Recent literature has moved research of sound symbolic expressions significantly
forward. Typologies of sound symbolic terms have been proposed for various languages
(e.g. Hilton et al 1994, Nuckolls 1996, and Hamano 1998). The study of sound
symbolism has particularly advanced among languages where sound symbolic expressions
are characterized by a specific morphological pattern (Hamano 1994:155, Hamano
1998). Simultaneously, relationship between a linguistic form and meaning has
been implicitly discussed in cognitive linguistics: for example, Langacker (2003)
shows varying degrees to which a linguistic form and meaning can be decomposed;
this model may be extended to phonological segments to claim that non-arbitrary
relationship between sound and meaning may be more salient in some parts of
the language than others.
This presentation constitutes part of my attempt towards a systematic examination
of Czech sound symbolism, using what I will call Discourse-Aspectuality Markers
(DAM¹s). DAM¹s are possible segmental and prosodic enhancements to
any basic sound symbolic expression (modification to the syllable coda, repetition,
lengthening, and semi-suffixation). Each DAM renders a consistent set of discourse-aspectual
functions to a sound symbolic expression (e.g. setting perspectives, selecting
and evaluating different aspects of cognitive experience; marking an unexpected
turn of events). One significant aspect of DAM¹s in Czech is that they
exhibit processes similar to derivation and inflexion (unlike parallel derivational
processes found in English sound symbolism (Rhodes 1994), the Czech data demonstrates
more direct links to morphology). I will describe these processes, using near
minimal pairs taken from several sources (the 8-volume dictionary of Standard
Czech (1989), the Czech National Corpus Syn2000, and manually collected samples
from popular and children's literature and comics). Then I will discuss implications
of these suffix-like formations in understanding aspects of grammaticalization
in Czech within the cognitive linguistic framework (Lakoff 1987; Langacker 2000).
Particular focus will be placed on possible connections between DAM's on the
one hand and suffixation in nominal and verbal derivation on the other. Cross-linguistic
samples will be also used to support my discussion.
References
Hamano S. 1998. The Sound-symbolic system of Japanese. Tokyo: CSLI.
Hilton, L., J. Nichols, and J. J. Ohala 1994. Introduction: sound-symbolic processes.
In L. Hilton et al. Sound symbolism. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1-12.
Lakoff, G. Women, fire, and dangerous things: What categories reveal about
the mind. Chicago and London: U. of Chicago P.
Langacker, R. 2000. Grammar and conceptualization. Berlin, New York:
Mouton.
Langacker, R. 2003. Construction in cognitive grammar. English Linguistics.
20:41-83.
Nuckolls, J. B. 1996. Sounds like life: Sound-symbolic grammar, performance
and cognition in Pastaza Quechua. New York: Oxford UP.
Rhodes, R. 1994. Aural images. In L. Hilton et al. (ed.) Sound Symbolism.
Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 276-92.