VOJTĚCH DIATKA CHARLES UNIVERISTY PRAGUE 24.11.2012 Ideophones in Hindi झझझझझझ
Jan 15, 2016
VOJTĚCH DIATKACHARLES UNIVERISTY PRAGUE
24.11.2012
Ideophones in Hindiझि�लमि�ल
Outline
Weird words in Hindi and their current treatment in grammars – jhijhak (coyness, hesitating)
My proposal how to treat them with introducing a new linguistic category to Hindi linguistics
• Concise survey of these weird words
• Future research
„Weird“ words subsumed under Onomatopoeia
It contains typical onomatopoeic words budbudānā – to mumble, to mutter cahcahānā – to twitter ṭapṭapānā – to drop
BUT it contains also weird words mahmah – with fragrance cupcāp – quitely ṭakṭakī –stare, gaze
Smékal 1979
In Smékal‘s study on reduplication appears one category - Onomatopoeic reduplication
TreatmentTreatment GrammariansGrammarians
„Simultaneously, it has to be born in mind that not all the actions described by onomatopoeic words have to be connected with sounds and in this sense are not pure ono words, as we know Smékal (1979:6) them from elsewhere. This is a special way of expression typical for more Indian languages where various states and feelings are conveyed by the quasi onomatopoeia.“
Hindi grammarians on „weird“ words
•Complete omission of onomatopoeia Agnihotri(2007), Pořízka(1972)
•Brief mention of onomatopoeic words Kachru(2006:122), Shukla(2001:148-150) and Montaut (2004:160)
What are these words?
They do not imitate sound
They are though subsumed under onomatopeia
They are in some respects similar to onotopoeic words
झि�लमि�ल jhilmil
(Starry Night Over the Rhone – V.Gogh)
Glimmer(ing)
Glitter(ing)
Twinkling
Shimmer(ing)
Flicker(ing)
Blazing
„poetry in ordinary language“ (Lautmalerei)
EVANS-PRITCHARD E. E. (1962)
The best crosslinguistic definition
They stand out from other words:
reduplication budbudānā – to bubble, thartharānā – to tremble, to
shiver
expressive(marked,subjective element) semantics cipcipā - sticky, clinging, slimy or greasy
perceptually eXcEpTiOnAl
(DINGEMANSE 2011)
Ideophones are marked words that depict sensory imagery Ideophones are marked words that depict sensory imagery
The best crosslinguistic definition
They depict rather than describe He said he was coming. X He said: „I am coming.“
The crucial feature [of ideophones], then, is not “resemblance to” but “invitation to seeing as” (DINGEMANSE 2011:184)
Ideophones are marked words that depict sensory imagery
The best crosslinguistic definition
They represent not only sensations of outer world Hearing, vision, touch, taste and smell
but also interoceptive experiences States of mind, subject evaluations, feelings…
hakkā-bakkā – confused, perplexed Gudgud - soft, pulpy cakācaudh - glitter
Ideophones are marked words that depict sensory imagery
Summary
Perceptually exceptional
Depict rather than describe
Intercoeptive experience
Sensation of outer world
Reduplication
Semantic domains associated with ideophones in Hindi
1.Onomatopoia
2.Other traditional senses
3.Manners of movement
4.Interoceptive experience
• It is not meant to be exhaustive list
• First survey of ideophones in Hindi
• representatives of major word classes – verbs, nouns, adjectives
1.Onomatopoia
2.Other traditional senses
3.Manners of movement
4.Interoceptive experience
•Core member of category Ideophones
•Words imitating sounds
kaṭkaṭānā – to click, to crack (V) susakār – hissing (N) gungunā – mumbling (A) surasurānā - to move like rustling insect (V)pharpharáná – to flutter (as a flag) (V)
1.Onomatopoia
2.Other traditional senses
3.Manners of movement
4.Interoceptive experience
•Words connected with another human senses - vision, touch, taste and smell
•Not “resemblance to” but “invitation to seeing as”
•Not equally distrubuted across all modalities of perception
jhilmilānā – to glitter, to shine (V) gudgudāhaṭ – tickling (N) ṭimṭimā – blazing, glittering (A) phusphusā – soft, tender (A) mahmah – with fragrance (I)
1.Onomatopoia
2.Other traditional senses
3.Manners of movement
4.Interoceptive experience
•This category is usually widespread across ideophonic languages (JUNOD 1896:196)
•Could be subumed under vision
laplapānā – to spring, to flicker (V) laṛkhaṛāhaṭ– stumbling (N) chaṭpaṭā - wriggling (A) thapthapānā – to pat with love (V) tilmilānā – to convulse in pain (V)
1.Onomatopoia
2.Other traditional senses
3.Manners of movement
4.Interoceptive experience
•Not only we have extero-receptors, but also intero-receptors and proprio-receptors
jhijhaknā – to hesitate (V) hakkābakkā - confused (A) thiṭhak - stiffen (I) gadgad – very happy (I)gumsum – thoughtful (I)
Future research I
Ideophonic meaning is usually inherently vague
It is impossible to capture meaning of unit in isolation
chaṭpaṭānā – to wriggle / to be restless/ to yearn, to long
cipcipā – sticky / adhesive / clinging / slimy, greasy
Future research II
Ideophones are usually understood as a separate category of words (KILIAN-HATZ 2006:510, DINGEMANSE 2011:133)
Semantically and functionally – one unique category
Syntactically – two categories
genuine ideophones Integrated ideophones
Future research II
Genuine ideophones
(1)caṭ-paṭ capātī - quickly made bread (literally fast bread)(2)caṭ-paṭ patā calegā – it will soon be discovered (it is adverb)
Integrated ideophones
(1) phusphusā - fragile, brittle, soft, tender (A)(2) laṛkhaṛāhaṭ - stumbling, staggering (N)(3) thapthapānā - to pat with affection (V)
References
DINGEMANSE, M. 2011. Ideophones and the aesthetics of everyday language in a West-African society. The Senses & Society, 6(1), 77-85.
DINGEMANSE, M. 2011. The Meaning and Use of Ideophones in Siwu. PhD Thesis. Radbound Univeristy Nijmegen.
SMÉKAL, ODOLEN. 1979. The Reduplicative Formations and Semantic Pairs in Hindi. In Asian and African Linguistic Studies, Studia Orientalia Pragensia IX, Univerzita Karlova.
AGNIHOTRI, RAMA, KANT. 2007. Hindi - An essential grammar. Routledge.
KACHRU, YAMUNA. 2006. Hindi. In London Oriental and African language library, Volume 12, John Benjamins Bublishing.
MONTAUT, ANNIE. 2004. A grammar of Hindi. Lincom Europa.
POŘÍZKA, VINCENT. 1972. Hindština (Hindí language course). Praha: Státní pedagogické nakladatelství.
SHUKLA, SHALINGRAM. 2001. Hindi Morphology. Lincom Europa.
JUNOD, HENRI A. 1896. Grammaire Ronga. Lausanne: Imprimerie Georges Bridel & Cie.
KILIAN-HATZ,CHRISTINE. 2006. Ideophones. In Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics, ed. Keith Brown, 508-512. Oxford: Elsevier.
Evans-Pritchard, E. E. 1962. “Ideophones in Zande.” Sudan Notes and Records 34: 143-146. Biblio k poetry in languat