Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 14:03:47 -0500 (EST) with NJE id 9455 for CONLANG@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU; Thu, 4 Dec 1997 13:22:22 -0500 ; Thu, 4 Dec 1997 13:22:44 -0500 (EST) 4 Dec 1997 13:24:12 EDT X-Mailer: Microsoft Mail V3.0 Encoding: 28 TEXT Message-ID: <3486F6A0@GW.FMARION.EDU> Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 13:29:00 -0500 Reply-To: Constructed Languages List Sender: Constructed Languages List From: "Harding, George E." Subject: Onomatopoeia! where the words come sweeping 'cross the clang.... To: Multiple recipients of list CONLANG X-Mozilla-Status: 0001 Content-Length: 1037 X-From-Space-Date: Thu Dec 4 14:04:00 1997 X-From-Space-Address: owner-conlang@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU John C. had posted elsewhere: >Modern Standard Tamil has a vast variety of these words, >and uses the frame "saying X" to introduce them: >1) kaacu n.ang eNRu kiiz.ee vizuntatu > coin *clang* saying down fell > The coin fell down with a clang. >is a fairly literal usage (note the SOV order). The word >"n.ang" is interesting for being phonologically bizarre: >Tamil words do not ordinarily begin with a retroflex nasal, >nor end with a velar nasal. A less literal use is exhibited by: >2) avaN maNacu kuRukuRu eNRu mayankiNatu > mind his *throbbing-pulsing* saying was-confused > His mind was confused by guilt. >where the term "kuRukuRu", literally denoting a throbbing- >pulse sound, is transferred to mean "guilt". There is a large >dictionary of Tamil containing only ideophones. Interesting. Nevertheless, _n.ang_ and _kuRukuRu_ seem onomatopoeic since the adverbial (?) _eNRu_ (=saying) appears to suggest a sound being mimicked. Is onomatopoeia a "subset" in ideophonology? Eddy