VOJTĚCH DIATKA CHARLES UNIVERISTY PRAGUE Ideophones in Hindi झिलमिल

Outline Weird words in Hindi and their current treatment in grammars – jhijhak (coyness, hesitating) My proposal how to treat them with introducing a new linguistic category to Hindi linguistics Concise survey of these weird words Future research

„Weird“ words subsumed under Onomatopoeia It contains typical onomatopoeic words  budbudānā – to mumble, to mutter  cahcahānā – to twitter  ṭ ap ṭ apānā – to drop BUT it contains also weird words  mahmah – with fragrance  cupcāp – quitely  ṭ ak ṭ akī –stare, gaze Smékal 1979  In Smékal‘s study on reduplication appears one category - Onomatopoeic reduplication

Treatment Grammarians „Simultaneously, it has to be born in mind that not all the actions described by onomatopoeic words have to be connected with sounds and in this sense are not pure ono words, as we know Smékal (1979:6) them from elsewhere. This is a special way of expression typical for more Indian languages where various states and feelings are conveyed by the quasi onomatopoeia.“ Hindi grammarians on „weird“ words Complete omission of onomatopoeia Agnihotri(2007), Pořízka(1972) Brief mention of onomatopoeic words Kachru(2006:122), Shukla(2001: ) and Montaut (2004:160)

What are these words? They do not imitate sound They are though subsumed under onomatopeia They are in some respects similar to onotopoeic words

झिलमिल jhilmil ( Starry Night Over the Rhone – V.Gogh) Glimmer(ing) Glitter(ing) Twinkling Shimmer(ing) Flicker(ing) Blazing „poetry in ordinary language“ (Lautmalerei) EVANS-PRITCHARD E. E. (1962)

The best crosslinguistic definition They stand out from other words:  reduplication  budbudānā – to bubble, thartharānā – to tremble, to shiver  expressive(marked,subjective element) semantics  cipcipā - sticky, clinging, slimy or greasy  perceptually eXcEpTiOnAl (DINGEMANSE 2011) Ideophones are marked words that depict sensory imagery

The best crosslinguistic definition They depict rather than describe  He said he was coming. X He said: „I am coming.“ The crucial feature [of ideophones], then, is not “resemblance to” but “invitation to seeing as” (DINGEMANSE 2011:184) Ideophones are marked words that depict sensory imagery

The best crosslinguistic definition They represent not only sensations of outer world  Hearing, vision, touch, taste and smell but also interoceptive experiences  States of mind, subject evaluations, feelings…  hakkā-bakkā – confused, perplexed  Gudgud - soft, pulpy  cakācaudh - glitter Ideophones are marked words that depict sensory imagery

Summary Perceptually exceptional Depict rather than describe Intercoeptive experience Sensation of outer world Reduplication

Semantic domains associated with ideophones in Hindi 1.Onomatopoia 2.Other traditional senses 3.Manners of movement 4.Interoceptive experience It is not meant to be exhaustive list First survey of ideophones in Hindi representatives of major word classes – verbs, nouns, adjectives

1.Onomatopoia 2.Other traditional senses 3.Manners of movement 4.Interoceptive experience Core member of category Ideophones Words imitating sounds  ka ṭ ka ṭ ānā – to click, to crack (V)  susakār – hissing (N)  gungunā – mumbling (A)  surasurānā - to move like rustling insect (V)  pharpharáná – to flutter (as a flag) (V)

1.Onomatopoia 2.Other traditional senses 3.Manners of movement 4.Interoceptive experience Words connected with another human senses - vision, touch, taste and smell Not “resemblance to” but “invitation to seeing as” Not equally distrubuted across all modalities of perception  jhilmilānā – to glitter, to shine (V)  gudgudāha ṭ – tickling (N)  ṭ im ṭ imā – blazing, glittering (A)  phusphusā – soft, tender (A)  mahmah – with fragrance (I)

1.Onomatopoia 2.Other traditional senses 3.Manners of movement 4.Interoceptive experience This category is usually widespread across ideophonic languages (JUNOD 1896:196) Could be subumed under vision  laplapānā – to spring, to flicker (V)  la ṛ kha ṛ āha ṭ – stumbling (N)  cha ṭ pa ṭ ā - wriggling (A)  thapthapānā – to pat with love (V)  tilmilānā – to convulse in pain (V)

1.Onomatopoia 2.Other traditional senses 3.Manners of movement 4.Interoceptive experience Not only we have extero-receptors, but also intero-receptors and proprio-receptors  jhijhaknā – to hesitate (V)  hakkābakkā - confused (A)  thi ṭ hak - stiffen (I)  gadgad – very happy (I)  gumsum – thoughtful (I)

Future research I Ideophonic meaning is usually inherently vague It is impossible to capture meaning of unit in isolation  cha ṭ pa ṭ ānā – to wriggle / to be restless/ to yearn, to long  cipcipā – sticky / adhesive / clinging / slimy, greasy

Future research II Ideophones are usually understood as a separate category of words (KILIAN-HATZ 2006:510, DINGEMANSE 2011:133) Semantically and functionally – one unique category Syntactically – two categories  genuine ideophones  Integrated ideophones

Future research II Genuine ideophones (1) ca ṭ -pa ṭ capātī - quickly made bread (literally fast bread) (2) ca ṭ -pa ṭ patā calegā – it will soon be discovered (it is adverb) Integrated ideophones (1) phusphusā - fragile, brittle, soft, tender (A) (2) la ṛ kha ṛ āha ṭ - stumbling, staggering (N) (3) thapthapānā - to pat with affection (V)

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