References

[Lawler, John M]

I, too, find splitting assonances into individual phonemic 'meanings' less than convincing.
But I am convinced that there are semantically coherent assonances in English.  
My latest list of these is at http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler/assonancehandout.pdf.  
(rimes are at  http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler/rimecoherencehandout.pdf <http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler/rimecoherencehandout.pdf> ).
 
Here's the list, HTML modified à la Outlook (your mileage may vary; 
if this doesn't come through, consult the .pdf file on the Web).  
The examples are intended to be illustrative, not exhaustive; 
there are lots more in most cases.  And the semantic glosses
are just glosses.
 
Enjoy.
 
-John Lawler    U of Michigan Linguistics Dept
#include disclaimers.h
  http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler/disclaimers.html

     Assonance                       Semantics (Embodied Image)           

st-       1-Dim Rigid (Standing Man)   stick staff stem stub stab step stake stave stiff stilt 

str-      1-Dimensional Non-Rigid    strap string strum strain strip streak stream straw strand

br1-     1-Dim Connected (Plant)  brush break bridge brim briar browse branch bramble

br2-     Human (Gender Roles)   M: brute brawl bruise bris  F: breed broad breast bread

pr1-     1-Dimensional Extended   prick prod prop prow pretzel privet prong probe prawn

pr2-     Human (Social Roles) proper prim priest prom prissy primp proud pray preen prude

fl-       2-Dimensional    float flat flap flense fletch flood flam flange flea fleece floe floor

pl-      2-Dimensional Thick   plush plump plaque plaster plank plate plinth pleat plait plaice

n-       3-Dimensional   nick niche nook nub nugget knuckle knurl knob nipple noggin knoll

sn1-     3-Dim Convex w/ Concave (Fingers)   snap snare snatch snip snooker snag sneak

sn2-     3-Dim Convex w/ Concave (Nose)  sneeze sniff snoot snicker snub snarl snore

bl1-     Color (Eye)  blue blood blush blue black blank blotch blaze blind blond bleach 

bl2-     Compressed Fluid (Eye)  blimp blush bloom blot blain blintz blood blow bloat

bl3-     Excess (‘too much’) blotto blister blast bluster blab bliss bleep blare blemish

gl-      Reflected Light (Eye)   glaze glimmer glimpse gleam glance glare glow gloss glitter

kr-      1-Dimensional Bent   crutch cripple crack crotch cross crank crimp crevice crane

kl-      Connection (‘together’) club clutch clam clamp clap cluster clench click cling cleave

skr-     2-Dimensional + 1-D Motion    scrub scram scratch scribe scrape scrawl screw scrabble

sl1-      Liquid/Solid Interface  slush slop sleet slick slather slime slurp slough sluice slurry

sl2-      Pejorative  slob slut slander slang sludge slum sloth sleazy slobber slouch slur slave

spl-     1-Dim ® 2-Dim     splay split spline splice splint splotch splash splatter 

spr-     Extrusion (Plant)  sprout spread sprig spruce  (Liquid) spring sprue spray sprinkle

sk-      2-Dimensional Extended   sky scum scuff scarf scour scale skate skid skim skip

skw-   Compressed squash squint squeeze squeak squeegee squelch squirt squat squirm

sw-     Rotary Motion  swirl swerve swash swing swoop sweep swath swab swish swizzle

thr-     Constricted Path    throat through thrust throttle thread thresh throng thrall thrift        

dr-      Liquid  dredge drink drop drown drought dry drain dribble drizzle drool dram 

tr-       Travel  trudge trample trot trail traipse trip tread trek truck train tram track trolley

y-        Vocal  yack yammer yap yowl yell yip yawn  Interjection yuck yow yum yup yike yay


________________________________

	From: KLANG-LIST [mailto:KLANG-LIST at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG] On Behalf Of Zev bar-Lev
	Sent: Friday, August 13, 2004 3:45 PM
	To: KLANG-LIST at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
	Subject: Re: References
	
	
	
	
	
	To members of the KLANG-LIST, with apologies:
	
	
	
	
	I had intended to Š what's the word?  "lurk", "loiter", "lounge" (something else in initial /l/, maybe)? silently a while, with good netiquette, before jumping  in.  But since I was careless enough to send a personal note to the list membership, I might as well (with my apologies) at least distribute a note on the work I referred to there. 
	
	
	
	
	I have been working on initial consonants as "phonesthemes" or (better) submorphemes.  This research began in Hebrew, where it has gone far enough to prove itself pedagogically:  My textbook for high-elementary students teaches students how they can guess the meaning of unknown roots (i.e. triconsonantal roots) on the basis of the initial consonant, e.g. roots beginning with /p/ have something to do with "opening up", including "open (mouth, face), disperse, explode, surprise, Š"
	
	
	This would be an expectable equivalent of "assonance" submorphemes (using Bolinger's division) like English gl-, spr-, etc, since initial clusters arise by morphophonology.  (The first two consonants of the root corm a cluster only under "accidental" conditions, e.g. the plural but not the singular because of accent shift.) 
	
	
	But I found the same situation (far less regularly than in Hebrew, but convincing to me nevertheless) not only in Arabic and Mandarin (also no clusters), but also in Russian and -- with the help of Margaret Magnus' work -- English.  I find Magnus' attempts to build up composite meanings for clusters less convincing:  Cluster submorphemes seem to me to be far less regular subphenomena of initial consonants as submorphemes, as I argue in my articles.  For example, gl- meaning "bright light" (revised from Bolinger) but also gloom and other counter-examples, all fit under /#g-/ = "overwhelm";  /#gl-/ accounts for subsets of various submeanings on various sides of the "overwhelm" meaning-spectrum, although partly gravitating towards "light".
	
	
	One more note:  I use the term "letters" in Hebrew because the phenomenon is a bit more regular in the written language, because of some intricate changes in the morphophonemics of the modern language.
	
	
	 
	
	
	articles:
	ßHebrew Key-Letters¹, SHOFAR, Summer 2003.
	ßotiyot mafteahh be¹ivrit¹ [ŒKey-Letters in Hebrew¹], HADOAR VOL. 82, #4, 2003.
	ßKabbalah & Hebrew Key-Letters¹, forthcoming in BULLET. HEBR. HIGHER ED.
	ßArabic Key-Consonants¹ forthcoming in JOURNAL OF ARABIC & ISLAMIC STUDIES.
	
	textbook:
	The Alef-Bet Puzzle, Montezuma Publ. (San Diego State University) 2004.
	
	conference papers:
	ßKabbalah/Sufism and Hebrew/Arabic Key-Letters¹. Western Jewish Studies Conf., San Francisco, March 2002.
	ßotiyot mafteahh behoraat ivrit¹ [Œkey-letters in teaching Hebrew¹].  NAPH Conference, July 2002, Beer-Sheva Israel.
	ßSingle-Segment Submorphemes¹, Humanities Conference, Hawaii, January 2004.
	ßKey-Consonants in Semitic¹, NACAL, San Diego, June 2004.
	ßHebrew Key-Letters¹, NAPH, Austin TX, June 2004.
	
	
	
	

	see also my web-site (below) on Hebrew key-letters.

	‚‚Ý
	prof. Zev bar-Lev
	Dept. of Linguistics & Oriental Languages
	San Diego State University
	San Diego CA 92182
	e-mail: zev.bar-Lev at sdsu.edu
	web-site: languagebazaar.com

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/klang-list/attachments/20040813/591463a1/attachment.htm>