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