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20Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 3 (2017 10) 303-316
УДК 811
The Author's Phonosemantic Nonce Lexis as the Language Game Instrument
Olga A. Bartashova*
St. Petersburg State University of Economics 30/32 Nab. kanala Griboedova, St. Petersburg,
191023, Russia
Received 25.10.2016, received in revised form 22.11.2016, accepted 16.01.2017
The article outlines observation of phonetically expressive nonce words in the English literature. It contains the analysis of the phonosemantic nonce words fund belonging to such writers as J. Rowling, A.A. Milne, L. Carroll, J.R.R. Tolkien. The unique genre and style of these works determine a high degree of linguacreativity where one can define numerous author's nonce words formed basing on phonosemantic regularities and characterized by a huge phonostylistic potential.
Keywords: author's phonosemantic fund, linguacreativity, sound imitation/symbolism, nonce formations, literary text.
DOI: 10.17516/1997-1370-0038.
Research area: philology.
Introduction
Possessing a huge heuristic potential, phonosemantics has given rise to numerous researches investigating its different aspects. One of the new phonosemantic investigational directions which yet comprises a few works is the study of soundexpression at the text level.
A lexical cluster of phonosemantically marked units forms the author's phonosemantic corpus within a certain text. Investigation of the corpora of lingua-creative author's lexis with the help of phonosemantic analysis contributes to author's concepts comprehensionand helps to assess its role in the creation of text stylistic effect, thus providing extended phonosemantic studies and entering the level of text analysis.
The observation of phonosemantic features of literary works supports an insight in not only the specificity of heuristic power of phonosemantic system as a linguistic phenomenon, but also into the artistic style of literary works, since the texts analysis for the author's phonosemantic content identification allows considering the phonostylistic mechanisms within the text.
The category of sound expressiveness is a basic parameter for the author's phonosemantic corpus. A detailed analysis of phonosemantic components of the linguacreated lexis allows bringing ties between the form and meaning to the light; provides decoding author's concepts built into phonosemantic linguacreated lexis
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* Corresponding author E-mail address: [email protected]
and understanding the reasons for forming such phonostylistic instrument in the text.
Being expressive by the inner form, phonosemantic lexis creates a basis for the appearance of nonce words, which are characterized by hyper-expressiveness which determines a special author'sstylistic effect in the text. The author's phonosemantic corpus is quite a new notion in linguistics - it has not gained extensive study yet. In "Phonosemantic Fund of Individual Author's concepts" we have mentioned all the main principles of this notion. The study of individual phonosemantic component produced by the subject of utterance or text requires developing of the method of phonosemantic analysis in order to correctly identify the phonosemantic fund within individual linguistic consciousness (Bartashova, 2010: 58).
Nonce words most often presented through quasi-words compile a basis for the author's phonosemantic fund due to not only their lexical specificity, but also to the fact that they can be properly decoded by the recipient. According to G.I. Bogin, a famous researcher in hermeneutics, interpretation of a language sign occurs since "the linguistic persona acts as a dynamic set of huge experience gained through collective efforts both within the space of real, communicative and non-verbal thinking. It is not "pre-defined" associativity, but a socially determined reflectivity makes us judge the semantics of new and not really natural words by their phonetic characteristics".
Such understanding of the author's phonosemantic fund provides an opportunity to conclude the following: the author's phonosemantic fund is a set of lexicographically recognized lexical units and author's nonce formations fixed in the literary work, characterized by phonosemantic motivation and compiling a phonosemantic picture of this work.
The nature of author's phonosemantic units is their phonosemantic status and origin. As
lexicographically fixed phonosemantic units are, as a rule, not recognized by the language speakers as phonosemantically marked ones, since their expressiveness has been narrowed as the result of conventional usage and, thus, can appear only in such stylistic complexes as alliteration, where the concentration of phonosemantically meaningful phonostemes exceeds the standard, the originality can be reached solely through phonosemantic linguacreativity, i.e. by creation of new non-typical phonosemantic units which are quite often transformed into quasi-words. This fact singles the notion of author's phonosemantic fund out other ideas of phonosemantics, since the research area is significantly specialized for the reason that there are not so many authors whose style can be characterized by linguacreativity in general and by phonosemantic linguacreativity in particular.
Asarule,theauthorcreatesphonosemantically motivated nonce words in order to generate the language game effect. Among the authors, whose works are marked by linguacreative phonosemantic lexis, we can mention Richard Adams, a British writer. In his "Watership down" he has created "Lapin" a fictional language spoken by rabbits, which includes a clear phonosemantic component forming the author's phonosemantic fund. "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll is also a well-studied work in the sense of phonostylistics. The author's phonosemantic fund appears through the elements of fictional languages as well as the elements of their fictional reality. Such consequence in the use of phonosemantic units within the creation of fictional languages allows suggesting that any literary work which contains these languages includes the author's phonosemantic fund.
Theoretical framework
The researchers have quite a narrow margin of consensus on terms definitions explaining the
phenomenon of new words creation - "nonce word", "neologism" and "potential word" -which are defined differently and thusdifferently related to each other. Each of these terms represents linguistic deviations demonstrating individual speech features. L.A. Nefedova suggests, that "those phenomena which do not meet our understanding of standards should be recognized as deviations". N.G. Gorbunova analyzes deviation as a complex phenomenon, which includes departuresfrom norms of choice and usageof linguistic means, and disagrees with our expectations about standard comprehension and categorization (Gorbunova, 2005).
Individual author's deviations as a product of linguistic creation have always encouraged scientific attention. According to the Encyclopedia of the Russian Language The term "neologism" was the first word to nominate author's deviations: "neologisms are words or word collocations which appear in a particular period of time in language or which are used once (nonce words) in a text or speech act. Thus, neologisms are created to nominate an extra-linguistic object with a view to wide spreading and fixation in the lexical system, while nonce words appear in speech as an instrument of language game, joke, wordplays.
N. Sokalskaia has analyzed the titles of more than 100 researches on this problem from 1970s till the present time, and showed that the term "nonce word" accounts for 35% of all considered notions of new words within linguistic works (Sokalskaia, 2007). Initially, the term was mentioned by N.I. Feldman in "Nonce words and lexicography": "As I see it, a nonce word is a word formed through linguistic low-productive or nonproductive model and also through occasional (speech) model to particular instances or for the purpose of common or artistic interaction. Similar to a potential word, anonce word is a fact of speech, not of the language. In the same
way I understand occasional form of the word" (Feldman, 1957).
Researchers have identified the following origins of nonce words: intention to give the word or word collocation a stylistic tone; to avoid tautology; an attempt to mark author's attitude to what is being said; desire to create a delicate play of the shades of meaning in the text; the author's dissatisfaction with the emotional and expressive power of the words; creation of conversationality effect and overcoming automaticity in comprehension.
Linguists have always been interested inmental basis of creative thinking and mechanisms of new words formation. Nowadays, the specific role of nonce words in the art and human culture is emphasized by numerous analysts. Thus, for example, O.G. Revzina points out that the mechanism of new words creation includes a strange paradox: "It's not clear why for a speaker, searching for an adequate expression, it is easier to create a new word rather than to recollect a common one. Indeed, to create a new word is a tall task set as an intentional goal which finally appears to be hard-hitting. There is a specific poetics - a poetics of nonce words, and if we went beyond the word culture to search for parallels in other spheres of art, it would be clear, that they can be found in those artistic systems which are comprehended as new and avant-garde. Consequently, nonce words - a kind of peripheral, marginal phenomenon which is not involved in the language system - turn out to be able to translate things that the ordinary lexis could not".
L.A. Plotnikova considers the problem of word creationin speech from the perspective of communication and cognition. Analyzing the results of experiments, she divides the process of a new word formation into three stages: motivational (inducing), semantic and implementing. According to her point of view, the most important stage is semantic one: "The
search and selection of an appropriate word within a particular speech situation is a creative process which is determined by the speaker's intention. In the search for a word the person, as a matter of priority, turns to the lexis as to the storage of already-made units. If thissearch fails, it will then serve a signal to a new word creation. The process actualizes the mechanism of new words production, which causes a neoformation satisfying the requirements of communication".
Researchers distinguish the following objective categories of nonce words phenomenon: formation through already existing derivation models; "constant" originality; synchronic and diachronic diffuseness ("single use" and synchroneity ofpresence); contextual dependence; expressiveness; author's attributiveness. As N.G. Babenko assumes, the most important reasons why people create nonce words are: a need for precise expression of thoughts (standard lexis can be not enough); author's intention to laconical expression of thoughts (nonce words are able to replace a word collocation or even a sentence, since they can actualize the linguistic economy function); necessity to mark a personal attitude to the subject (with the help of nonce words the author can present their own characteristics, evaluation, i.e. add some necessary connotations and express the intention) (Babenko, 1997).
The corpus of nonce lexis can be considered from a number of perspectives. As for the degree of occasionality the range of such words is quite wide: from words which are almost not recognized as nonce (for example, blaster or robot, which have already become common and neutral words), to solely individual words bound to a particular author, work or even context (e.g. "Comporellon" is the planet title created by Isaac Asimov). This feature grounds the classification by R. Iu. Namitokova (Namitokova, 1986): 1) first-degree nonce words (normal formations created according derivation models of the contemporary
literature language); 2) second-degree nonce words (partially non-normal formations, but departures from the derivation models do not cause failures in semantic interpretation); 3) third-degree nonce words (fully non-normal formations with significant departures from the derivational models, that leads to major constraints in semantic interpretation).
Ye. D. Ponomariova in "Phonosemantic analysis of lexis: etymological aspect" suggests nonce words being arranged according to the way of derivation: 1) primary (go up to ancient stems or represent primary sound imitative units); 2) secondary (those which are not determined by their origin); 3) compound (a mixture of primary and secondary features).
Most researchers follow the structural approach in nonce words classification based on the division of linguistic levels, and, thus, identify phonetic, grammatical (morphological), semantic and graphic nonce words. Phonetic nonce words emerge in the situation when the author suggests any sound complex being a neoformation, assuming that this complex possesses a certain semantics determined by the meaning of comprising phonostemes. Such phonosemantically marked nonce words we tend to call phonosemantic nonce words.
On the problem of phonosemantic linguacreativity
The notion of linguacreativity comes directly from the idea of "creation". Till the present time scholars have not got any agreement on the definition of the term, though some functions of creation are recognized by all authors: building of new public values and individual uniqueness. Among the conceptions of creation one's attention would probably be especially drawn by the theory of Carl Rogers: creation is not only a characteristic of human abilities, human activity and its results, but also the characteristic of social
relations (cited by N.G. Gorbunova). Justifying the statement about the necessity of terminological division of subjective-personal and socio-cultural aspects of creation, N.G. Gorbunova suggests distinguishing the notions "creativity" and "creation" and understands the first as "building new possibilities for the subject", and the second one as "creation of new possibilities for the culture" (as "culture construction", "creation of new cultural forms", "change of the system of cultural codes") (Gorbunova, 2005). The perception of creativity as "an actual human imaginative ability to construct and integrate different mental formations in active speech" is reflected in the work by V.V. Robustova (Robustova, 2011).
Thus, creation is a dynamic phenomenon characterized by the socio-communicative nature; which arises as the result of an extremely complex process of consolidation and integration between individual and social unities, while creativity is a purely personal process.
The term "linguacreation" which reveals the essence of author's concepts and derivation process etymologically carries two notions -language and creation - marking a dual nature of artistic speech strictly linked to the language system and mentality. In the Dictionary of Linguistic Terms by O.S. Akhmanova the notion "linguacreation" is defined as "...understanding of a linguistic change as a result of individual activity or of a spontaneous development of the language system, external towards the community where this language is being used..." (Akhmanova, 2003: 65).
The term "linguacreation" is closely linked to the notion of "language game" considered as "a set of gaming manipulations with the language, i.e. with its lexical, grammatical and phonetical resources. There are occasional neologisms involvement, phonetic plays, sound patterns accentuation, alliteration, game use of graphics, consciously determined irregularities in spelling
and punctuation; polyglottal, foreign and multi-language inclusions which are not deliberately explained in the text, but they do enter into game relations with each other or with its main corpus" (Rakhimkulova, 1996: 134).
Linguacreation can be considered not only in the sense of phonetic or lexical deviation, but also from the perspective of psycholinguistic. The focus in this case is made on the notion of irrationality in author's creation, on encephalic asymmetry, or, to be more precise, on functional identification of the right hemisphere which is responsible for creation. Undoubtedly, nonce words present an important part both in linguacreation and language games and cover a vast area of lexis: from nominations of absolutely concrete things and acts which, as a rule, have already got their names, to new fictional realities or characters. Thus, the problem of nonce words is directly related to the problem of nomination: correlation between thing-notion-phenomenon and its expression and content plans.
Investigationofauthor'sphonosemanticnonce words extends the borders of phonosemantics and takes it to a new textual level: ".. .the significance of phonosemantic problems, which has been underestimated up to recently, does not question, due to the fact thatthis linguistic discipline has now come into independent existence. the analysis of textual phonosemanticity is of relevance in the context of author's usage of phonosemantic signs as expressive means. An occasional quasi-sign formed according to the phonosemantic model becomes an element of the author's language game, since it can successfully be decoded by the recipient. The mechanism of its decoding is a process of phonosemantic reflection recovery based on accumulated phonosemantic collective experience. By applying the method of phonosemantic analysis within the author's concept investigation, we are able to bring the features of personal author's phonosemantic fund
to the light (Bartashova, 2010). Being expressive by its inner form, phonosemantic lexis builds a base for quasi-words creation which possesses hyper-expressiveness that determines a special author's stylistic effect. The category of sound expressiveness, considered as a linguistic universal, has phonosemantic regularities which make it possible to decode the meaning of author's linguacreative lexis.
The analysis of author's sound
imitative nonce words and their role
in the language game creation
The phonosemantic analysis of nonce words, which comprises the elements of etymological and typological analysis, is aimed at identifying links between nonce word's form and its meaning. The most prominent examples of phonosemantic author's nonce words are classified according to their creators.
Thus, J. Rowling's nonce words represent fictional formations:
Fizzing Whizbees is a nonce formation used by J. Rowling in "Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban" as the title of popular sweet shop located in a fairy village Hogsmeade in Harry Potter's reality. This nonce collocation is characterized by a higher phonosemantic feature, since it includes two similar phonosemantic components: fizzing (derivated from the phonosemantic stem fizz - and wiz(z)). Both of them, according to S.V. Voronin's classification (Voronin, 1982) relate to tonic-noisy continuants denoting a tonic-noisy non-impact, where together with a pure noisy non-impact one can find the shades of tonic non-impact. (e.g. in buzz «жужжать, гудеть», whizz «звонкосвистеть, звонкошипеть», sizz «шипеть, потрескивать»). The tonic-noisy non-impact is expressed through the set of tone and noise, which in the English language are "synthetically" expressed within one phonotype -voiced fricatives in auslaut that allows "hearing"
fizz implied in the meaning. The noise constrictive [f] and sonant [w] in anlaut are also characterized by quite a prominent phonosemantic function as being an imitation to the sound of air stream accompanying whistle or fizzing. Inter-position of phonosemantic components describes a reduplication of phonosemantically important elements that leads to synergy in the phonosemantic effect. The transparency of phonosemantics in whizbees is intensified by the meaning of other component - bee («пчела») -the impression of "noise", "whistle" becomes more evident.
The bottom line is that the author's intention to describe a candy store is metaphorically actualized through phonosemantic means, as it's known that bees and wasps gather around sweets and produce that buzzing noise. Perhaps, with the help of these tools the author tries to show that it is a buzzing shop, where clients "fly like bees on honey".
Buckbeak is the name of Hippogriff (a legendary creature, half a horse and half an eagle) in "Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban" by J. Rowling.
The nonce form represents a compound word with two components: the first is beak means «клюв», the second one - buck - «самец оленя». Thus, the nonce word beakbuck is characterized by a clear secondary motivation which gives an opportunity to "decode" its meaning - a creature that looks like a big deer with a beak. Nevertheless, it's worth noting that beak is marked by several linguists as a word of phonosemantic origin. As the etymological analysis shows, it comes out the Old English becca, meaning «острый»:
[mid-13c.,"bird's bill," from O.Fr. bec "beak," figuratively "mouth," also "tip or point of a nose, a shoe," from L. beccus, may be a link in O.E. becca "pickax, sharp end].
The phonetic structure of the word justifies this statement. A backlingual stop is often
ascribed by a phonosemantic function to describe "sharpness" (Magnus, 1997; Voronin, 1982). The front and high vowel [i], which usually symbolizes "something of a small size" (Voronin, 1982), according to A.B. Mikhaliov's observation, can also express something "narrow", "sharp", "fast", particularly, when it is in a long position (Mikhaliov, 1995). The second component -buck - is etymologically raised from "goat" meaning «козел»:
[from O.E. bucca "malegoat,"from P.Gmc. *bukkon, perhaps from a PIE root *bhugo , but some speculate that it is from a lost pre-Germanic language]
Still, some researchers assume that the word initially means "jumping" and, thus, try to define its phonosemantic status (Likhomanova, 1986). Phonosemantically important method of author's linguacreation is the selection and interposition of nonce word's component in the way that reduplicated noise plosives [b] in anlaut and [k] in auslaut positions allow "feeling" the rhythm of horse jumping and the sharpness of its beak.
Consequently, there is the author's intention to express a big Hippogriff, jumping as a horse with a sharp beak like an eagle's one.
Grindylow is a nonce noun which nominates a small horned demon living underwater in Ireland, which likes cracking his long fingers (form J. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban"). The first nonce element is recognized as a sound imitation of "tension" (Voronin, 1982; Bartashova, 1987) and represents a dentalguttural type of expression. The phonosteme in anlaut position constitutes a combination of noise plosive [g] meaning "low flumps" and constrictive sonant [r] - something breaking or cracking -which creates that necessary impression of a crackle.
Besides, as it has been described in the book, this creature sits in an aquarium and groans: that the author has tried to express in the auslaut
position through a tonic non-impact effect which can be reflected by different phonosemantic means (there is no precise canonic model for a tonic non-impact reflection). However, numerous languages are marked by the use of a long labial sound to express that effect (e.g. eng. hoot means «кричать, ухать»). Following S.V. Voronin, "... its quite enough within the imitation to produce one sound /u:/ or /o:/, when it becomes clear that we think of a low tonic non-impact sound expression - humming or crying and etc." (Voronin, 1982: 49).
The fact that Grindylow lives under the water and, thus, is slimy may well be expressed through a constrictive sonant [l], which, according to A.B. Mikhaliov, has the phonosemantic meaning of "glib", "slimy", "gluey" or "light".
Most notably, despite the fact that this demon viciously cracks his fingers and groans, the reader understands that it has a small size, since the author uses a diminutive form. As Ye.A.Shamina assumes, the application of shortness in diminutive proper names is significant, since many phonosemantists note, that shortness is often considered to be phonosemantically valence and expresses the idea of something small and, consequently, can be used to describe pejoration. Thus, the author's nonce word has given a way to think that by using sound imitative and sound symbolic functions of phonostemes J. Rowling has managed to create an image of fiction creature so as the phonostemes' semantics provide readers with an opportunity to produce it clearly in their imagination.
Scabbers is a nonce noun used in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J. Rowling as the proper name for a rat. In its anlaut position we can mark the phonosteme sk- representing a combination of noise-constrictive [s] with it symbolic meaning "strong", "fast" with noise-plosive [k], meaning low flumps. Entirely possible, that the author has used an actual
phonosemantic verbal base as a given nonce word, which in any case go back to the Proto-Indo-European stem gerbh: "to scratch, carve". The sound of something breaking within the process of intensive scratching (in this case, rat's scratching) is supported by a constrictive sonant [r], expressing something cracking or breaking as well as any kind of long trembling noise. The repeated noise-constrictive [s] in the auslaut position completes the image of a scratching rat forming a consonance with the nonce word's anlaut. Thus, one can assume, that the author's intention was to reflect a rustling, scratching sound in the rat's name, what was actually performed due to implementation of the phonosteme's sound symbolic function and an expected decoding of the nonce word's meaning, since in the native speakers' phonosemantic fund this phonostemes initially symbolizes such scratching sound.
Crookshanks is a nonce noun which nominates a huge red cat. This nonce formation represents a compound word, consisted of a recognized phonosteme describing a nonlinear movement (Likhomanova, 1976). The anlaut's phonosteme akr - historically expresses something bended or hooky what is proved by it etymology:
[early 13c., "hook-shaped instrument or weapon," from O.N. krokr "hook, corner," cognate with O.H.G. kracho "hooked tool," of obscure origin, but, perhaps, related to a widespread group of German ickr- words meaning "bent, hooked"]
Thus, etymological dictionaries inform us that the Old English had a group of words, meaning "hooky or bended" and beginning with kr-. The existence of phonosemantic group of words with similar phonetic structure and semantics is a reliable evidence of the fact that the phonosteme kr- is phonosemantically productive. The concentration of labial is also phonosemantically relevant in the description of
non-linear movement. In this type of movement an object describes a circle or bow and the set of labials within one lexeme is considered to be a phonosemantic expression of a something round (Voronin, 1982). There also might be another interpretation of labials in this nonce word. As A.B. Mikhaliov notes, a high back vowel [u:] put close to the anlaut has a synethetic meaning "heavy" or "slow".
The use of sound symbolic expression for non-linearity is likely to be explained by the fact that with the help of phonosemantic means the author wanted to create the image of cat arching its back. Thus, the first component included into this compound nonce word phonetically pictures that huge, heavy cat with its arched back.
The second component - shank - is known to the contemporary English native speakers as a "foot" or "paw". Shank has not been mentioned by linguists or dictionaries as a phonosemantic word, but, quite intriguingly, that judging by the etymologic dictionary, it appeared also within the expression of non-linearity:
[O.E. sceanca "leg, shank, shinbone,"from P.Gmc. *skankon- (cf. M.L.G. schenke, Ger. schenkel "shank, leg"), perhaps lit. "that which bends," from PIE root *skeng- "crooked"].
Thus, the semantics of the second component intensifies the first semantics, and the reader perceive it all as a huge fat cat standing on short crooked paws (a symbolic picture of big sizes is presumably reflected through the presence of a front open vowel (Voronin, 1982)). The bottom line is that by using a sole lexical unit the author managed to express the huge size, arching back of the animal and depict its crooked fat paws.
Shrivel fig is a nonce proper name which includes two components, used by J. Rowling to show a small magic plant characterized by a tendency to shrivel producing some kind of rustling sound. The first part of the nonce word -shrivel - for the first time was found in around
1560 and marked as the word "of unknown origin". As etymologists consider, it has a Nordic origin (perhaps, from Sweden skryvla "to wrinkle, to shrivel"). There is a whole phonosemantic group of the words which have sr- in their anlauts and mutual semes meaning "shrinking" or "diminishment". In Mikhaliov's point of view, the noise constrictive [f] expresses long whistling noise, the sonant [r] - any long trembling noise, and the noise constrictive [v] represent a sound imitation of an air stream. Obviously, the meaning of given verbs was developing through the model "action (shrinking) - accompanying sound".
The second component introduces a real wordfig («фиговое дерево»). The phonosemantic character of this word has not been mentioned in dictionaries or demonstrated by phonosemantists. Still, it is likely that the nomination ground was formed by a small (narrow) size of the fig's leaves and a short [i] can entirely have that articulatorily symbolic meaning. This statement is partially justified by the etymological facts explaining pejorative meaning of the word - a small useless thing:
[The insulting sense of the word in Shakespeare, etc. (A fig for ...) is 1570s, in part from fig as "small, valueless thing"].
Thus, the use of primary-motivated lexeme shrivel meaning "shrinking" which is phonosemantically reflected by sr- in anlaut in the secondary nonce nomination allows the author to "depict" a shriveling rustling magic plant.
Further, such phonetic nonce words penetrate another literary work - "Winnie-The-Pooh and All, All, All" by A.A. Milne.
H-hup! is a phonetic nonce word which Milne introduces to describe a sound by a little jumping Roo and also for his jumps per se. By its phonetic structure it can be classified as a short impact. From the perspective of phonosemantic theory, this nonce word implies the following articulatorily symbolic meanings: a laryngeal
[h] in the anlaut means in-outs, and the noise plosive [p] in auslaut - impact (plosive sounds are the only type of phonemes used for the short impact description (Voronin, 1982: 47)). A short consonant in the middle also contributes to that description (like, for example, to tap). In such a way, one may assume that this phonosemantic nonce formation involves the meaning of jumps. By applying repeated [h] in the anlaut, the author phonetically shows the sound of a deep inhale before Roo is going to make his jump and through a phonetic form of canonic instant expresses that impact as the little kangaroo arrives on his strong paws.
Woozle is a huge and frightful animal created by Piglet (in Russian variant it is called as «Бука»). The readers often perceive it being huge due to concentration of labial sounds in the anlaut (it is worth saying that the translator follows that strategy and uses that sound cluster reaching, thus, the effect of translation equivalency).
The use of labials for rounds with its further semantic development up to huge has been pointed out by Ye.I. Kuznetsova. The linguistic observation made by A.B. Mikhliov proved by the statistics also indicates the fact that a back closed vowel [u:] has the synethetic development "heavy" and "slow" and as a wide intensive sound phonetically symbolizes something "big".
The auslaut which consists of the noise constrictive [z] is peculiar to sound imitations related to tonic-noise continuants (e.g. buzz, whizz, siss) and defines a tonic noise impact - a long whistling sound (noise).
The formant le- also performs the phonosemantic function and represents the phonosemantic instrument to express the meaning of interativity and yet of the corresponded meanings of plurality, length and intensity (Bartko, 1992).Thus, the nonce word's phonetic structure allows suggesting that Woozle is a big animal which produces constant whistling. It is
likely to assume that this very idea underlines the author's linguacreativity within the process of the character's description.
Wizzle is a small animal created by Piglet, but not less frightful than Woozle. The readers imagine Wizzle as a small creature, since in this nonce word the phonosemantic function is performed by the front vowel [i] which is often used to show something small (Mikhaliov, 1995; Voronin, 1982). Similar to the previous example, the auslaut involves the noise constrictive [z] for the whistling sound and the interative formant le- that gives us an opportunity to suppose that this creature, the same as Woozle, represents an animal which produces a constant whistling-sizzling sound, but, in contrast to Woozle, has a small size. The labial w- in the anlaut position also point outs that this small creature can be of a round form, perhaps, due to its thick fur.
A real storage of the author's phonosemantic linguacreativity has been found in "Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found there" by Lewis Carroll and, particularly, in "Jabberwocky" which actually is a nonce text. Among the most prominent examples of phonosemantic nonce words we have highlighted the following:
Jubjub is a nonce noun used in the work as a contextually determined name of a dangerous bird. Its anlaut contains the affricate [<%] which is phonosemantically valence within alveopalattal type of nomination of tension (e.g. jot «толкать, трясти», jab «толкать, тыкать, вонзать»). These phonosteme, according to L.V. Likhmanova's observation, is also typical for the expression of quick movements. These two phonosemantic functions of [<%] stand together, since quick movements are usually pre-advised by a muscle tension. The canonic form - an instant with noise plosive [b] in auslaut and a short vowel in the middle - introduces the meaning of a short impact. Thus, the synethetic development of the given nonce word as the result of L.Carroll's word
creation leads to the fact that the readers can interpret this unit as a picture of flesh bird which chatters, squawks angrily, beats somebody, pecks something and, moreover, the reader can "hear" all these sounds. The method of reduplication used in the nonce word also adds the meaning of interativity.
Mimsy - judging by a minimal context '"All mimsy were the borogoves" giving the idea of arguments and basic predicates one may assume, that this nonce word has the meaning of a living, or to be more precised, some fictitious creatures. In the given nonce unit one can find the reduplication of sonorant [m], which has articulatorily symbolic meaning of "soft" (Mikhaliov, 1995). S.V. Voronin point out a regular use of the labial sonorant in denomination of smile and of gestures related to lips movement in general in different languages (aHra.smile, aKyT.Muww, BenccK. muhtita ^BeH. MycbM, 3an.-cygaH. mua). The reduplication of front closed [i] has an articulatorily symbolic semantics of something "small" that allows us to conduct that mimsies have small sizes. Besides, its auslaut contains the noise constrictive [s] which often phonosemantically functions to express a long whistling sound. For example, S.V. Voronin notes a frequent use of this sound in phono-intra-kinesimisms (sound symbolic nominations of licking, lapping, champing or sucking) as an acoustic component, i.e. a direct indicator of the whistling sound produced by the nose or mouth (Voronin, 1982: 109). We cannot say for sure, what was the author's intention to create this nonce word, but the phonosemantic features of phonostemes implied in it create an image of small (soft) animals which clearly gesturing their mouths (smiling), perhaps, create some kind of whistle or cheep.
Uffish is a nonce adjective that defines the word "idea". It is obviously, that the word is based on an interjection with the similar phonetic structure and, thus, with the same semantics: sound
symbolism of the back closed vowel [u:] meaning "heavy" and "slowly" and reduplicated noise constrictive [f], which always phonosemantically performs in echoisms to express noise non-impact (e.g. scotl. Fuff - «сильно дуть» (о ветре)), with the general meaning of "ins-out" allows the reader to comprehend this nonce word as a "heavy idea" (compare with the Russian interjection «Уфф!»).
Slithytoves is a nonce word combination used by the author in "Jabberwocky". According to M. Magnus, the phonosteme [sl] implies the meaning of something "slippy". This suggestion can be supported by the fact that we can etymologically find a group of words with the same semantics:
[O.E. slidan "movesmoothly, glide" fromP.Gmc. *slidanan, from PIE root *(s)lei-"slide"); slither (O.E. slidrian "to slide on a loose slope," a frequentative form of slidan "to slide");slip(c.1300, "to escape, to move softly and quickly," from M.L.G. slippen "to glide, slide," from P.Gmc. *slipanan, from PIE *sleib- "slimy, slippery"]
The image created by the author through this nonce word-collocation is accompanied with another feature - a rustling whistling sound expressed through the noise constrictive [0] which approximately reproduces a long whistling sound due to its articulatorily acoustic characteristics. The short front closed vowel [i] means "small". Thus, a total semantics of these phonostemes allows for the conclusion that the given nonce unit can imply the meaning of something "small and slimy/slippery and moving with a whistling sound".
The nonce word toves is likely to represent a modification from doves, but a non-relational phonosemantic analysis shows a saturation of labials (bi-labials and labial-dental) that allows interpreting the first one as something of a round shape. The dental-alveolar noise plosive [t] in anlaut position gives the image a certain solidness, thickness, since, according to A.B.
Mikhaliov, the synethetic development of [t] is the meaning of "thick" and "dense".
As the result, by introducing sound imitative and sound symbolic means L. Carroll managed to create the image of thick slipping creatures, producing a rustling sound while moving.
The works by J. R.R. Tolkien, a linguistically educated person, is particularly interesting, since the writer used his linguistic and philological knowledge to create the nonce lexis. Among them, most attention is deserved the following units:
Globin is a nonce noun used by the author in "The Hobbit" to nominate a dwarf who is fond of eating. This characteristic is reflected in the phonetic structure: as M. Magnus considers, the phonosteme [gl] has a sound symbolic meaning of "gulping". S.V. Voronin also mentions the sound symbolic function of the guttural that expresses processes with working throat (e.g. gobble, gulp) (Voronin, 1982: 108). The diphthong [oi] the core of which includes a labial intensive vowel attaches the semantics of something "round and big". Thus, J.R.R. Tolkien with the help of only one name creates a gluttonous dwarf simply depicting the character's features.
Gollum is a nonce noun, a name of one of the main characters in "The Lord of the Rings". Judging by the text, this character always produces a gulping sound - gollum - what he has actually been named for. Similar to the previous example, the phonetic structure of this nonce unit we can see the phonosteme [gl] used to nominate "gulping". Consequently, the author uses the phonosemantic function of this phonosteme to create the proper name with a particular meaning.
Creepsy is a nonce adjective contextually defined as "cracking" or "creepy". The meaning of the word lies in its phonetic structure: the anlaut's phonosteme [kr], as it has been mentioned above, is typical for the class of frequentatives nominating a dissonance due to their leading
sound symbolic function performed by the vibrant [r] which reflects a trembling component of the denotatum's articulation. Obviously, the nonce word represents a modification of the words crisp.
There is another possible interpretation of the phonosemantic structure. L. A. Likhomanova analyzes creep as a sound symbolic nomination for the non-linear movement meaning "crawling as a snake" (Likhomanova, 1986). It is likely that both of these meaning are etymologically interconnected, as when something crawls it can also produce a certain crack. Anyway, the use of phonosemantic function implied in kr- gives the author a way to create the nonce word meaning "cracking and frightening".
Fili is a nonce proper noun of a very small dwarf in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit". The writer reaches that correct comprehension of the dwarf's name through the reduplication of short vowel [i] which symbolizes something "small".
Bofur is similarly a nonce name for a dwarf. This character is described in the fairy tale as quite a big and clumsy creature. Such perception of the image appears due to the saturation of labials - a bi-labial [b] in anlaut, back middle labial [э] in the middle and back closed labial [u:] in the end. The main phonosemantic function performed by labials is to symbolize something round and big (Voronin, 1982).The labial dental constrictive [f] gives an additional shade to the character's image, being due to its articulatorily acoustic features, an expression of the air stream - this big dwarf probably puffs while moving. Thus, in this nonce word the author uses maximum means
symbolizing something "round", "big" and consequently, makes the meaning quite clear.
Conclusion
The nonce word formations represent unique linguistic phenomena which serve as a crucial component of the artistic literature used for creation of a particular emotional status in the reader's perception, diversification of means expressing the author's intention, individualization of the author's speech and contribution to its informational capacity. The phonosemantic nonce words exampled from the above mentioned works mainly have a form of proper nouns - the names of fictitious characters, fairy creatures or place names. To create phonetic nonce words the authors use both sound imitative and sound symbolic linguistic means; quite often nonce words are formed on the substrate of real words of phonosemantic origin.
The semantics of phonosemantic nonce words can be traced through the phonosemantic analysis of phonostemes and also through the etymological and typological facts. The context, as a rule, proves the phonosemantic interpretation of nonce word. The later represents a manifestation of the author's linguacreativity. A writer creates nonce words in order to add more expressivity to s/his work involving the reader into a language game. Creating a nonce word the author usually expects that it would be adequately perceived and decoded by the reader. In the case of phonosemantic nonce words it comes to be possible only due to the fact that the phoneme's phonosemantic potential lies in the language users' phonosemantic fund.
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Авторская окказиональная звукоизобразительная лексика как средство языковой игры
О.А. Барташова
Санкт-Петербургский государственный экономический университет Россия, Санкт-Петербург, наб. канала Грибоедова, 30/32
В статье рассматривается значение и развитие цифровых гуманитарных наук с примерами работ, опубликованных в различных областях цифровых гуманитарных наук. Проводится анализ использования данных технологий и их значение для гуманитарных наук. Даны рекомендации применения цифровых технологий, которые могут быть полезны в различных сферах гуманитарного сектора.
Ключевые слова: авторский фоносемантический фонд, лингвокреативность, звукоподража-ние/звукосимволизм, окказионализмы, художественный текст.
Научная специальность: 10.00.00 - филологические науки.
