Iconicity and systematicity in phonaesthemes: A cross-linguistic study

IF 1.8 1区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Cognitive Linguistics Pub Date : 2020-04-01 DOI:10.1515/cog-2018-0079

Jose A. Mompeán, Amandine Fregier, Javier Valenzuela

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引用次数: 3

Abstract

Abstract This study aims to find out whether speakers of different language backgrounds (English, French, Spanish, and Macedonian) are sensitive to semantic associations (‘fluid’ and ‘forcible contact’) attached respectively to two purported phonaesthemes (/fl-/ and /tr-/). Participants completed the task in oral and written conditions. They had to match phonaestheme-related definitions with either of two non-words (one phonaestheme-bearing and the other containing a distractor). The results obtained indicate that participants significantly chose non-words beginning with /tr-/ when the definition activated a meaning related to forcible contact, and non-words starting with /fl-/ when the definitions made reference to fluids in the four languages. The results point to the existence of non-arbitrary sound-meaning relations. A corpus-driven study of frequencies of lemmas and word tokens starting with the purported phonaesthemes also sheds light on the possible origin of the phonaesthemic associations, suggesting that both iconicity and systematicity motivate such associations. The results obtained are interpreted in the context of a functional, usage-based model of language, which can accommodate the existence of iconic tendencies, the role of learning and linguistic experience in language, and arbitrariness.

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语音主题的象似性和系统性：跨语言研究

摘要本研究旨在了解不同语言背景(英语、法语、西班牙语和马其顿语)的使用者是否对两个语音主音(/fl-/和/tr-/)的语义关联(“流畅”和“强制接触”)敏感。参与者在口头和书面条件下完成任务。他们必须将与音美相关的定义与两个非单词(一个包含音美，另一个包含分心物)中的一个相匹配。所获得的结果表明，当定义激活与强制接触相关的含义时，参与者显著选择了以/tr-/开头的非单词，而当定义涉及四种语言中的流体时，参与者显著选择了以/fl-/开头的非单词。结果表明非任意音义关系的存在。一项以语料库为驱动的研究，从所谓的语音主题开始，对引词和词标记的频率进行研究，也揭示了语音美学联想的可能起源，表明象似性和系统性都激发了这种联想。这些结果是在语言的功能性、基于使用的模型背景下解释的，该模型可以容纳符号倾向的存在、学习和语言经验在语言中的作用以及随意性。

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来源期刊

Cognitive Linguistics Multiple-

CiteScore

3.30

自引率

17.60%

发文量

期刊介绍： Cognitive Linguistics presents a forum for linguistic research of all kinds on the interaction between language and cognition. The journal focuses on language as an instrument for organizing, processing and conveying information. Cognitive Linguistics is a peer-reviewed journal of international scope and seeks to publish only works that represent a significant advancement to the theory or methods of cognitive linguistics, or that present an unknown or understudied phenomenon. Topics the structural characteristics of natural language categorization (such as prototypicality, cognitive models, metaphor, and imagery); the functional principles of linguistic organization, as illustrated by iconicity; the conceptual interface between syntax and semantics; the experiential background of language-in-use, including the cultural background; the relationship between language and thought, including matters of universality and language specificity.