Article

Name: Acoustic and mimic characteristics of laughter in the Buryat language

Authors: Ekaterina V. Sundueva

Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ulan-Ude

In the section Linguistics

Abstract: The paper deals with the Buryat ideophones which are used with a verb enēxe “to laugh.” They are divided on underived and derivative words which are also subdivided into onomatopoeic and sound-symbolic words. The aim of this research is to reveal the connection between acoustic- articulatory features of consonants of the stem and semantics of the considered words. The author puts forward the idea that mimic and body movements could be directly reflected by phonetic-articulatory means of language. On the basis of acoustic-articulatory characteristics, it is revealed that the stems ending on the consonant r designate throaty laugh, ending by the consonant g des- ignate keckle and ending by the consonant n designate loud laugh. Vowel a is presented in the words imitating the strong, loud soundings; vowel o – in words, imitating distinct, clear sound- ings, vowel ü expresses deaf sounding. The long vowel refers to continuous action. Underived sound-symbolic words characterize movements of lips, face, and body muscles appearing while somebody laughs. The derivative onomatopoeic words which are used with a verb enēxe “to laugh” are formed by means of a suffix -sа. The description of the ideophonic lexis made it possi- ble to expose semiotic, psychophysiological and linguistic foundations of the sound symbolic essence of the language.

Keywords: Buryat language, ideophones, onomatopoeias, sound-symbolic words, phonetic- articulatory means of language

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