Onomatopoeic Infinitives and Nouns in EkeGusii:Evidence for imagic and relative iconicity  

作　　者：Elijah Omwansa Mariera 

机构地区：[1]Kisii University,Kenya

出　　处：《宏观语言学》2020年第1期36-54,共19页Macrolinguistics

摘　　要：Whether meaning is arbitrary or motivated remains a matter of unsettled linguistic debate.The main purpose of this discussion is to bring to linguistic attention the level of motivation in EkeGusii,a Bantu language of the Niger-Congo family spoken in Kenya,using onomatopoeic infinitives and nouns,and to attest that meaning is considerably iconic.It does not look convenient to classify onomatopes under ideophones.Imagic iconicity plays a central role in the two word classes,though imagic and relative iconicity intersect in cacophonous,reduplicative,and inherently onomatopoeic nouns.In EkeGusii,onomatopes are either explicit or implicit.It becomes clear that onomatopoeia acquires a metaphorical function in certain idiomatic expressions in EkeGusii.

关 键 词：explicit and implicit onomatopoeia parrot role reflexive onomatopes cacophony 

分 类 号：H31[语言文字—英语]