Conventional Sound Symbolism Sound Symbolism Found in Lullabies
39 comprised six words of conventional sound symbolism, and other six words
belonging to the combination between conventional and other two categories of sound symbolism as presented in Table 4.1, namely imitative and synesthetic
sound symbolism. It means that a half of the entire words in Table 4.3 brought a single sound symbolism category, whereas another half brought double categories.
Table 4.4 Phonesthemic Sounds and Their Meaning of Conventional Sound Symbolic Words in Lullabies
No. Sound
Symbolism Category
Phonesthemic Sound
Meaning Frequency
Example
1.
Conventional kr-
noisy impact 2
cricket , cry
fl- movement in air
2 float, fly
gl- unmoving light
1 gleam
str- 1 dimensional,
flexible 1
string
As viewed in Table 4.4, there are four phonesthemic sounds appearing in lullabies; they are kr-, fl-, gl-, and str-. Each phonesthemic sound represented a
particular meaning. The word cricket and cry were the examples of the words having kr- onset which causes noisy impact Bloomfield, 1933, as cited in Abelin,
1999, p. 32. A cricket referred to an insect producing short loud noise see Table 4.3 or Appendix F which did its activity during the night time. At the same time,
the word cry also described an act of producing tears while making a loud sound or noise by a child or baby see Table 4.3 or Appendix F. Although both of words
possessed similar functions of producing loud sounds yet there was a difference
40 between them. It was that the word cricket describes a noun producing loud
noises, whereas cry described a verb or the activity of producing loud noises. The second phonesthemic sound found in lullabies is fl-. This onset
represents various movements done in the air, as stated by Bloomfield 1933, as cited in Abelin, 1999, p. 32. The word float and fly actually referred to a similar
meaning, namely an action of moving in the air. Nevertheless, float tended to show a low-speed movement in the air, while fly was inclined to describe an
action of moving in the air using wings as depicted in the context within the lullabies lyrics.
The rest phonesthemic sounds are gl- and str- which exist in the lullaby lyrics within the word gleam and string. The word gleam contained the onset of
gl- pointing out a phenomenon of unmoving light Bloomfield, 1933, as cited in
Abelin, 1999, p. 32. In the lullaby entitled The Star and the Moon, the word gleam
functioned to represent the phenomena of a moon in producing light in the night. Meanwhile, the word string in the lullaby entitled Full Moon Lullaby
contained the onset of str- which represented a flexible nylon cord, which was considered to have a one-dimensional shape, fitted in a musical instrument.
41
Table 4.5 Phonesthemic Sounds and Their Meaning of Sound Symbolic Words of Combined Categories in Lullabies
No. Sound
Symbolism Category
Phonesthemic Sound
Meaning Frequency
Word Example
1.
Conventional Imitative
b- abrupt, loud onset
1 bark
t ʃ-
short 1
chirp fl-
movement in air 1
flutter sw-
to and fro movement
1 swing
2.
Conventional Synesthetic
i diminutive
2 tip, wee
According to Table 4.5, there are five phonesthemic sounds which are derived from two combination sound symbolism categories; they are four onsets
of conventional and imitative sound symbolism, and one onset of conventional and synesthetic sound symbolism. The four onsets are b-, t
ʃ-, fl-, and sw-. The word bark and chirp principally owned the same purpose, that was to represent
the act of producing animals‟ sounds, respectively a dog‟s and a cricket‟s sound.
Yet, the onset b- in bark was specifically to show a loud, harsh sound, while the onset t
ʃ- in chirp was used to demonstrate a short, sharp, high-pitched sound see Table 4.3 or Appendix F
based on Rhodes‟ theory 1994, as cited in Abelin, 1999, p. 33.
The other two onsets of conventional and imitative sound symbolism are fl-
and sw-, as depicted in the word flutter and swing. Both of the onsets basically represented kinds of movement. Based on Bloomfield 1933, as cited in Abelin,
1999, p. 32, fl- is a phonesthemic sound referring to a movement in the air, as mentioned earlier in the Table 4.4. In detail, it referred to an act of moving to and
fro with flapping motions see Table 4.3 or Appendix F. The word flutter
42 emerged in three lullabies whose lyrics stated that such a movement was done by
birds, insects butterflies, and something in the form of wings. Like the onset fl- in flutter, the word swing also described an act of moving easily and without
interruption to and fro. However, unlike flutter that happened in the air, swing occurred on land. It was depicted in the lullaby entitled Rock a Bye Baby whose
line mentioned that the cradle where a baby sleeps in was swung by his mother. The fifth or the only onset of the combination category between
conventional and synesthetic sound symbolism is i. Actually i was a feature of synesthetic sound symbolism, but Bolinger 1950 in his article included it in a
group of phonesthemic sounds as cited in Abelin, 1999, p. 32. Nevertheless, both in synesthetic and conventional sound symbolism, the onset i possessed the
same function, that was to represent diminutives. The word tip and wee constituted the examples of the words having i onset. The detailed explanation of
these words is exactly the same as previously discussed in the section of synesthetic sound symbolic words found in lullabies.