[Lexicog] Onomatopoeia

Tue May 15 17:24:07 UTC 2007

Ken & Mike: I would mark it as an interjection, if you’re following the eight parts of speech. In a reference work it could be put in the category of “notes” or “background” or “pronunciation” or “rhetorical type”. Interestingly, speaking of “Roof, roof!” as you did, it sounds a little like two of Ariel’s songs in The Tempest 1.2.377-389; 399-407 (Signet Edition) that uses a lot of reduplicative devices: including onomatopoeism, rhyme, alliteration, and assonance (and doggie-speak). Note the coinages attributed to Shakespeare in the passages (“watchdogs” (385) & “a sea change” (404)) 

                             Ariel’s song

            Come unto these yellow sands, 
                 And then take hands. 
            Curtsied when you have and kissed 
                 The wild saves whist, 
            Foot it featly here and there;
            And, sweet sprites, the burden bear. 
                 Hark, hark!

  Burden, dispersedly. Bow, wow!
                 The watchdogs bark. 

  Burden, dispersedly. Bow, wow!
                 Hark, hark! I hear 
                 The strain of strutting chanticleer 
                      Cry cock-a-diddle-dow.   (Signet)           

  Kissed
whist** when you have, through the harmony of kissing in the dance, kissed the wild waves into silence (?) when you have kissed in the dance, the wild waves being silenced (?)  (Signet) 
  Whist = being hushed  (Riverside) || silent, quiet, hushed  (C.T. Onions)
  Featly = nimbly  (Riverside) || with graceful agility; nimbly  (C.T. Onions) 
  the burden bear = bear the burden, i.e. the bass undersong.  (Riverside)
  Burden, dispersedly.= an undersong, coming from all parts of the stage; it imitates the barking of dogs and perhaps at the end of the crowing of a cock  (Signet)  

       The Tempest 1.02.399-407 

                  Ariel's song.

       Full fathom five thy father lies;
       Of his bones are coral made;
       Those are pearls that were his eyes;
       Nothing of him that doth fade
       But doth suffer a sea change 
       Into something rich and strange. 
       Sea nymphs hourly ring his knell:
       Burden. Ding-dong.
       Hark! Now I hear them -- ding-dong bell.  (Signetg)

       fadom (Riverside Edition) = fathom (Riverside)

  Onomatopoeia, of course, falls within the general category of linguistics, with the Oxford American Dictionary’s definition of ‘phonology’:  1) the branch of linguistics that deals with systems of sounds (including or excluding phonetics), esp. in a particular language.  2) the system of relationships among the speech sounds that constitute the fundamental components of a language. Ken, I think the answer to your question depends on the type of reference work you’re dealing with, and the depth of information you wish to include in it. 

  Scott Nelson 

Kenneth Keyes <ken_keyes at sil.org> wrote:            Dear Scott, 

  I discussed it with my colleague, and he suggested that we treat onomatopoeia as an etymological note. Perhaps derivation 
  would also be a possibility. 

  In Turkic, onomatopoeitic verbs are formed from onomopoeitic particles, such as 'tars' "the sound of a heavy object falling", either
with a light verb 'tars-tars et' or with a verbalizing suffix -ylda 'tarsilda-' "to make the sound of something heavy falling" .
  There are also nouns, adjectives and adverbs which can be derived from these particles. 

  Thanks, Ken   
---------------------------------
  From: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com [mailto:lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Scott Nelson
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 7:46 PM
To: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
Cc: bolstar1 at yahoo.com
Subject: Re: [Lexicog] Onomatopoeia

      Dear Ken K. 
     The meaning, or 'category, of onomatopoeia is straight-forward -- sounding like the meaning - but the occurrences have interesting twists and flavors. Encarta lists ‘buzz’ as an example of onomatopoeia – imitating the sound of the action. On background, Shakespeare had coined the term ‘buzzer’ (noun form), but he’d used it to refer to people who were gossips (the Oxford American Dictionary attributing the root word to the Middle English term “busse” -- imitation – hence Shakespeare’s “imitators” or “copyers” of what they’d heard). But the suggestion (in Shakey’s use of the term -- assumably) refers not only to the literal meaning, but to the “buzz” that is created in the immediate environment of gossiping – akin to bees buzzing, or muted, hushed whispers about “Did you hear about
”.  

       Hamlet 4.5.89-95

Her brother is in secret come from France,
       Feeds on his wonder, keeps himself in clouds,  
       And wants not buzzers to infect his ear
       With pestilent speeches of his father's death, 
       Wherein necessity, of matter beggared,
       Will nothing stick our person to arraign
       In ear and ear.  (Signet)

Others may have another angle on the "category" of onomatopoeia. 
  Good luck, Scott Nelson

  ** wonder, keeps himself in clouds = suspicion in clouds = i.e. in cloudy surmise and suspicion (rather than the light of fact) (Riverside)
  ** wants not buzzers = does not lack talebearers (Signet) 
  ** of matter beggar'd  =  destitute of facts (Riverside)     
  ** buzzers = whispering informers 
  ** Will nothing stick will not hesitate (Signet)  
** nothing stick our person to arraign = scruple not at all to charge me with
       the crimes (River side) 

Kenneth Keyes <ken_keyes at sil.org> wrote:   Dear all, 

Does anyone have suggestions as to how to include information about
onomatopoeitic words? What field should this go under? 

Many Thanks in advance,

Ken Keyes 

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