophones “underscore” the meaning of a verb. In a similar vein, Welmers (1973) maintains that ideophones are not fundamental to the denotative substance of an utterance. Even earlier, Doke (1935: 118) defined an ideophone as a word which “describes a predicate, qualificative or adverb in respect to manner, colour, smell, action, state or intensity.” Surely, a relationship exists between verbal predicates and ideophonic adverbs. But what is its typological standing? Are particular kinds of meanings expressed by ideophonic adverbs? Are ideophone meanings related in a particular fashion to their accompanying verbs? Let’s look more closely at ideophone syntax and semantics in Emai.

3.

Emai ideophonic adverbs

Emai manifests a subclass of adverbial forms assuming a variety of morphological shapes and expressing meanings typically incorporated in English verbs. A number of such forms were investigated as part of a documentation project which initially required transcription and translation of oral tradition narratives (Schaefer and Egbokhare 1999) and subsequently involved construction of a dictionary through directed elicitation (Schaefer and Egbokhare, in preparation). To begin, let’s examine a small sample of Emai adverb forms. They exhibit reduplication or triplication, properties noted by Childs as characteristic of ideophones. 1.gbírígbírí 2.ghóíghóí 3.púpúpú 4.kpíkpíkpí

5.dúdúdú 6.kpákpákpá 7.kpékpékpé 8.gbágbágbá

Now consider the meaning difference between the following English verb pairs. The second member in each pair corresponds in semantic sense to the respective adverb above. The first corresponds to an Emai verb (see Appendix A for illustrative sentences). 1.to tug 2.to shine 3.to beat 4.to beat

to jerk to glisten to flap to flutter

5.to be dark 6.to shake 7.to shake 8.to knock

to be very dark to tremble to shiver to slap

In another sample, Emai adverbs fail to exhibit the reduplication trait often used to identify African ideophones.

Ideophonic adverbs and manner gaps in Emai 341

1.píí 2.váí 3.bóí 4.yóo

5.wóo 6.gbió 7.yáá 8.húú

Nonetheless, these non-reduplicated forms correspond in sense to English verbs. The second member of each pair below corresponds in meaning to the respective adverb above, while the first has an Emai verb counterpart (see Appendix B for illustrative sentences). 1.to throw 2.to pick up 3.to pull 4.to pass by

to fling to snatch up to pop to whoosh by

5.to strike 6.to hit 7.to boil 8.to smell

to smack to crack to simmer to be pungent

Forms in such sets exemplify many of the characteristics Childs has identified for the ideophonic adverb (IA). As well, they exhibit properties typical of Emai’s adverb class, although, as shown below, they deviate from prototypical properties in certain crucial respects. As already noted, some but not all Emai IAs exhibit reduplication. Other adverb classes behave similarly. While reduplication is a property of temporal adverbs such as édeéde ‘daily’ from éde ‘day’ and égheéghe ‘all the time’ from éghe ‘time,’ it is not a characteristic of all temporal adverbs. The basic forms ode ‘yesterday’ ákho ‘tomorrow’ and éena ‘today’ fail to show reduplication. Emai IA forms assume the canonical syntactic position of adverbs. They occupy postverbal position and affect the tonal melody of immediately preceding direct objects. Compare in this regard the melody of okposo ‘woman’ in clause final position to its melody before the IA form zugú ‘with a shove’ (1a–b). (1) a.

b.

ó kpén ábo súá ólí ókpósó zugú1 3s prop hand push the woman with-a-shove ‘He shoved the woman with his hands’ ó kpén ábo súá óli okposo 3s prop hand push the woman ‘He pushed the woman with his hands’

Temporal adverbs such as ode ‘yesterday’ exhibit similar positioning and similar effect on preceding direct objects, as evinced by the contrasting low and high tonal alternations of émae ‘food’ (2a–b). (2) a.

b.

ólí ókpósó é ólí émáé ode the woman eat the food yesterday ‘The woman ate the food yesterday’ ólí ókpósó é ólí émae the woman eat the food ‘The woman ate the food’


Unlike Emai’s temporal adverbs, IAs reveal several properties peculiar to their subclass. They occur in narrative discourse but not in conversation. None of the Emai IA forms listed previously occur in conversation; they are limited to prose narratives in Emai oral tradition. Their information status in a clause is also limited. IAs represent information not open to solicitation or dispute from a hearer. While other adverb subclasses correspond to questions of manner (3a), frequency (3b), or extent (3c), IAs fail to correspond to any question type. (3) a.

b.

c.

ébé ólí ómóhé ó o í hian olí óran? how the man sc h man cut the wood ‘How does the man cut the wood?’ ó o hian oí dúdúdú 3s h cut it energetically ‘He cuts it energetically’ ísi éka lí ólí ókpósó ó o váre vbi ose? ass quantity pf the woman sc h come loc week ‘How many times did the woman come per week?’ ó váré déídéí 3s come regularly ‘She came regularly’ ébé ólí óvbékhán í víé téé sé? how the youth man cry long reach ‘How long did the youth cry?’ ó víéí kékéké lí ásón re ré he cry-f continuously app night seq arrive ‘He cried continuously until night arrived’

Moreover, IA forms in a clause do not represent semantically redundant information, as in the case of ‘yesterday’ relative to past tense. While IA forms are syntactically optional (i.e. acceptable utterances can be constructed without them), they are obligatory when expressing semantic senses identified in English by ‘seethe,’ ‘glitter’ and ‘quiver’ (4a, 4c, 4e). The latter sense notions fail to arise in non-IA constructions (4b, 4d, 4f), which are limited to the corresponding notions ‘boil,’ ‘shine’ and ‘shake,’ respectively. (4) a.

b.

c.

óli ame o ó tin kútúkútú the water sc c boil at-seething-pace ‘The water is seething’/‘the water is boiling at a seething pace’ óli ame o ó tín the water sc c boil ‘The water is boiling’/*‘the water is seething’ ólí úkpiyoyo o ó jín tobótobó the brass-bell sc c shine with-a-glitter ‘The brass bell is glittering’/‘the brass bell shines with a glitter’


d.

e.

f.

ólí úkpiyoyo o ó jín the brass-bell sc c shine ‘The brass bell is shining’/* ‘the brass bell is glittering’ ólí áfiánmí ó o guo yéyéyé the bird sc h shake with-a-quiver ‘The bird quivers’ ólí áfiánmí ó o gúó the bird sc h shake ‘The bird shakes’/*‘the bird quivers’

IAs are unlike most other Emai adverb subclasses in their restriction to single verbs or to a few verbs with similar meanings. Their greater sensitivity to verb meaning compared to temporal, manner, extent or frequency adverbs suggests a possible close association with the assertion of a clause. Nonetheless, IAs stand outside clause assertion. Unlike other adverb subclasses, IAs fail in responses to simple do (5), happen (6) or be (7) questions. IA inclusive responses are unacceptable (5c, 6c, 7c), whereas non-IA responses (5b, 6b, 7b) are acceptable.2 (5) a.

émé ójé úi? what Oje do-f ‘What did Oje do?’ b. ó fí áléké émi 3s hit Aleke thing ‘He hit Aleke with something’ c. !ó fí áléké émí peú 3s hit Aleke thing with-a-smack

(6) a.

émé ó rúáni? what 3s happen-f ‘What happened?’ b. ékéín ísi oje yí ré belly ass Oje push d ‘Oje’s belly pushed out’ c. !ékéín ísi oje yí ré gábé belly ass Oje push out with-a-bulge

(7) a.

émé ó ú? what 3s be ‘What is it?’ b. ójé lái Oje run-f ‘Oje ran’ c. !ójé láí bóbóbó Oje run-f with-a-scamper

IA behavior in question-answer pairs is similar to Emai postverbal particles and predicates characterizing event realization and temporal contour. Both of the latter


domains are delineated in Talmy (1991). According to his analysis, realization morphemes express fulfillment of an intention to bring about a goal or confirm a verb’s lexical implicature, while temporal contour morphemes specify an event’s degree of temporal manifestation. In Emai, realization and temporal contour morphemes fail to occur in responses to do questions. Two of Emai’s realization morphemes are illustrative: fuan (8c) specifies that the intended goal of washing has been achieved, i.e. cleanliness, and a (9c) implies that washing has moved material off the plate. Similarly, Emai’s temporal contour morpheme lee (10c) indicates that an event has attained a finished state. None of these morphemes is acceptable in responses to a do question, although (8c), (9c) and (10c) are otherwise grammatical. (8) a.

émé ólí ókpósó ó o ú? what the woman sc h do ‘What does the woman do?’ b. o ó hoo olí úkpun 3s c wash the cloth ‘She is washing the cloth’ c. !o hóó ólí úkpun fúán 3s wash the cloth clean ‘She washed the cloth clean’

(9) a.

émé ólí ókpósó ó o ú? what the woman sc h do ‘What does the woman do?’ b. o ó kpe óli itása 3s c wash the plate ‘She is washing the plate’ c. !ó kpé óli itása á 3s wash the plate cs ‘She washed the plate off’

(10) a.

émé ólí ókpósó úi? what the woman do-f ‘What did the woman do?’ b. ó é ólí émae 3s eat the food ‘She ate the food’ c. !ó é ólí émae léé 3s eat the food ter ‘She has finished eating the food’

With regard to question-answer discourse, Emai’s event realization and temporal contour morphemes contrast with its postverbal situation morphemes o, li and a. The latter characterize situation types of position change (o in 11b), possession change (li in 11c) or state change (a in 11d). All are acceptable in response to do


questions (11). As a consequence, their meanings stand within the scope of clause assertion. IAs and their meanings, which fail in response to do questions, thus fall outside the scope of assertion. (11) a.

b.

c.

d.

émé ójé úi? what Oje do-f ‘What did Oje do?’ ó nwú éma ó vbí úkpóde 3s take-hold yam cl loc road ‘He put yam onto the road’ ó shén éma lí óli okposo 3s sell yam app the woman ‘He sold yam to the woman’ ó gbé ólí ákhe á 3s break the pot cs ‘He broke the pot’

Given these verb restrictions and scope limitations, I will briefly probe further into the semantic aspects of IA forms. In a nearly uniform fashion, IAs appear to increase the intensity level inherently expressed by a main clause verb; they have a heightening effect on a verb’s base intensity level. For instance, IAs heighten the intensity of the verb si “draw in” to express “jerk in” (12a–b); of shoo re “rise” to convey “lurch” (12c–d); and of khaan “pound” to specify “poke” (12e–f). (12) a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

f.

óli agbedé sí óí vbí éán gúómí the blacksmith drew him loc here with-a-jerk ‘The blacksmith jerked him here’ óli agbedé sí óí vbi ean the blacksmith drew him loc here ‘The blacksmith drew him in here’ ó shóó re gúáhí 3s arise d with-a-lurch ‘He lurched up’ ó shóó re 3s arise d ‘He arose’ o kháán ói nyé íyáín vbí únú guán 3s pound it against their loc mouth with-a-poke ‘He poked it against their mouth’ o kháán ói nyé íyáín vbí únu 3s pound it against their loc mouth ‘He pounded it against their mouth’

As indicators of intensity, IAs characterize an event’s internal temporal phasing. They are temporal contour morphemes of a sort, perhaps part of a larger aspectual


subsystem incorporating temporal boundary particles such as Terminative lee (10c). Since they are not open to solicitation by a hearer and do not constitute an assertion shared by speaker and hearer, they appear to articulate aspectual meanings of an event reflecting speaker perspective or speaker viewpoint.

4. Lexical typology As an expression of event intensity from the speaker’s view, Emai IAs reflect semantically-grounded relationships within clausal and lexical configuration types. Slobin (1997), building on Talmy’s (1985) original distinction between V-languages and S-languages, proposes a typological difference in lexical stock correlating with these language types. His proposal applies specifically to self-movement events employing animate actors with intransitive verbs, e.g. The boy ran into the house, and their encoding of manner. In V-languages such as French, manner is encoded by a grammatical adjunct (e.g. courant), while motion and direction of motion are fused into a single verb (e.g. entre). (13) il entre dans la maison en courant he enter inside the house by running [Motion+Direction] [Manner] ‘He runs into the house’

In S-languages like German, manner and motion fuse in a single main clause verb (e.g. lauft), while direction is encoded by a grammatical satellite or particle (e.g. in). (14) er läuft in das Haus he run into the house [Motion+Manner] [Direction] ‘He runs into the house’

Slobin postulates a two-tiered lexicon of manner verbs.3 His conclusions about the quantity and character of these verbs derive from stimuli-directed adult and child narratives, parent-child conversations, and translations of literary fiction (Slobin 1996; Berman and Slobin 1994). Tier-one consists of a relatively small class of verbs like run and fly, which classify categories of moving actors (humans, fish, insects, etc.) and generally fail to highlight manner. He refers to these as basic manner verbs. In contrast, tier-two verbs highlight the saliency of manner, e.g. dash and swoop. He refers to them as expressive verbs, since they generally do not classify actor categories but call attention to event manner. Slobin’s analysis demonstrates that verbs from different tiers are not uniformly distributed across language types. S-languages encode tier-one verbs and exhibit an extensive and elaborated set of tier-two verbs. Indeed, these tier-two verbs make


distinctions which tend not to play a role in V-languages. Accordingly, V-languages encode tier-one verbs but relatively few, if any, tier-two verbs. Slobin’s lexical-tier hypothesis provides a foundation for understanding the semantic character of Emai IAs. I will initially expand his hypothesis to include additional verb types and then restrain its application. Like most other African languages (Schaefer and Gaines 1997), Emai is a V-language. Tier-one manner notions like la ‘run’ are expressed as verbs in series with a verb like o ‘enter’ conveying motion and direction. (15) a.

b.

ólí ómohe lá ó vbí ékóa the man run enter loc room [Manner] [Motion+Direction] ‘The man ran into the room’ ólí ómohe ó vbí ékóa the man enter loc room [Motion+Direction] ‘The man entered the room’

Emai’s tier-two, rather than being unexpressed as Slobin implies, seems to be conveyed by IA forms. In other words, tier-two manner senses articulated by verbs in English surface as adverbs in Emai. That the meanings at tier-one and tier-two are related and compatible, not mutually exclusive, is supported by the fact that tier-one manner verbs like la ‘run’ occur in tandem with tier-two IAs like nyényényé (16). (16) ólí ómohe láí nyényényé the man run-f with a dash ‘The man dashed off’/‘the man ran off with a dash’

Consideration of (16) and earlier examples in (12) lead one to view the descriptor “manner” for IAs as insufficiently precise. IA forms occur relative to an event already specified for manner by a basic verb (e.g. la). And as noted in (3a), IAs fail to correspond to manner questions. Rather, the expressiveness noted by Slobin seems to reflect variation in event intensity. IAs specify event-intensity level in a particular fashion relative to tier-one verbs. They show a same-direction constraint. No IA denotes an intensity level contrary to the direction established by its accompanying verb. With verbs like la ‘run,’ IAs convey running events of increased intensity levels (17). I have found no IA forms expressing a decreased level of intensity for la ‘run,’ i.e. meanings akin to lumbering or shuffling, or for that matter walking. (17) a.

ólí ómóhé láí bébébé the man run-f at-a-flit ‘The man flitted off’


b.

c.

d.

e.

f.

ólí ómóhé láí ghéé the man run-f at-a-dart ‘The man darted off’ yán a la kítíkítí 3p h run at-a-stomp ‘They stomp along’ yán a lá shan dédédé 3p h run away at-a-scurry ‘They scurry away’ o ó lá shan bóbóbó 3s c run away at-a-scamper ‘He is scampering away’ o ó lá shan vbí íwé tétété 3s c run away loc house at-a-trot ‘He is trotting home’

With a verb like haa a ‘keep quiet,’ the IA increases the intensity level of the quiet state. As a result, the verb’s initial level of quiet is intensified even further by the IA híí (18a–b). (18) a.

b.

élí ívbékhán háá á híí the youths be-quiet cs in-stillness ‘The youths kept absolutely still’/‘the youths kept absolutely quiet’ élí ívbékhán háá a the youths be-quiet cs ‘The youths kept quiet’

This leads me to open the aperture of Slobin’s hypothesis. The distribution of Emai IA forms among verb types argues that tier two is not limited to self-movement events conveyed by intransitive manner forms. Tier-two also includes transitive and intransitive verbs conveying change of position (19), change of state (20), and contact (21). Since these various verb types are subsumed by tier two, we also have an alternative to Doke’s (1935) alignment of features in his ideophone definition. Rather than viewing intensity as a feature parallel to manner, action and state, we should perhaps consider intensity as orthogonal to these other categories. IAs, as in Emai, intersect manner, action and state classes at various intensity levels to convey the highly expressive tier-two meanings. (19) a.

b.

ó shóó re gúáhí 3s arise d with-a-lurch ‘He lurched up’ ó shóó ré 3s arise d ‘He rose up’


c.

d.

(20) a.

b.

c.

d.

(21) a.

b.

c.

d.

ó vbóó úkpíóón vbí égbé búí 3s pull fist-of-feather loc body with-a-yank ‘He yanked a fist full of feathers from the body’ ó vbóó úkpíóón vbí égbe 3s pull fist-of-feather loc body ‘He pulled a fist full of feathers from the body’ élí ívbékhán háá á híí the youths keep-quiet cs in-stillness ‘The youths kept absolutely still’/kept absolutely quiet’ élí ívbékhán háá a the youths keep-quiet cs ‘The youths kept quiet’ ó kókó éó gbáíngbáín 3s close eye tightly ‘He tightened his eyes’ ó kókó eo 3s close eye ‘He closed his eyes’ ólí ómóhé déí guoghó the man fall-f with-a-crash ‘The man crashed’ ólí ómóhé déi the man fall-f ‘The man fell’ ó fí ághán vbí órán gbógbógbó 3s hit sickle loc tree with-a-smack ‘He smacked a sickle on the tree’ ó fí ághán vbí óran 3s hit sickle loc tree ‘He hit a sickle on the tree’

Although Emai IAs occur with a range of verb types, they fail to appear with verbs of transfer or possession change. Illustrated in (11c), the latter express events of giving, selling, buying, etc. No Emai IAs appear in possession change constructions. In this respect, the aperture on Slobin’s hypothesis closes. IAs are limited to events where gradations of intensity are possible; they require events open to gradation or at least the construal of gradation. Possession change, with its emphasis on the nature of transfer between individuals and the direction of transfer, is not open to such gradation.


5.

V-language restriction

If the very preliminary description outlined in the preceding section is tenable, it suggests that ideophonic adverbs are restricted to particular types of languages. Let me sketch the strongest hypothesis here, since that would be the easiest to falsify. The strongest hypothesis concerning the occurrence of IA forms assumes they are limited to V-languages, i.e. languages which incorporate motion and direction in a main clause verb, and express manner separately. IAs need not occur in these languages; but if they occur, they will only occur in V-languages. It follows that ideophonic adverbs will tend not to occur in S-languages, e.g. German and most of Indo-European, which express direction in a satellite and incorporate manner and motion in a verb. A potential counterexample from Africa to this hypothesis is the Khoisan family of languages. According to Childs (1994) and Samarin (1970), these languages do not exhibit ideophonic forms. They are, however, V-languages (Schaefer and Gaines 1997). They incorporate motion and direction in verbs which serve as conjuncts alongside tier-one verbs. Since the V-language restriction does not mandate ideophonic adverbs, Khoisan does not directly contradict our hypothesis. Still, one would like to know how Khoisan expresses the range of tier-two notions conveyed in Emai by IA forms and in English by verbs. Perhaps Khoisan expresses tier-two notions through adverbs which have no ideophonic character. If the V-language hypothesis is correct, we should expect to find ideophonic adverbs in V-languages removed from Africa. This appears to be the case with Japanese (Kita 1997) and Australian languages like Yir-Yoront (Alpher 1994). Japanese is a V-language exhibiting motion+direction incorporating verbs (háiru ‘enter’ and déguchi ‘exit’) along with basic manner verbs (hashíru ‘run’). Its equivalent for the English verb ‘shine’ is the “mimetic” adverb pikapika ‘shining’ combined with the main verb hikat ‘glow’ (22a); and for English ‘splash’ it is the adverb bitya ‘splashing’ with the main verb otosi ‘drop’ (22b). (22) a.

b.

rampu ga pikapika ni hikat-te-ir-u lamp nom shining copula glow-comp-exist-pres ‘A lamp is shiny’ tofu o 100 cm no takasa kara yuka ni bean-curd acc gen height from floor dat bitya to otosi-ta splashing comp drop-past ‘Somebody splashed bean curd onto the floor from a height of 100 cm’

Yir-Yoront also appears to be a V-language, lexically incorporating motion+ direction in verbs (ngee’a ‘enter’). It relies on the verbs wun ‘lie down’ and tharr ‘put down’ in combination with the particle form purr ‘flopping’ to express transitive and intransitive senses corresponding to English ‘to flop down.’ Likewise,

Ideophonic adverbs and manner gaps in Emai

it conveys the English sense ‘to split’ (23) with the main verb yeng ‘cut’ and the ideophonic particle chor ‘splitting.’ (23) chor yeng ’y splitting cut it ‘I split it open’

6. Conclusion This investigation has attempted to intertwine two hypotheses regarding the typological embedding of ideophonic adverbs. It argued that IAs are limited to V-languages, i.e. languages which typically segregate the lexical expression of Manner from Motion. Semantic packaging of this type appears conducive to IA occurrence. It also postulated that IAs convey Slobin’s (1997) tier-two expressive meanings relative to not only verbs of motion but also verbs of state change, position change and contact. At the same time, it noted that IAs fail to express tiertwo meanings relative to possession/transfer verbs. Whether intensity adequately captures the semantic nature of these ideophonic adverbs remains for more wideranging investigation, but it does present an initial semantic hypothesis for the highly expressive character of ideophones often noted. Whatever the outcome, our understanding of ideophones would appear to benefit from more finely-grained semantic analyses combined with typologically-informed comparative study.

Appendix A (1) a. b.

(2) a. b.

(3) a. b.

yán a sigha oí gbírígbírí ‘They jerk him back and forth’ yán a sigha ói 3p h tug him ‘They tug on him’ ukin o ó jin ghóíghóí ‘The moon is glistening’ ukin o ó jín moon sc c shine ‘The moon is shining’ ólí óghohúmí gbé ábó púpúpú ‘The goose flapped its wings’ ólí óghohúmí gbé ábo the goose beat wings ‘The goose beat its wings’

351


(4) a. b.

(5) a. b.

(6) a. b.

(7) a. b.

(8) a. b.

ólí ékuété gbé ábó kpíkpíkpí ‘The dove fluttered its wings’ ólí ékuété gbé ábo the dove beat wings ‘The dove beat its wings’ ólí úkpun bíní dúdúdú ‘The cloth is very dark’ ólí úkpun bíni the cloth be-dark-f ‘The cloth is dark’ ó o guo kpákpákpá ‘He trembles’ ó o gúó 3s h shake ‘he shakes’ yán a guo kpékpékpé ‘They shiver’ yán a gúó 3p h shake ‘They shake’ o só óbó vbí úkhúédé gbágbágbá ‘He slapped his hand on the door’ o só óbó vbí úkhuede 3s knock hand loc door ‘He knocked on the door’

Appendix B (1) a. b.

(2) a. b.

ó ché fí ói fí ó vbí ékóá píí ‘He again flung it into the room’ ó ché fí ói fí ó vbí ékóa 3s rep throw it throw cl loc room ‘He again threw it into the room’ ó róó óvbí óí váí ‘He snatched up his child’ ó róó óvbí ói 3s pick up child his ‘He picked up his child’

DEST "sch1-n*">


(3) a. b.

(4) a. b.

(5) a. b.

(6) a. b.

(7) a. b.

(8) a. b.

oje yí ólí órán vbi otoi ré bóí ‘Oje popped the tree out of the ground’ oje yí ólí órán vbi otoi ré Oje pull the tree loc ground d ‘Oje pulled the tree from the ground’ óli imáto ráá ré yóo ‘The car wooshed past’ óli imáto ráá ré the car pass d ‘The car passed’ ó híán úkpasámi kú ó vbí ótóí wóo ‘He smacked a cane onto the ground’ ó híán úkpasámi kú ó vbi otoi 3s strike cane throw cl loc ground ‘He struck a cane onto the ground’ ó fí ói úkpasámí gbió ‘He cracked her with a cane’ ó fí ói úkpasámi 3s hit her cane ‘He hit her with a cane’ óli ame o ó tin yáá ‘The water is simmering’ óli ame o ó tín the water sc c boil ‘The water is boiling’ ólí ísón áin o ó yaa húú ‘That feces smells pungent’ ólí ísón áin o ó yaá the feces that sc c smell ‘That feces smells’

Notes * Data incorporated in this paper were collected as part of investigations supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, BNS #9011338 and SBR #9409552. Principal consultant on this project was Professor Francis Egbokhare of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, without whose assistance this paper could not have been completed.


1. Orthographic conventions for Emai follows those in Schaefer (1987). Abbreviations used with Emai data throughout this study include the following: 1h =habitual ass =associative loc =locative app =applicative man =manner c =continuous pf =positive focus cl =change of location sc =subject concord cs =change of state seq =sequential d =displacement ter =terminative f =factative 2. The symbol “!” designates an utterance deemed inappropriate in response to a specific question. Apart from this question context, the utterance is grammatically acceptable. 3. A similar tier-based distinction is implicit in Leitner and Hesselmann (1996). In soccer reporting by the media, they note the differential distribution of the verbs dash, race, sprint and charge (Slobin’s tier two) relative to run (tier one).

References Alpher, B. 1994.”Yir-Yoront Ideophones.” In L. Hinton, J. Nichols and J.J Ohala (eds), Sound Symbolism, 161–177. Cambridge: CUP. Bendor-Samuel, J. (ed). 1989. The Niger-Congo Languages. New York: University Press of America. Berman, R. and D. Slobin. 1994. Relating Events in Narrative: A crosslinguistic developmental study. Hillsdale: Erlbaum. Childs, G. Tucker. 1994. “African Ideophones”. In L. Hinton, J. Nichols and J. J. Ohala (eds), Sound Symbolism, 178–204. Cambridge: CUP. Doke, C. 1935. Bantu Linguistics Terminology. London: Longmans, Green. Kita, S. 1997. “Two-dimensional semantic analysis of Japanese mimetics”. Linguistics 35: 379–415. Leitner, G. and M. Hesselmann. 1996. “‘What do you do with a ball in soccer?’ — medium, mode and pluricentricity in soccer reporting”. World Englishes 15: 1: 83–102. Newman, P. 1968. “Ideophones from a syntactic point of view”. Journal of West African Languages 2: 107–117. Samarin, William. 1970. “Inventory and Choice in Expressive Language.” Word 26: 153–169. Schaefer, Ronald. 1987. An Initial Orthography and Lexicon for Emai: An Edoid language of Nigeria. Bloomington: Indiana University Linguistics Club. Schaefer, Ronald. and Egbokhare, F. 1999. Oral tradition narratives of the Emai people, part I and II. Hamburg: LIT Press Schaefer, R. and F. Egbokhare. In preparation. An Emai Dictionary. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Schaefer, R. and R. Gaines. 1997. “Toward a typology of directional Motion”. Studies in African Linguistics 26(2): 193–220. Slobin, D. 1996. “Two ways to travel: Verbs of motion in English and Spanish.” In M. Shibatani and S. Thompson (eds), Grammatical Constructions, 195–219. New York: Clarendon Press. Slobin, D. 1997. “Mind, code and text”. In J. Bybee, J. Haiman and S. Thompson (eds), Essays on Language Function and Language Type , 437–467.Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Talmy, L. 1985. “Lexicalization patterns”. In T. Shopin (ed.), Language Typology and Syntactic Description, Vol. 3, Grammatical categories and the lexicon , 57–149. Cambridge: CUP. Talmy, L. 1991. “Path to Realization: A typology of event integration”. Proceedings of the Berkeley Linguistic Society. Berkeley: University of California at Berkeley, Vol. 17: 480–519. Welmers, W. 1973. African Language Structures. Berkeley: University of California Press.

INK "sch2-n*">

Ideophone-like characteristics of uninflected predicates in Jaminjung (Australia)* Eva Schultze-Berndt Ruhr-Universität Bochum

1.

Introduction

Languages in a relatively large area in Northern Australia, comprising quite unrelated languages both from Non-Pama-Nyungan families, and from the PamaNyungan family, have a small closed class of inflected verbs. These may form complex predicates with members of an open class of uninflected elements which are formally distinct from both verbs and nominals. These have been termed ‘preverbs’, ‘verbal particles’, or ‘coverbs’ in the literature, and cover most of the semantic fields that are covered by verbs and adverbs in many other languages. As has also been noted in the literature (Heath 1976; Alpher 1994; McGregor 1996 and this volume), these uninflected predicates have some properties of words that have been described as ideophones for other languages: Not only do they lack inflectional morphology, but a number of them also exhibit phonological and phonotactic peculiarities, can be argued to be sound-symbolic, and may be ‘performatively foregrounded’ (Nuckolls 1996) by the use of expressive prosody, pausing, and reiteration. In this paper, I will discuss the properties of uninflected predicative elements in Jaminjung, a language of the Victoria River District in Northwest Australia. ‘Jaminjung’ is used here as a cover term for two closely related varieties, Jaminjung and Ngaliwurru. Together with the somewhat more distantly related Nungali, they form one of the Non-Pama-Nyungan language families, referred to as ‘Djamindjungan’ or ‘Yirram’ in the literature (Hoddinott and Kofod 1976; Chadwick 1997; Green 1995). Today, there are less than a hundred fluent speakers of Jaminjung and Ngaliwurru, scattered over a number of Aboriginal Communities in a large area. Jaminjung can be regarded as being of the agglutinating morphological type with respect to its nominal morphology, and of the inflecting type with respect to its verbal morphology. It should be borne in mind, however, that verbs, defined as

356 Eva Schultze-Berndt

the class of roots that inflect for tense, aspect, mood and person, form a closed class with around 30 members, and are semantically general. Most ‘verbal’ concepts are covered by members of a class of uninflected predicative lexemes, which will be termed ‘coverbs’ here. I will point out similarities and differences between coverbs and ideophones, with respect to the criteria that have been adduced for the identification of ideophones in the literature. The paper is structured as follows: Section 2 presents an overview of the phonological and phonotactic characteristics of coverbs, and addresses the issue of sound-symbolism. Section 3 describes the morphological possibilities of this lexical category. Special attention will be given to the syntactic properties of coverbs in Section 4. The ‘performatively foregrounded’ use of coverbs with expressive prosody is the topic of Section 5. The results are summarised in Section 6, and are placed in a comparative perspective.

2.

Phonology and sound symbolism1

2.1 Phonological and phonotactic peculiarities Members of the coverb class exhibit several phonological and phonotactic peculiarities. First, unlike members of any other word class in Jaminjung, coverbs can be — and very often are — monosyllabic; some examples are given in (1). (1) Some monosyllabic coverbs a. bag ‘break’ b. barr ‘hit against something, smash’ c. bily ‘bust, burst open’ d. warrng ‘walk’ e. gub ‘come off’ f. bud ‘cook something on coals’ g. birrg ‘take something away’

Second, coverbs allow consonant clusters in word-final codas that are not attested in word forms of any other lexical category. Generally, Jaminjung has strong restrictions on syllable codas: the only possible consonant clusters consist of a lateral (/l/ or retroflex /rl/) or alveolar trill (/rr/) as the first element, and a peripheral stop (/b/ or /g/) or the velar nasal (/ng/) as the second element. Of the six resulting possibilities, only two, /(r)lg#/ and /(r)lng#/, are attested for roughly equal numbers of nominals and coverbs (verb forms and particles never exhibit coda clusters). Clusters of alveolar trill and velar stop or nasal, /rrg#/ and /rrng#/, are found in a few nominals (5 in a dictionary of approximately 2000 words) but in a large number of coverbs. Finally, the two combinations with final bilabial stop,

Ideophone-like characteristics of uninflected predicates in Jaminjung (Australia) 357

/rrb#/ and /(r)lb#/, are restricted to coverbs and never occur in nominals; some examples are given in (2). (2) Some coverbs with final consonant clusters ending in a bilabial stop a. ngunkulurrb ‘mutter’ b. yudurrb ‘grind’ c. girrb ‘be quiet’ d. burrb ‘finish’, ‘do to all’ e. wirrb ‘wipe’ f. balb ‘be flat or painted on something’ g. dalb ‘light a fire’

Another peculiarity is only found in a few forms, listed in (3). These contain the mid front vowel /e/, otherwise not part of the phonological inventory of Jaminjung. These forms are probably unassimilated loans from neighbouring languages with regular mid vowels. (3) Coverbs with mid vowel /e/ a. deb ‘knock down’ b. thed ‘trip over something’ c. thebberr ‘be pierced with something which is sticking out’ d. lebleb ‘clap with boomerangs’

Phonological and phonotactic peculiarities are frequently invoked as a criterion for the identification of a class of ideophones, although this is weighted differently by different authors (cf., e.g., Newman 1968; Samarin 1971; Childs 1994; Kulemeka 1995; Ameka, this volume), and possibly has to be weighted differently for different languages. It has also been reported that loans which function as ideophones in the target language often retain their phonological shape (Childs 1989: 68). With respect to the Jaminjung coverbs, it is important to note that phonological criteria identify only a subclass of coverbs, that is, they cannot be regarded as necessary, but only as sufficient criteria for membership in the coverb class. 2.2 Sound-symbolism Although sound-symbolism is commonly invoked in definitions of ideophones, it is always difficult, in the absence of clearly established universal correspondences of sound and meaning, to argue convincingly for the sound-symbolic nature of specific lexical items. Only some preliminary observations will be offered here with respect to Jaminjung coverbs. The first observation concerns the distribution of recurring submorphemic elements. Although I have not investigated this phenomenon in detail, some of the sound-meaning correspondences that have been identified by McGregor (1996) for verb roots in Gooniyandi also appear to be valid for Jaminjung coverbs. For


example, an alveolar trill in medial or coda position tends to be suggestive of ‘multiplicity’ and/or ‘extension’ (cf. McGregor 1996: 346), e. g. contact with an extended surface (4a–e), motion along a surface (4f–j), and/or multiplicity of participants (4d, e and i–l); see also (2a–e) above. (4) Some coverbs containing /rr/ in medial or coda position a. dudurr ‘(sit with) legs straight’ b. jajurr ‘stop, halt’ c. bayirr ‘on top of, supported’ d. warrb ‘be/sit together’ (cf. waga ‘sit, of single entity’) e. murruny ‘be heaped up’ f. ngarrang ‘stagger’ g. warr ‘scratch’ h. yirrirrij ‘slide’ i. burrurrug ‘scatter’ j. bunburr ‘take off, of many entities’ (cf. gud ‘take off, of single entity’) k. thaburr ‘smash up’ l. garrb ‘pick up, of multiple entities’ (cf. durd ‘pick up, of single entity’)

Further recurrent submorphemic elements could probably be identified. Here, I will restrict myself to a couple of further observations. The first concerns an iconic relationship between punctuality/durativity and word length: most coverbs that are telic and punctual, those in the classes2 of (caused) change of state, change of location, and caused change of location, are monosyllabic (except occasionally where they lexicalise a multiplicity, or mass, of participants); for examples see (1) above. While stative coverbs may be either monosyllabic or disyllabic, atelic dynamic coverbs, at least those of the classes of continuous activity (5a–c), manner of locomotion (5d–f), and internal motion (5g–h), are polysyllabic, with only few exceptions. (5) Some polysyllabic, atelic, dynamic coverbs a. binyinyi(b) ‘use a firedrill’ b. wajama ‘fish’ c. thawaya ‘eat’ d. yugung ‘run’ e. mingib ‘crawl’ f. lilaj ‘swim’ g. birdinyiny ‘rotate, spin around’ h. dalala ‘shiver, shake’ i. mangan ‘wave’

Another observation relevant in this context is that a number of coverbs, listed in (6), involve gestures of the vowel tract that are iconic of the denotata.


(6) Iconicity of vowel tract gestures a. bu ‘blow with airstream from mouth’ b. thubbany ‘spit’ c. buny ‘kiss’ d. jung ‘suck’ e. yib ‘sip’ f. ngalyag ‘lick’ g. nginy ‘bare one’s teeth’ h. mam ‘bite with tight grip’

Although I have not provided detailed arguments for the sound-symbolic nature of Jaminjung coverbs, I would like to claim, on the basis of the observations put forward in this section and also in Section 5 below, that a substantial number of coverbs are indeed sound-symbolic. Again, however, this cannot be seen as a defining criterion for the class as such.

3.

Morphological properties

Coverbs can be established as a lexical category, distinct from both verbs and nominals, by means of morphological and syntactic criteria. The most important morphological criterion is the lack of inflections. This unambiguously distinguishes coverbs from verb roots, which obligatorily inflect for person and tense/aspect/mood. As we will see in Section 4.4 below, coverbs may take a subset of nominal case markers; with coverbs these have subordinating function. However, coverbs are distinct from nominals in that they cannot occur as a constituent of a noun phrase functioning as core argument; for example, they cannot occur with determiners. The distinction between coverbs and adverbs in languages like Jaminjung is a somewhat more problematic issue (cf. also Merlan 1994: 60). On morphological grounds, no such distinction can be maintained, although it is possible to identify a small class of adverbs on syntactic and semantic grounds. The derivational possibilities of coverbs are scarce. Nominals may be derived from coverbs by a small number of derivational suffixes. Verbs cannot be derived from coverbs, or vice versa. Reduplication of coverbs serves to express extended duration, repetition or intensity of events, as well as multiplicity (or an aggregate) of participants, as in (7). Usually, this involves full reduplication, although word-initial partial reduplication is also found. (7) ngiyi-ngunyi majani burl-burl burru-ruma-ny jarriny-ngunyi, prox-abl maybe emerge-rdp 3pl-come-pst hole-abl ‘From here they maybe came out, out of the hole’ (a number of frogs)


The ‘continuous’ suffix -mayan is used to derive dynamic, atelic coverbs from coverbs of other classes. The resulting forms exhibit a striking functional resemblance to English present participles in -ing, in that they can be used as the main predicate in a progressive construction with an auxiliary, as in (8), and as adverbials in combination with a main predicate, as in (9). However, unlike English present participles, Jaminjung forms in -mayan are never used referentially or attributively. (8) jiwayurru buru-mayan ga-gba=biya bower.bird return-cont 3sg-be.pst=now ‘The bower bird was going back and forth then’ (9) ngabuj-ngabuj-mayan na-ram \ ba-jga \ smell-rdp-cont 2sg-come.prs imp-go ‘You come (here) sniffing, go away’ (order to an imaginary dog)

The lack of inflectional morphology is one of the features most recurrently reported as criterial for ideophones, and is therefore one in which Jaminjung coverbs, as a class, resemble ideophones as identified for other languages. Like ideophones, coverbs may also reduplicate, and have some derivational possibilities. However, one has to keep in mind that in Jaminjung, verbs constitute a closed class, and coverbs take over many of the functions of verbs in other languages. It is therefore not surprising that they occur as the main predicate in a progressive construction, with the verb being reduced to auxiliary function. In the next section it should become even clearer that coverbs cannot simply be identified with either adverbial or ideophonic elements.

4. Syntactic properties 4.1 Coverbs as part of complex predicates Since in Jaminjung the class of inflected verbs which can function as simple predicates is small, the majority of verbal predicates in finite clauses are complex. The combination of a coverb (or sometimes two coverbs) and a verb in a single intonation unit, with no intervening pauses, will be referred to as ‘canonical complex verb’. Although Jaminjung is a free word order language as far as the order of arguments and the verb is concerned, a coverb and a generic verb in a canonical complex verb construction are usually contiguous (except for intervening clitics). Only very rarely are they separated by other constituents.The preferred word order, found in 90% of complex predicates, is that of the coverb immediately preceding the generic verb, as in (10), (12) and (13) below, although the reverse order — as in (11) — is also possible. In both cases, it is the coverb that receives primary phrasal stress.


The examples in (10) to (13) also illustrate some of the types of semantic relationships between coverbs and verbs in Jaminjung. It is important to note that almost all of the closed-class verbs are employed for complex predicate formation. The combinations underly semantic restrictions. For example, the general performance verb -yu(nggu), illustrated in (10), only combines with a number of semantically circumscribed subclasses of coverbs, including coverbs of speech act and sound emission such as winy ‘whistle’, and coverbs of internal motion and bodily or emotional condition. (10) winy nganth-unggu-m nganthan jalag nanthi-ngawu whistle 2sg:3sg-say/do-prs what good 2sg:3sg-see.pst ‘You whistle, what (kind of) good (thing) have you seen?’

Rather rare are combinations where the coverb is semantically almost synonymous with the verb, and ‘underscores’ its meaning, like waj ‘leave behind’ in (11), restricted to combining with the quasi-synonymous verb -unga ‘leave’. (11) yawayi, jawug ba-wunga waj yes short.time imp-leave leave.behind ‘Yes, leave it for a short time’

Very frequent are combinations of a positional coverb with a general verb of stance or a verb of change of location; of a coverb of manner or direction of motion with one of the general verbs of locomotion; or of a coverb of change of state or caused change of state such as ning ‘break off’ with an impact verb such as -wa ‘bite’ in (12). (12) ya, wajgany ning gani-wa wirib-ni \ yes honey break.off 3sg:3sg-bite.pst dog-erg ‘Yes, he bit off the beehive, the dog’

Finally, coverbs may also encode more abstract notions (i. e. events not involving physical contact), like desire, or transfer of information. These coverbs combine with one of a small set of high-frequency, semantically generic verbs like -angga ‘get/handle’ in (13), which take on extended senses when combining with coverbs of this type. (13) gurrany ngunthug gan-angga-m giliny neg desire 3sg:3sg-get/handle-prs bait ‘They don’t like the bait’ (fish)

The combinations of coverbs and verbs in (10) to (13) qualify as complex predicates not only by their contiguity, but also because the constituents share their values for person, tense, aspect and mood, and polarity. Moreover, complex predicates of this type have a single set of syntactic arguments. The coverbs can be shown to be


semantically relational, and contribute to the argument structure of the complex verb (for details see Schultze-Berndt 2000). For a number of languages, a syntactic position in close-knit unit with a finite verb has been described as one of the syntactic possibilities of ideophones or other sound-symbolic elements (e.g., Newman 1968: 110f.; Samarin 1971: 149; Childs 1989: 61; Nuckolls 1996: 72; Alpher 1994: 168). Ideophones influencing the syntactic argument structure of the complex predicates they appear in have been reported for Zulu (von Staden 1977: 214ff; Voeltz 1971: 144). A difference between ideophones and coverbs is that in many languages, ideophones appear in a quasi-synonymous relationship to the verbs they accompany much more frequently than is the case for Jaminjung coverbs (see e.g., Samarin 1971: 141; Voeltz 1971: 146f; Childs 1995: 140; Nuckolls 1996: 141; and also Heath 1976). Obviously, since verbs in Jaminjung form a very small class, and are semantically generic, such an extensive synonymy is ruled out. In yet other languages (see e.g., Samarin 1971: 149f. for Bantu languages, Voeltz 1971: 148f. for Zulu, Hutchison 1981: 229 for Kanuri, Amha, this volume, for Wolaitta, and Childs 1994: 187f. for a number of other African languages), ideophones may only form complex predicates with a single general performance verb or a verb introducing quoted speech. Jaminjung coverbs, on the other hand, are not restricted in this way in their combination with verbs. Most importantly, while ideophones are often only found in declarative affirmative contexts (see e.g., Newman 1968: 116; Childs 1994, 1995: 138; Kita 1997: 389f.; Schaefer, this volume), there is no such restriction for coverbs as part of canonical complex predicates; for example, (13) above shows a negated clause, and (11) a complex verb in the imperative. In this respect, Jaminjung complex verbs exhibit more similarities to other types of complex predicates, e.g., serial verb constructions, than to ideophone-verb constructions. 4.2 Coverbs as secondary predicates In the previous section, canonical complex verbs were defined as consisting of one or more unmarked coverbs, combining with a verb under a single intonation contour, and usually preceding the verb. Coverbs are also found in a different construction, where an intonation unit boundary intervenes between a simple or complex verb, and a following unmarked coverb. This boundary can consist in a non-final pitch rise (indicated by “,”), or a final falling contour (indicated by “\”), both usually accompanied by a clear pause. The coverb in this case typically, but not always, constitutes an intonation unit by itself. Some examples are given in (14) to (16).


(14) juwud majani yawurr-inangga-ji, yuno, {1.2}(ESB: yawayi) bily \ eye maybe irr:3pl-chop-refl you.know bust ‘They might hit each other in the eye, you know, busting it’ (discussing the dangers of a sling shot) (15) jamang ngarrg burr-angga-m \ {0.5} digirrij \ finally strangle 3pl:3sg-get/handle-prs die ‘Finally they strangle it, dead’ (bird) (16) ngiyi=biya wurlgba gan-antha \{0.6} burdurdubba \ prox=now carry.on.shoulder 3sg:3sg-take.prs gallop ‘Here it is carrying him away\ gallopping\’ (deer Æ boy, in picture book)

I would argue that coverbs in this construction can be analysed as secondary predicates. Secondary predicates are defined in the literature (e.g., Nichols 1978; Müller-Bardey 1990; Winkler 1997) as elements which are syntactically dependent on a main predicate, without forming a constituent with it, and which predicate on one of the arguments of the main predicate. The most important correlate of syntactic dependence is that secondary predicates are non-finite forms, and depend in their temporal interpretation on the main verb. On the other hand, they are focal constituents and are asserted independently of the main predicate. The unmarked coverbs3 in (14) to (16) qualify as secondary predicates in that they clearly predicate on one of the arguments in the preceding intonation unit (and therefore, by definition, share an argument with the main predicate), in that they are asserted independently of the main predicate, and in that they receive a resultative ((14) and (15)) or a depictive, i.e. simultaneous, reading with respect to the main predicate (16). Remarkably similar uses, in a position separated by a juncture from the main predicate, have also been reported for the ideophones of various languages (see e.g., Childs 1994: 187; Alpher 1994: 168). These have usually been analysed either as adverbials (e.g., Nuckolls 1996: 142) or as reduced sentences (e.g., Noss 1985: 149f.). The distinction between secondary predicates and adverbials is indeed a problematic one, and it looks as if languages could chose one or the other coding strategy in certain semantic areas (see e.g., Halliday 1967: 64f., Müller-Bardey 1990; König and van der Auwera 1990). A secondary predicate analysis seems preferable in those cases where the constituent in question is not a modifier of the verb or the whole clause, but only predicates on one of the arguments. The analysis of secondary predicates as a reduced clause (‘small clause’) has been favoured in treatments within the framework of Generative Grammar (e.g., Chomsky 1981: 110f.; Hoekstra 1988). In a mono-stratal account, however, it is not necessary to derive such expressions from an underlying sentence. Rather, by their inherent lack of inflectional morphology that would indicate finiteness, Jaminjung coverbs are well suited to a use as secondary predicates, since, as already indicated,


secondary predicates are non-finite forms, and depend in their temporal interpretation on the main verb. 4.3 Coverbs as semi-independent predicates Coverbs functioning as secondary predicates, as described in the previous section, are always semantically, if not syntactically, dependent on a finite verb serving as the main predicate. However, not all unmarked coverbs in a separate intonation unit can be analysed in this way. While unmarked coverbs used as secondary predicates can always combine with the verb in the main predicate as a canonical complex verb (see 4.1), coverbs in the other type of construction do not necessarily have to be semantically compatible with the verb (if there is any) in the preceding intonation unit. Moreover, several coverbs of this type can occur in immediate sequence, without an accompanying verb, as in (17) below. (17) ning burra-wa-na=gurra \ ngilthig \{1.1} ning \ ngilthig \ break.off 3pl:3sg-bite-impf=emph swallow break.off swallow ‘They were biting (some meat) off, swallow\ off, swallow\’ (crocodiles attacking cattle)

The coverb ngilthig ‘swallow’ in (17) cannot form a complex predicate with -wa ‘bite’, but only with the verbs -arra ‘put’ or -minda ‘eat’. Moreover, this coverb here describes a separate event in a sequence, that is, an event that is not integrated with the preceding predicate either by a resultative or a depictive semantic relationship. This becomes even more apparent when the coverbs ning and ngilthig occur in immediate sequence, without an accompanying verb. All textual genres where predicates of this type occur could be described as ‘highly contextualised discourse’. Their interpretation is, to a large extent, dependent on the linguistic and extra-linguistic context; for this reason, they are termed ‘semi-independent predicates’ here. Not only are coverbs non-finite and unable to encode temporal and aspectual information or to cross-reference arguments, but also semantic information that would be encoded by a verb in a canonical complex verb construction is missing from these expressions. Two main types of semiindependent predicates can be distinguished: First, coverbs on their own may have imperative illocutionary force, and are often used in orders to children. Compare (18a), with an inflected imperative verb form as part of a complex verb, and the coverbs used with imperative force in (18b, c). (18) Coverbs as semi-independent predicates with imperative illocutionary force a. gabardag, gad ba-manggu, ^gad / {0.25} quick cut imp-hit cut b. ^jarr::\ {0.5} put.down.one


c.

^gurdij/ stand ‘Quick, cut it! cut! put (it) down! stand up!’ (to boy cutting up a kangaroo while being videotaped)

Coverbs in narrative sequence, already illustrated in (17) above, constitute the second type of semi-independent predicates. In this function, coverbs are often, in addition, ‘performatively foregrounded’ (see also Section 5 below) by means of expressive prosody, indicated by ‘!’ in (19) below. This text fragment is from a procedural text about the traditional technique of making fire with a firedrill, and illustrates coverbs without an accompanying verb (i.e. as semi-independent predicates) as well as coverbs as part of canonical complex verbs. (19) Coverbs as semi-independent predicates in narrative sequence a. thanthiya=biya janyung dud yirr-angga-m \ {0.25} dem=now other hold.one 1pl.excl:3sg-get/handle-prs ‘Then we pick up another one,’ b. !bag … jungulug juwal \ {2.0} break one long ‘Break! One long one’ c. jurl-jurl naib-ni jamang \ {0.4} remove.skin-rdp knife-erg/instr ready ‘clean it with a knife (until it’s) ready,’ d. wij-wij \ {3.3} scrape-rdp ‘scraping’ e. jama binyinyi na, {1.8} ready use.firedrill now ‘then we use the firedrill’ (demonstrating rolling firedrill between palms) f. binyinyi biya::::::::::::::::::::::ng warnda dud \ {0.5} use.firedrill now grass hold.one ‘use the firedrill the::::::::::::::n, pick up grass’ g. larrman \ {2.1} dry ‘dry grass’ h. andanith jarr yirr-arra-m=ngarndi underneath put.one 1pl.excl:3sg-put-prs=sfoc thamurru-yun \ {0.7} below-l.abl ‘we put it underneath at the bottom’ i. binyinyib na, ngu’un buliki-gina tu, {0.5} use.firedrill now dung cow-POSS too ‘use the firedrill then, cow-dung too’


j.

jarr andanith \ {1.4} put.down.one underneath ‘(we) put underneath’ k. ngiya=biya langiny binyinyib na, {1.2} prox=now wood use.firedrill now ‘This stick we use as firedrill then’ l. binyinyib=biya::, thurnkulajbi::::: ({0.8}) \ use.firedrill=now smoulder ‘use it as drill then, (then it’s) smouldering,’ m. jama bu:: yirr-arra-m=ngarndi, {0.4} ready blow.with.mouth 1pl.excl:3sg-put-prs=sfoc ‘Then we blow (on it)’ n. meikim. {1.1} medili ga-rna-ya \ make ·false.startÒ light 3sg-burn-prs ‘make it light up’

It is in their use as semi-independent predicates that Jaminjung coverbs are most like ideophones. A similar usage of ideophones has been described for many languages,4 and is sometimes treated as evidence for the ‘sentential’ character of ideophones. The observation made by Noss (1985: 254) with regard to a text fragment consisting almost exclusively of ideophones in sequence — that the interpretation here relies to a large extent on the contextual knowledge of the hearer(s) — also applies to this use of Jaminjung coverbs. It is as if the hearer is invited to become more involved in the ‘decoding’ of the reported event by having to supply the information about the participants and temporal reference which would be contained in the verb in a canonical complex verb construction. In addition, the hearer may also have to reconstruct some semantic information that would be adduced by the generic verb. When asked to repeat an intonation unit for clarification, or for translation out of context, speakers will always supply the appropriate verb. 4.4 Coverbs in non-finite subordinate clauses There is one other syntactic context where coverbs can function as predicates without an accompanying inflected verb. This is in nominalised subordinate clauses in adverbial function. Verbs in Jaminjung cannot be nominalised; rather, a clause may be nominalised and subordinated by means of a case marker which attaches directly to the coverb, and optionally, as in (20), to its arguments (which however are only rarely present). Since coverbs do not have a finite form, and are therefore not specified for illocutionary force, person, or tense/aspect/mood, there is no need to overtly mark coverbs in this function as non-finite forms. The most frequent types of adverbial clause headed by coverbs are purposive and causal subordinate clauses. Purposive adverbial clauses are marked with the


dative case -gu ˜ -wu , which can have a purposive or benefactive reading also with nominals. (20) buru yirr-anjama-ny skul-bina return 1pl.excl:3sg-bring-pst school-all jalig-gu birrgab-birrgab-gu child-dat make-rdp-dat ‘We took them back to the school for the kids to make (baskets)’ (pandanus leaves)

As has already been pointed out by Alpher (1994:166), their ability to function as main predicates in subordinate clauses constitutes a major difference between the uninflected elements in languages like Jaminjung, which have closed-class verbs, and prototypical ideophones, like those in some Australian languages of North Queensland.

5.

Performative foregrounding

Although, as shown in Section 4, coverbs may occur in syntactic environments that go beyond those that are allowed for prototypical ideophones, they share one further, crucial property with ideophones. This is the possibility of ‘performative foregrounding’ by the use of expressive prosody, such as interruption of rhythmic flow by pausing immediately before or after the coverb, lengthening, higher intensity, and larger pitch range. Another feature that is indicative of the expressive nature of coverbs, the frequency of co-occurring gestures,5 should also be mentioned at this point, although so far this phenomenon has not been investigated in enough detail for Jaminjung. In the following examples, as in (19) above, expressive prosody is indicated by an exclamation mark preceding the coverb. The example in (21) is from a narrative about a flying fox biting a woman, and (22) is from a similar narrative about a goanna that had climbed up a woman who was hunting it. In both cases, the animal had to be killed to rescue the person. (21) ning=biji yirri-ma gurunyung !barr:: \ break.off=only 1pl.excl:3sg-hit.pst head smash ‘We only killed it, smashing its head’ (flying fox who had bitten a woman) (22) nguyung-ngunthu-ni=biya yugung=ung ga-ruma-ny + husband-kin3-erg=now run=cotemp 3sg-come-pst + ngiya-ngunyi !deb … gani-ma \ prox-abl knock.down 3sg:3sg-hit.pst !digirrij=jung ngayin=marlang die=cotemp meat.animal=given ‘Her husband came running from here and knocked it down\dead, the animal’ (goanna who had climbed up a woman hunting it)


A further stylistic effect can be achieved through repetition of coverbs, iconically representing a repeated action. While reduplicated coverbs (see Section 3 above) only carry a single word stress, each repeated coverb receives its own word stress. All instances of jang ‘chew’ in (23) have emphatic stress; this example is from a text describing how a stick for obtaining tree honey is made from a piece of fibre by chewing it intensely. (23) wardi gad yirra-nangga:, tree.species cut 1pl.excl:3sg-chop.pst ‘jang ‘jang ‘jang ‘jang, yathang=ung \ chew all.right=cotemp ‘We cut (bark off) the wardi tree, chew!, chew!, chew!, chew!, all right then’

It is not completely clear at present whether performative foregrounding through expressive prosody or reiteration is restricted to certain semantic types of coverbs. In all attested cases, the coverb encodes a concrete type of contact and/or change of state. Also, the frequency of this ideophone-like use of coverbs varies greatly with speakers, depending on the ‘liveliness’ of their general narrative style. As already indicated in Section 4.4, expressive prosody frequently accompanies the use of coverbs as semi-independent predicates, but, as shown in (21) and (22), is also possible in canonical complex predicates.

6. Summary In this paper, the properties of members of an open class of uninflected predicative lexemes (coverbs) in Jaminjung, a Northern Australian language, were discussed and compared with properties of ideophones in languages of various families, as described in the literature. One of the crucial features in which coverbs are reminiscent of ideophones is their lack of inflectional morphology. Furthermore, at least a substantial subclass of coverbs exhibit a certain degree of phonological and phonotactic peculiarities, can be regarded as sound-symbolic, and — presumably related to their sound-symbolic nature — can be performatively foregrounded by the use of expressive prosody. In terms of their syntactic properties, coverbs show some further similarities, but also clear differences, to ideophones. Their main function is as part of complex predicates, in combination with an inflected verb from a closed class. Although the possibility to form complex predicates has also been described for ideophones in some languages, coverbs in this construction, or in the related secondary predicate construction, usually do not have an expressive function (however, as shown in Section 5, they may be performatively foregrounded in these constructions too).


Furthermore, coverbs can serve as main predicates in non-finite subordinate clauses, without any particular expressive force. On the other hand, coverbs may function as semi-independent predicates, without an accompanying verb and without any sign of subordination. In this — expressive — use, coverbs are restricted to highly contextualised discourse, and, in terms of illocutionary force, function either as imperatives or as affirmative statements. From a typological perspective, one could argue that several universal tendencies have conspired, in Jaminjung and other Northern Australian languages, to ‘produce’ a typologically unusual open class of uninflected predicates, resulting, at the same time, in a reduction of the number of inflected verbs to a closed class. The first tendency is that of complex predicate formation, which manifests itself in other languages in serial verb constructions, particle verb constructions, or complex predicates consisting of nouns or nominalised verb forms and light verbs. Jaminjung coverbs, although covering most ‘verbal’ concepts semantically, have a reduced verbal status in that they cannot take verbal inflections. Therefore, in the majority of their uses, they have to “share a spotlight” (Hopper and Thompson 1985: 172) with an inflected verb, either as part of a complex predicate, or as a secondary predicate which likewise depends in its temporal interpretation on the main predicate. A second universal tendency concerns the use of predicates with reduced verbal status in subordinate clauses expressing — in the terminology of Lehmann (1982, 1988) — a ‘typified proposition’. In Jaminjung, there is no need to employ subordinate or nominalised verb forms for this purpose (and in fact there are no such forms), since the open class of predicative elements is already uninflected, i.e. inherently unspecified for illocutionary force and tense/aspect/mood. The third tendency was the focus of investigation in this paper; this is the tendency to put to expressive use uninflected, and often sound-symbolic, elements which have been described as ideophones for many languages. ‘Expressiveness’ can be measured, to some extent, in terms of the degree of inherent illocutionary force, as reflected in syntactic restrictions e.g. to affirmative statements, and probably also in terms of the degree of ‘extra-systematicity’, e.g., phonological peculiarities, or paralinguistic features. As I have tried to demonstrate in this paper, the uninflected coverbs of Jaminjung, or at least a subclass of sound-symbolic coverbs, easily lend themselves to an expressive use, in addition to their other functions. In a typology of ideophones, the coverbs of Jaminjung and other Northern Australian languages would therefore probably indicate the upper bound of syntactic possibilities of uninflected elements which, because of the small number of inflected verbs available in this language, take over functions of non-finite verb forms as well as ‘ideophone-like’ functions.


Finally, one might ask how verbal systems like the Jaminjung one could have arisen in diachronic terms. In fact, it has been suggested (see Heath 1976; McGregor 1996 and this volume) that ideophones could have provided a starting point and model for coverbs. In other words, systems where uninflected predicates form an open class and inflected verbs a closed class could have developed from systems with a smaller class of true ideophones in constructions with verbs from an open class. It would therefore be no accident that coverbs in Jaminjung, as I have argued here, still betray their ideophonic origins.

Abbreviations 1, 2, 3 1st, 2nd, 3rd person abl ablative all allative cont continuous cotemp cotemporal dat dative dem neutral demonstrative (‘given’) dist distal du dual emph emphasis erg(/instr) ergative(/instrumental) excl exclusive fut future/potential imp imperative impf (past) imperfective incl inclusive irr irrealis kin3 his/her kin loc locative l.abl ablative (locationals) neg negative now “now”, “then” poss possessor pl plural prox proximal prs present pst past (perfective) refl reflexive/reciprocal rdp reduplication sfoc sentence focus sg singular

pronominal category case suffix case suffix derivational suffix on coverbs clitic case suffix demonstrative demonstrative pronominal category focus clitic case suffix pronominal category modal prefix modal prefix tense/aspect suffix pronominal category modal prefix suffix on kinship terms case suffix case suffix on locationals particle focus clitic case suffix / free pronoun stem pronominal category demonstrative tense suffix tense/aspect suffix derivational suffix on verbs focus clitic pronominal category

DEST "sch2-n*">

Ideophone-like characteristics of uninflected predicates in Jaminjung (Australia)

Other notational conventions . short pause within an intonation unit {1.1} pause in seconds :(:::) lengthening \ falling intonation (‘sentence-final intonation’) , pause but non-sentence-final (mostly raising) intonation / rising intonation ^ emphatic stress ! prosodic foregrounding (e. g. extra high/low pitch, extra intensity) wed (underline) Kriol

Notes * For their comments on previous versions of this paper, and/or general discussions on the topic, I would like to thank Barry Alpher, Felix Ameka, Tucker Childs, Nikolaus Himmelmann, Sotaro Kita, Christian Lehmann, Bill McGregor, and David Wilkins. I also owe a great debt to the Aboriginal Communities in Bulla Camp, Timber Creek, and Mirima (Kununurra), and to the Jaminjung and Ngaliwurru speakers who taught me some of their language, in particular Violet Balidi, Dolly Bardbarriya, Daisy Bitting, Judy Marchant, Dinah and Duncan McDonald, Doris Pannikin, Iza Pretlove, Doris and Laurie Roberts, Eileen Roberts, and Margaret Wilinygari. Financial support for my fieldwork, which is gratefully acknowledged, came from the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), for six months in 1993, and from the Max-PlanckInstitute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, between 1994 and 1997. 1. The orthography used here follows common Australianist practice. Digraphs are employed for the palatal nasal ·nyÒ and lateral ·lyÒ, the velar nasal ·ngÒ, the interdental stop ·thÒ, the retroflex stop ·rdÒ, nasal ·rnÒ and lateral ·rlÒ, and the alveolar trill ·rrÒ. The grapheme ·jÒ represents a palatal stop. There is no contrast between voiced and voiceless stops; stops are phonetically voiced in syllable onset and medial position and voiceless in coda position. 2. For the formal criteria for establishing coverb classes in Jaminjung, and an overview of the classes identified in this way, see Schultze-Berndt (2000, Ch. 6). 3. In Jaminjung, coverbs can also be marked as secondary predicates in a number of ways. These constructions are left out of consideration here; see Schultze-Berndt (2000) for details. 4. See e. g. Hamano (1986: 17f.) for Japanese, Samarin (1971: 149) for Bantu languages, Noss (1985: 254) for Gbaya, von Staden (1977: 217) for Zulu, Alpher (1994: 168) for Yir-Yoront, Nuckolls (1996: 72) for Pastaza Quechua. 5. For the tight coupling of ideophonic linguistic expressions and gestures see e. g. Samarin (1971: 153), von Staden (1977: 219), Childs (1994: 196), Kita (1997: 392ff. and this volume).

References Alpher, Barry. 1994. “Yir-Yoront ideophones”. In L. Hinton, J. Nichols and J. J. Ohala (eds), Sound Symbolism, 161–177. Cambridge: CUP.

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Chadwick, N. 1997. “The Barkly and Jaminjungan languages: A non-contiguous genetic grouping in North Australia”. In D. Tryon and M.Walsh (eds), Boundary Rider: Essays in honour of Geoffrey O’Grady, 95–106. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics C-136. Childs, G. Tucker. 1989. “Where do ideophones come from?” Studies in the Linguistic Sciences 19: 57–78. Childs, G. Tucker. 1994. “African ideophones. “ In L. Hinton, J. Nichols and J. J. Ohala (eds), Sound Symbolism, 178–204. Cambridge: CUP. Childs, G. Tucker. 1995. A Grammar of Kisi. A southern atlantic language. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Chomsky, N. 1981. Lectures on Government and Binding. Dordrecht: Foris. Green, I. 1995. “The death of ‘prefixing’: Contact-induced typological change in northern Australia”. Berkeley Linguistic Society 21: 414–425. Halliday, M. A. K. 1967. “Notes on transitivity and theme in English, Part 1”. Journal of Linguistics 3: 37–81. Hamano, S. S. 1986. The Sound Symbolic System of Japanese. PhD. thesis, University of Florida. Heath, J. 1976. “Topic E: Simple and compound verbs: Conjugation by auxiliaries in Australian verbal systems — North-east Arnhem Land”. In R. M. W. Dixon (ed.), Grammatical Categories in Australian Languages, 735–740 [Linguistic Series 22]. Canberra: A. I. A. S. Hoddinott, W. G. and F. M. Kofod. 1976. “Topic E: Simple and compound verbs: Conjugation by auxiliaries in Australian verbal systems: Djamindjungan”. In R.M.W. Dixon (ed.), Grammatical Categories in Australian Languages, 698–704 [Linguistic Series 22]. Canberra: A. I. A.S. Hoekstra, T., 1988. “Small clause results”. Lingua 74: 101–139. Hopper, P. J. and S. A. Thompson. 1985. “The iconicity of the universal categories ‘noun’ and ‘verb’”. In J. Haiman (ed), Iconicity in Syntax , 151–183. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Hutchison, J. P. 1981. “Kanuri word formation and the structure of the lexicon”. In T. C. Schadeberg and M. L. Bender (eds), Nilo-Saharan Proceedings, 217–237. Cinnaminson, NJ: Foris. Kita, S. 1997. “Two-dimensional semantic analysis of Japanese mimetics”. Linguistics 35(2): 379–415. König, E. and J. van der Auwera, 1990. “Adverbial participles, gerunds and absolute constructions in the languages of Europe”. In J. Bechert, G. Bernini and C. Buridant (eds), Toward a Typology of European Languages, 337–355. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Kulemeka, A. T. C. 1995. “Sound symbolic and grammatical frameworks: A typology of ideophones in Asian and African languages”. South African Journal of African Languages 15(2): 73–84. Lehmann, C. 1982. “Nominalisierung: Typisierung von Propositionen”. In H. Seiler and C. Lehmann (eds), Apprehension. Das sprachliche Erfassen von Gegenständen. Teil I: Bereich und Ordnung der Phänomene, 66–83. Tübingen: Narr. Lehmann, C. 1988. “Towards a typology of clause linkage”. In J. Haiman and S. A. Thompson (eds), Clause Combining in Grammar and Discourse, 181–225. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. McGregor, W. B. 1990. A Functional Grammar of Gooniyandi. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. McGregor, W. B. 1996. “Sound symbolism in Gooniyandi, a language of Western Australia”. Word 47(3): 339–364. Merlan, F. C. 1994. A Grammar of Wardaman. A language of the Northern Territory of Australia [Mouton Grammar Library 11]. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Müller-Bardey, T. 1989. “Koprädikation als grundlegende syntaktische Operation”. In H. Seiler et al. (eds), Internationales interdisziplinäres Kolloquium “Sprache und Denken: Variation und Invarianz in Linguistik und Nachbardisziplinen”, 1–20. Köln: Universität Köln: Arbeiten des Kölner Universalien-Projekts (akup) 81.


Newman, P. 1968. “Ideophones from a syntactic point of view”. Journal of West African Linguistics 5(2): 107–117. Nichols, J. 1978. “Secondary predicates”. Berkeley Linguistic Society 4: 114–127. Noss, P. A. 1985. “The ideophone in Gbaya syntax”. In G. Dimmendaal (ed.), Current Approaches to African Linguistics, Vol. 3: 241–255. Dordrecht: Foris. Nuckolls, J. B. 1996. Sounds Like Life: Sound-symbolic grammar, performance, and cognition in Pastaza Quechua [Oxford Studies in Anthropological Linguistics 2]. Oxford: OUP. Samarin, W. 1971. “Survey of Bantu ideophones”. African Language Studies 12: 130–168. Schultze-Berndt, E. 2000. Simple and Complex Verbs in Jaminjung. A study of event categorisation in an Australian language. PhD thesis, Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen. Staden, P. M. S. von. 1977. “Some remarks on ideophones in Zulu”. African Studies 36: 195–224. Voeltz, F. K. E. 1971. “Toward the syntax of the ideophone in Zulu”. In C.-W. Kim and H. Stahlke (eds), Papers in African Linguistic, 141–152. Edmonton: Linguistic Research, Inc. Winkler, S. 1997. Focus and Secondary Predication. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

La formation des radicaux déidéophoniques et des idéophones déverbatifs en t77t77la (dialecte ewango) Okombe-Lukumbu Tassa Université de Bruxelles

1.

Généralités

Cette étude porte sur les mécanismes de formation des radicaux verbaux déidéophoniques et des idéphones déverbatifs dans la langue t7t7la. Celle-ci occupe un vaste domaine évalué à une superficie de 90.000 km2 au Sud-Est de la Cuvette centrale en République Démocratique du Congo. Située entre les 22° et 26° longitude-Est et les 2° et 5° parallèles-Sud, la langue t7t7la est parlée par environ un million de locuteurs. La majeure partie de ces locuteurs vit dans le district du Sankuru l’une des entités administratives de la Province du Kasaï oriental. Dans les classifications de Guthrie (1948, 1970) et Bastin (1978), le t7t7la figure sous l’indice C. 71. Le parler ewangó qui est au centre de cette étude est l’un des nombreux dialectes de cette langue bantoue. Il sert de dialecte standard pour tout le réseau d’évangélisation et d’enseignement protestant. Nous identifions des radicaux déidéophoniques et des idéophones dérivés exclusivement de radicaux verbaux parce qu’à notre avis, le processus dérivationnel peut se produire dans deux sens distincts. L’identification de ce processus se fonde sur cinq critères: 1.Il y a des affinités morphosémantiques indéniables entre un certain nombre de radicaux verbaux et les idéophones qui ler servent de formes de base. 2.Il y a aussi des affinités morphosémantiques entre un certain nombre de radicaux verbaux considérés comme formes de base et les idéophones qui en dérivent. 3.Les idéopones qui réitèrent partiellement ou totalement les radicaux verbaux avec lesquels ils sont en corrélation morphosémantique et syntaxique s emploient facultativement à des fins iconiques. Ils servent ainsi de circonstants descriptifs et adverbiaux aux verbes qui leur correspondent.

376 Okombe-Lukumbu Tassa

4.Les radicaux verbaux déidéophonique et les idéophones dérivés des radicaux s’organisent avec leur formes de base respectives, en petits ensembles paradigmatiques et en petites séries syntagmatiques. 5.Par rapport à la forme des base, la forme dérivée d’un radical ou d’un idéophone se caractérise par un suffixe. Celui-ci est soit déidéophonique, soit idéophonique. La description d’un certain nombre d’idéophones de base et d’idéophones dérivés de radicaux verbaux suppose qu’ à certains égards, l’on admette l’existence d’une phonologie et d’une morphologie marginales ou iconiques. Ngulinzira (1977: 17–19) reconnaît leur existence en t7t7la et sa contribution a le grand mérite d’en avoir fait la description. D’une part, cet auteur indique que “la phonologie marginale comporte un certain nombre de mérismes et d’ensemble de mérismes exclus de la phonologie générale de la langue et utilisés principalement dans la morphologie marginale”. D’autre part, il note que cette phonologie marginale “est liée à l’expressivité et aux emprunts aux langues étrangères”. C’est dans ce cadre que nous traiterons un certain nombre de phonèmes marginaux attestés dans bon nombre d’idéophones. Nous avons en effet observé des phonèmes et des traits morphologiques marginaux dans bon nombre d’idéophones qui servent de formes de base et dans un certain nombre d’idéophones dérivés de radicaux verbaux. Parmi eux, figurent les voyelles et les consonnes ultra-longues que Ngulinzira n’a pas explicitement décrites mais qui ne sont pas des éléments constitutifs de la phonologie canonique. Du point de vue de la création lexicale spontanée, le processus dérivationnel exerce certaines contraintes sur les morphophonèmes marginaux. Ceux-ci se modifient et se confondent avec les morphophonèmes canoniques qui leur sont proches sur le plan articulatoire. Tout indique que ces adaptations sont la condition sine qua non de l’intervention des mécanismes et des procédures de dérivation. Nous notons deux tons ponctuels haut (´) et bas (`) dans la structure sousjacente. Nous n’indiquons que le ton haut (´) et les tons modulés dans la représentation de surface où cependant le ton bas et deux tons haut placés sur une même voyelle indiquent une voyelle longue. Les symboles (+) et (−) marquent respectivement la limite initiale d’un radical verbal ou d’un thème et la limite quelconque d’un morphème. L’astérisque (*) sera affecté à un radical verbal lié ou entravé. Enfin, signalons que le phonème /d/ a deux réalisations: [l] devant les voyelles allant du second jusqu’au quatrième degré et [d] devant les voyelles du premier degré et derrière la nasale alvéolaire. Pour des raisons d’ordre pratique, nous notons les réalisations du phonème /d/.

Radicaux déidéophonique et des idéophones déverbatifs en t7t7la 377

2.

La formation des radicaux verbaux déidéophonique

Un certain nombre d’idéophones sont dotés de structures monosyllabiques, dissyllabiques et trisyllabiques. Ils sont posés comme des formes de base à partir desquelles les radicaux verbaux déidéophooniques sont formés. Les mécanismes utilisés dans leur formation se présentent de la manière suivante: 2.1 Redoublement de la consonne d’un idéophone monosyllabique Le redoublement de la consonne d’un idéophone monosyllabique de structure CV sert à former des radicaux déidéophoniques de structure +CVC−. Le redoublement de la consonne initiale de l’idéophone intervient comme facteur de “déidéophonisation” sans modifier le ton de l’idéophone. Exemples: (1) t´7

évoque un petit bruit sec d’un objet qui se casse ou se brise fi +t´7t‘casser, briser; frapper’ fi +t´7t-ám-á ‘être cassé, être brisé, être frappé’ fi +t´7t-án-á ‘se frapper mutuellement’

(2) má évoque/amplifie l’adhésion, le rapprochement entre deux êtres ou deux objets fi +mám- ‘“coller; calomnier, diffamer” mámá’ fi +mám-ém-á ‘être collé;être calomnié’ fi +mám-án-á ‘se coller mutuellement, calomnier mutuellement’ (3) ká évoque l’incrustration, le coincement, l’attachement fi *+ká-kfi +kák-è‘incruster, coincer, attacher’ fi +kák-ém-á ‘être incrusté, être attaché’ fi +kák-ól-á ‘détacher, décoincer’ fi *+kák-átfi +kákát-7´ ‘s’approprier de, usurper’ fi +kákát-án-á ‘s’attacher l’un à l’autre’

2.2 Abrègement d’une voyelle ultra-longue et redoublement de la con-

sonne initiale d’un idéophone monosyllabique Quelques idéophones qui se caractérisent par des voyelles ultra-longues servent de formes de base pour former des radicaux déidéophoniques. La formation d’un certain nombre de radicaux déidéophoniques s’opère en appliquant deux mécanismes dans l’ordre suivant: 1.Abrègement de la voyelle ultr-longue: Cet abrègement vise à créer un cadre

378 Okombe-Lukumbu Tassa

propice à la formation d’un radical verbal déidéophonique; et intégration éventuelle de la consonne dans la phonologie canonique. 2. Redoublement de la consonne initiale de la syllable de structure CV: ce redoublement permet de former un radical doté d’une structure de type +CVC-: (4) b´77´7´ imite/évoque le bêlement (chèvre, mouton) fi *+b´7bfi +b´7b-´7l-á ‘ennuyer(qqn) par une demande pressante, intermittente et irritante (sous-entendu: la manière d’un bouc mâle en rut derrière une femelle)’ (5) sààà évoque le déploiment d’un habit qu’on est en train de secouer fi *+sàsfi +sàs-òl-a ‘déployer (habit) en le secouant (pour en ôter la poussière ou la poudre)’ fi +sas¢f ‘se déployer après avoir nsas été secoué’ fi lo+sas-ó 11 ‘morceau de pagne fripé’

2.3 Abrègement de la voyelle ultra-longue et adjonction du suffixe déi-

déophonique -lDeux attestations: (6) hooo évoque/amplifie la descente fi *+hòlfi +hòl-¢f ‘descendre’ fi +hòl-ó-yá‘faire descendre’ fi o+hol-ol-a 3|4 ‘descente, vallée’ (7) heee

imite le bruit d’un pot mis sur le feu ou le bruit lointain d’un engin motorisé en marche fi +hèl‘faire du bruit (pot sur feu), faire du bruit (engin motorisé qui est au loin)’ fi lo+hel-o 11 ‘bruit d’un engin motorisé qui est au loin’

2.4 Abrègement de la vibrante apico-alvéolaire ultra´longue [rrr] en [r] et

transformation de celle-ci en une latérale alvéolaire [l] (8) kfrrr imite le ronflement fi +kfl-á ‘ronfler’ fi lf+kfd-u ‘ronflement’ (9) t7rrr

imite le bruit d’une machine à coudre en marche ou d’un enfant à la fois bavard et indiscret fi +t`7l-á ‘coudre; parler beaucoup et avec indiscrétion (enfant)’ fi n+t7di ‘9|10 aiguille’ fi f+t7dí 3 ‘bavardage et indiscrétion’

Radicaux déidéophonique et des idéophones déverbatifs en t7t7la 379

Selon toute vraisemblance, l’idéophone t7rrr n’est apparu dans la langue qu’après l’introduction de la machine à coudre dans l’aire t7t7la. Il est donc postérieur au radical verbal -t7`l-‘coudre’. L’idéophone est aligné sur l’idéophone kfrrr. Néanmoins celui-ci sert de forme de base au radical verbal -k`fl- ‘ronfler’, ce qui n’est pas le cas de t7rrr vis-à-vis du radical t`7l qui en est la forme de base. 2.5 L’adjonction d’un suffixe déidéophonique Un suffixe déidéophonique s’adjoint à un idéophone de structures CV, CVCV, CVCVCV pour former respectivement des radicaux déidéophoniques dotés de structures +CVC-, +CVCVC-. La suffixation d’un morphème déidéophonique est envisagée comme un élément de morphologie expressive avec un rôle de déidéophonisation. Ce suffixe déidéophonique n’a aucun rapport formel avec les consonnes initiales ou médianes des idéophones. Il sert simplement à former un radical déidéophonique.Le premier ton du radical verbal déidéophonique est lexical. Tout autre ton d’un radical verbal dissyllabique ou trisyllabique est grammaticalement bas. Et tout ton qui se situe entre le ton lexical et le ton de la finale appartient au post-radical. De ce fait, il est soumis à l’application des règles d’assimilation tonale régressive et progressive(Ngulinzira 1977). Les suffixes déidéophoniques se présentent de la manière suivante: 2.5.1 Le suffixe déidéophonique -mLe suffixe déidéophonique -m- s’adjoint à un idéophone monosyllabique ou dissyllabique pour former un radical verbal déidéophonique de structure +CVCou+(N)CVCVC-: (10) ká évoque la densité, la compacité fi +kám-á ‘devenir dense, compact’ fi +ká\-á[

Ideophones (Typological Studies in Language, 44)

Ideophones (Typological Studies in Language, 44)

Prototypical Transitivity (Typological Studies in Language)

Coordinating Constructions (Typological Studies in Language)

Dimensions of Possession (Typological Studies in Language)

Deconstructing Creole (Typological Studies in Language)

Coordinating Constructions (Typological Studies in Language)

Studies in African Linguistic Typology (Typological Studies in Language)

Creoles, their Substrates, and Language Typology (Typological Studies in Language)

Studies in Evidentiality: v. 54 (Typological Studies in Language)

Benefactives and Malefactives: Typological Perspectives and Case Studies (Typological Studies in Language)

Theoretical and Empirical Issues in Grammaticalization (Typological Studies in Language)

New Reflections on Grammaticalization Vol 49 (Typological Studies in Language)

A Typology of Purpose Clauses (Typological Studies in Language)

Reflexives: Forms and Functions (Typological Studies in Language)

Case, Typology and Grammar (Typological Studies in Language)

The Linguistics of Giving (Typological Studies in Language)

Rethinking Grammaticalization: New perspectives (Typological Studies in Language)

Passivization And Typology: Form And Function (Typological Studies in Language)

Adpositions: Pragmatic, Semantic and Syntactic Perspectives (Typological Studies in Language)

Modality-Aspect Interfaces: Implications and typological solutions (Typological Studies in Language)

Interaction of Morphology and Syntax: Case studies in Afroasiatic (Typological Studies in Language)

Formulaic Language, Vol. 1: Distribution and historical change (Typological Studies in Language)

Formulaic Language, Vol. 2: Acquisition, loss, psychological reality, and functional explanations (Typological Studies in Language)

Clusivity: Typology and Case Studies of Inclusive-Exclusive Distinction (Typological Studies in Language)

Voice And Grammatical Relations: In Honor of Masayoshi Shibatani (Typological Studies in Language)

Modality in typological perspective

ADVANCES IN IMMUNOLOGY VOLUME 44, Volume 44

44

Deixis and Alignment: Inverse systems in indigenous languages of the Americas (Typological Studies in Language)

Space in Languages: Linguistic Systems And Cognitive Categories (Typological Studies in Language)

Ideophones (Typological Studies in Language, 44)