# Ideophone

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{{for|the type of musical instrument|Idiophone}}
{{Use American English|date = February 2019}}
{{Short description|Words evoking ideas of specific sounds or other sensations}}
thumb|A sculpture demonstrating an example of Japanese sound symbolism, "''jaan!''" ({{lang|ja|ジャーン}})
An '''ideophone''' (also known as a '''mimetic''' or '''expressive''') is a member of the [class of words](/source/word_class) that depict sensory imagery or sensations,<ref name=dingemanse23>{{cite book 
|last1=Dingemanse |first1=Mark 
|editor-last=van Lier |editor-first=Eva
|title=Oxford Handbook of Word Classes 
|date=2023
|publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford
|isbn= 978-0-19-188718-5 |pages=466–476 
|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198852889.013.15
|chapter=Ideophones
}}</ref> evoking ideas of action, sound, movement, color, or shape. The class of ideophones is the least common [syntactic category](/source/syntactic_category) cross-linguistically; it occurs mostly in African, Australian, and [Amerindian languages](/source/Amerindian_languages), and sporadically elsewhere.  Ideophones resemble [interjection](/source/interjection)s but are different owing to their special [phonetic](/source/Phonetics) or [derivational](/source/Derivational_morpheme) characteristics, and based on their syntactic function within the sentence. They may include sounds that deviate from the language's phonological system, [imitating](/source/Imitation)—often in a repetitive manner—sounds of movement, animal noises, bodily sounds, noises made by tools or machines, and the like.<ref name="Sasse">{{cite book |last=Sasse |first=Hans-Jürgen |title=Syntax--Theory and Analysis: An International Handbook |date=2015 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-020276-2 |editor-last=Kiss and Alexiadou |pages=158–217 |chapter=Syntactic categories and subcategories}}</ref>

While [English](/source/English_language) does have ideophonic or onomatopoetic expressions, it does not contain a proper class of ideophones because any English onomatopoeic word can be included in one of the classical categories. For example, ''la-di-da'' functions as an adjective while others, such as ''zigzag'', may function as a verb, adverb or adjective, depending on the clausal context. In the sentence "The rabbit zigzag'''ged''' across the meadow", the verb zigzag takes the past ''-ed'' verb ending. In contrast, the hypothetical example *"The rabbit ''zigzag zigzag'' across the meadow" emulates an ideophone but is not [idiomatic](/source/idiom_(language_structure)) to English.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://linguistics.stackexchange.com/questions/27594/how-do-ideophones-and-onomatopoeia-work-in-english |title=Linguistics. How do ideophones and onomatopoeia work in English? |last= |first= |date= |website=linguistics.stackexchange.com |publisher= |access-date=7 October 2022 |quote=}}</ref>

Dictionaries of languages like Japanese, Korean, Xhosa, Yoruba, and Zulu list thousands of ideophones.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.lib.kobe-u.ac.jp/handle_gakui/D1004724|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140104105027/http://www.lib.kobe-u.ac.jp/handle_gakui/D1004724|archive-date=January 4, 2014|title=A Grammar of Sound-Symbolic Words in Japanese: Theoretical Approaches to Iconic and Lexical Properties of Japanese Mimetics|last=Akita|first=Kimi|publisher=Kobe University|year=2009}}</ref> Sometimes ideophones are called ''phonosemantic'' to indicate that it is not a grammatical word class in the traditional sense of the word (like [verb](/source/verb) or [noun](/source/noun)), but rather a lexical class based on the special relationship between form and meaning exhibited by ideophones. In the discipline of [linguistics](/source/linguistics), ideophones have sometimes been overlooked or treated as a subgroup of interjections.<ref name="Sasse2">{{cite book |last=Sasse |first=Hans-Jürgen |title=Syntax--Theory and Analysis: An International Handbook |date=2015 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-020276-2 |editor-last=Kiss and Alexiadou |pages=158–217 |chapter=Syntactic categories and subcategories}}</ref>

==Characteristics==

The word ideophone was coined in 1935 by [Clement Martyn Doke](/source/Clement_Martyn_Doke), who defined it in his ''Bantu Linguistic Terminology'' as follows.<ref name=":1">Doke 1935. p. 118. ''Bantu Linguistic Terminology.'' London: Longmans, Green, and Co.</ref>{{quote|A vivid representation of an idea in sound. A word, often onomatopoeic, which describes a predicate, qualificative or adverb in respect to manner, color, sound, smell, action, state or intensity.}}

Ideophones evoke sensory events. A well known instance of ideophones are [onomatopoeic](/source/onomatopoeia) words—words that imitate the sound (of the event) they refer to. Some ideophones may be derived from onomatopoeic notions. In many languages, however, ideophones do not solely represent sound.<ref name=":1" /> For instance, in [Gbaya](/source/Gbaya_languages), ''kpuk '''a rap on the door' may be onomatopoeic, but other ideophones depict motion and visual scenes: ''loɓoto-loɓoto'' 'large animals plodding through mud', ''kiláŋ-kiláŋ'' 'in a zigzagging motion', ''pɛɗɛŋ-pɛɗɛŋ'' 'razor sharp'.<ref name=":2" />

Ideophones are often characterized as [iconic](/source/Iconicity) or [sound-symbolic](/source/Sound_symbolism) words, meaning that there can be a resemblance between their form and their meaning. For instance, in West-African languages, voiced consonants and low tone in ideophones are often connected to largeness and heaviness, whereas voiceless consonants and high tones tend to relate to smallness and lightness.<ref>Westermann 1927</ref> [Reduplication](/source/Reduplication) figures quite prominently in ideophones, often conveying a sense of repetition or plurality present in the evoked event.<ref>Watson in Voeltz & Kilian-Hatz 2001</ref> The iconicity of ideophones is shown by the fact that people can guess the meanings of ideophones from various languages at a level above chance.<ref>Iwasaki et al. 2007, Dingemanse et al. 2015</ref> However, the form of ideophones does not completely relate to their meaning; as conventionalized words, they contain arbitrary, language-specific phonemes just like other parts of the vocabulary.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

Ideophones are also frequently accompanied by gesture and expressive intonational patterns (Nuckolls, 2019).

===Grammar===
The grammatical function of ideophones varies by language. In some languages (e.g. [Welayta](/source/Welayta_language), [Yir-Yiront](/source/Yir-Yoront_language), [Semai](/source/Semai_language), [Korean](/source/Korean_language)), they form a separate word class, while in others, they occur across a number of different word classes (e.g. [Mundang](/source/Mundang), [Ewe](/source/Ewe_language), [Sotho](/source/Sotho_language), [Hausa](/source/Hausa_language)).<ref>Voeltz & Kilian-Hatz 2001</ref>

Despite this diversity, ideophones show a number of robust regularities across languages. One is that they are often marked in the same way as quoted speech and demonstrations.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Samarin|first=William J.|year=1971|title=Survey of Bantu ideophones|journal=African Language Studies|volume=12|pages=130–168}}</ref> Sometimes ideophones can form a complete utterance on their own, as in English "ta-da!" or Japanese {{Nihongo||ジャーン|jaan|ta-da}}.<ref name=":0">Diffloth 1972</ref> However, in such cases the word ideophone is used as a synonym to interjection. Proper ideophones may occur within utterances, depicting a scene described by other elements of the utterance, as in Japanese ''Taro wa <u>sutasuta to</u> haya-aruki o shita'' "Taro walked hurriedly' (literally 'Taro did haste-walk ''sutasuta''<nowiki/>').<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kita|first=Sotaro|year=1997|title=Two-dimensional semantic analysis of Japanese mimetics|url=http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/106489/9/WRAP-two-dimensional-semantic-analysis-Japanese-mimetics-Kita-2018.pdf|journal=Linguistics|volume=35|issue=2|pages=379–415|doi=10.1515/ling.1997.35.2.379|hdl=21.11116/0000-0002-C12C-3 |s2cid=144380452 }}</ref> Ideophones are more like illustrations ''of'' events than responses ''to'' events. An ideophone like Gbaya ''kiláŋ-kiláŋ'' 'in a zigzagging motion' displays a certain resemblance to the event (for instance, its irregular vowels and tones depicting the irregularity of the motion).{{cn|date=January 2025}}

===Registers===
Languages may differ in the context in which ideophones are used. In some languages, ideophones are primarily used in spoken language (e.g. [narrative](/source/narrative) contexts) and are rarely encountered in written language.<ref name=":2">Noss in Voeltz & Kilian-Hatz 2001</ref> In other languages (e.g. [Ewe](/source/Ewe_language), [Japanese](/source/Japanese_language)), ideophones can be freely used in all [registers](/source/Register_(sociolinguistics)). In general, however, ideophones tend to occur more extensively in spoken language because of their expressive or dramaturgic function.<ref name="ReferenceA">Kunene in Voeltz & Kilian-Hatz 2001</ref>

==Examples==
{{No citations section|date=April 2025}}

===[Japanese](/source/Japanese_language)===
{{main|Japanese sound symbolism}}
The Japanese language has thousands of ideophones, often called ''mimetics''. The constructions are quite metrical 2-2, or 3-3, where [morae](/source/Mora_(linguistics)) play a role in the symmetry. The first consonant of the second word of the reduplication [may become voiced](/source/rendaku) if phonological conditions allow. Japanese ideophones are used extensively in daily conversations as well as in the written language.{{cn|date=January 2025}}
* ''doki doki'' ({{lang|ja|ドキドキ}}) – heart-pounding
* ''kira kira'' ({{lang|ja|キラキラ}}) – glittery
* ''shiin'' ({{lang|ja|シーン}}) – silence
* ''niko niko'' ({{lang|ja|ニコニコ}}) – smile
* ''jii'' ({{lang|ja|じー}}) – stare
* ''run run'' ({{lang|ja|ルンルン}}) – cheerful

===[Tamil](/source/Tamil_language)===
The Tamil language uses many ideophones, both in colloquial and formal usage. Ideophones are often, but not always, in the form of irattaik kilavi ([இரட்டைக் கிளவி](/source/%3Ata%3A%E0%AE%87%E0%AE%B0%E0%AE%9F%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%9F%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B3%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%BF)), meaning-free words that are only used in double succession.
* ''busu busu'' ({{lang|ta|புசுபுசு}}) – soft and bushy
* ''chattunu'' (சட்டுனு), also ''chattu buttunu'' (சட்டு புட்டுனு) -- instantly, speedily
* ''choda choda'' ({{lang|ta|சொதசொத}}) – marshy, waterlogged
* ''chuDa chuDa'' ({{lang|ta|சுடச்சுட}}) – piping hot
* ''DamAl Dumeel'' (டமால்டுமீல்) ''--'' bursting sound
* ''doLa doLa'' ({{lang|ta|தொளதொள}}) - hanging loose (as in loose fitting)
* ''gaba gaba'' ({{lang|ta|கபகப}}) -- wolfing down food
* ''gama gama'' (கமகம) -- fragrant, as in food
* ''gaNeer'' (கணீர்) -- deep baritone
* ''gappu chippu'' (கப்புசிப்பு) ''--'' silent
* ''gara gara'' ({{lang|ta|கரகர}}) – crunchy (as in food), gravelly (as in voice)
* ''giDu giDu'' ({{lang|ta|கிடுகிடு}}) – quickly, fast; also fearful
* ''gubu gubu'' (குபுகுபு) -- rapid flow of, e.g., smoke, blood, etc.
* ''jAm jAm'' (ஜாம்ஜாம்) -- posh, as in a wedding
* ''kaDak maDak'' (கடக்மடக்) -- chewing something hard
* ''kaNa kaNa'' ({{lang|ta|கணகண}}) -- warm, hot
* ''kasa kasa'' (கசகச) ''--'' uncomfortably humid
* ''kozha kozha'' ({{lang|ta|கொழகொழ}}) – slimy, gooey
* ''kozhu kozhu'' ({{lang|ta|கொழுகொழு}}) – plump
* ''kusu kusu'' (குசுகுசு) -- secretive
* ''lap Dap'' (லப்டப்) -- heartbeat
* ''labo thibo'' (லபோதிபோ) -- loudly
* ''lokku lokku'' (லொக்கு லொக்கு) -- cough
* ''longu longu'' (லொங்குலொங்கு) -- exhausted
* ''mAngu mAngu'' ({{lang|ta|மாங்குமாங்கு}}) – laboriously
* ''maDa maDa'' ({{lang|ta|மடமட}}) – quickly
* ''masa masa'' ({{lang|ta|மசமச}}) – sluggish, lethargic
* ''mozhu mozhu'' ({{lang|ta|மொழுமொழு}}) – smooth (surface)
* ''noi noi'' (நொய்நொய்) -- nagging
* ''paDa paDa'' (படபட) -- fluttering
* ''paLa paLa'' ({{lang|ta|பளப்பள/பளபள}}) – glittering, shiny
* ''paLAr'' (பளார்) -- slap
* ''paLich'' (பளிச்) -- bright
* ''pattu pattunu'' (பட்டு பட்டுனு) -- rapidly
* ''pisupisuppu'' (பிசுபிசுப்பு) -- viscous greasiness
* ''saDa saDa'' (சடசட) ''--'' rain
* ''sala sala'' (சலசல) -- water ripples 
* ''sara sara'' (சரசர) ''--'' snake-like movement
* ''sora sora'' ({{lang|ta|சொறசொற}}) – rough
* ''suRu suRu'' (சுறுசுறு) -- spirited, keen
* ''Tak Tak'' ({{lang|ta|டக்டக்}}) -- rapidly
* ''thai thai'' (தைதை) -- nimble, as in dance
* ''thaLa thaLa'' ({{lang|ta|தளதள}}) -- lush (as in a lush plant/orchard)
* ''thillu mullu'' (தில்லு முல்லு) -- mischief
* ''thiru thiru'' (திருதிரு) ''--'' suspicious looks
* ''thoNa thoNa'' ({{lang|ta|தொணதொண}}) - annoyingly incessant
* ''thuRu thuRu'' (துறுதுறு) - brisk, fervent
* ''vaalu vaalu'' (வாலு வாலு) -- scolding
* ''vala vala'' (வலவல) -- fearful
* ''vazha vazha'' ({{lang|ta|வழவழ}}) – smooth, slippery
* ''veDa veDa'' ({{lang|ta|வெடவெட}}) – shaking, trembling
* ''vinnu vinnu'' (வின்னுவின்னு) -- pain
* ''viru viru'' ({{lang|ta|விறுவிறு}}) – energetically (also, spicy)
* ''visuk visuk'' (விசுக்விசுக்) -- express, brisk

===Xhosa===

In [Xhosa](/source/Xhosa_language), as in closely related Zulu, ideophones can convey very complex experiential impressions or can just strengthen meanings of other words. The ideophone is often introduced using the verb {{lang|xh|thi}} {{gloss|say}}.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

Using {{lang|xh|thi}}:
* {{lang|xh|cwaka}} – to be silent
:: {{lang|xh|Lixesha lokuthi cwaka}}. 'It is time to be silent.' [literally: 'It is time to say {{lang|xh|cwaka}}.']
* {{lang|xh|gqi}} – to suddenly appear
:: {{lang|xh|Bathi gqi abelungu eAfrika}}. 'The white people suddenly arrived in Africa.' [Literally: 'The white people said {{lang|xh|gqi}} in Africa.'])

Without using {{lang|xh|thi}}:
* {{lang|xh|ncam}} – exact
{{interlinear|indent=3|lang=xh|Andazi '''ncam'''.|{I do not know} IDEO|'I do not know exactly.'}}
* ''bhuxe'' – to stand motionless
{{interlinear|indent=3|lang=xh|Ndime '''bhuxe''' phambi kwakhe.|{I stood} IDEO before him.|'I stood motionless before him.'}}

==See also==
* [Ideasthesia](/source/Ideasthesia)
* [Sound symbolism](/source/Sound_symbolism) (phonosemantics)
* [Synesthesia](/source/Synesthesia)
* [Reduplication](/source/Reduplication)
* [Onomatopoeia](/source/Onomatopoeia)
* [Japanese sound symbolism](/source/Japanese_sound_symbolism)
* [Bouba/kiki effect](/source/Bouba%2Fkiki_effect)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
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* {{Cite journal| volume = 8| pages = 440–447| last = Diffloth| first = Gérard| title = Notes on expressive meaning| journal = Chicago Linguistic Society| date = 1972}}
* {{Cite journal| doi = 10.1016/j.tics.2015.07.013| volume = 19| issue = 10| pages = 603–615| last1 = Dingemanse| first1 = Mark| last2 = Blasi| first2 = Damián E.| last3 = Lupyan| first3 = Gary| last4 = Christiansen| first4 = Morten H.| last5 = Monaghan| first5 = Padraic| title = Arbitrariness, iconicity and systematicity in language| journal = Trends in Cognitive Sciences| date = 2015| pmid=26412098| hdl = 11858/00-001M-0000-0028-7AAB-C| s2cid = 3634642| hdl-access = free| author1-link = Mark Dingemanse}}
* {{Cite journal| doi = 10.1353/lan.2016.0034| volume = 92| issue = 2| pages = e117–e133| last1 = Dingemanse | first1 = Mark| last2 = Schuerman| first2 = Will| last3 = Reinisch| first3 = Eva| last4 = Tufvesson| first4 = Sylvia| last5 = Mitterer| first5 = Holger| title = What sound symbolism can and cannot do: testing the iconicity of ideophones from five languages| journal = Language| date = 2016| hdl = 11858/00-001M-0000-002A-62F0-7| s2cid = 148546000| hdl-access = free}}
* {{cite journal |last=Ido |first=Shinji |date= 2011 |title= Vowel alternation in disyllabic reduplicatives: An areal dimension|url=http://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/jeful/article/view/jeful.2011.2.1.12/10282 |journal= Eesti ja Soome-Ugri Keeleteaduse Ajakiri |volume=2 |issue= 1 |pages=185–193}}
* {{Cite journal| doi = 10.1098/rstb.2013.0298| issn = 0962-8436| volume = 369| issue = 1651| article-number = 20130298| last1 = Imai| first1 = Mutsumi| last2 = Kita| first2 = Sotaro| title = The sound symbolism bootstrapping hypothesis for language acquisition and language evolution| journal = Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences| date = 2014-09-19| pmid = 25092666| pmc=4123677}}
* {{Cite journal| volume = 17| pages = 53–78| last1 = Iwasaki| first1 = Noriko| last2 = Vinson| first2 = David P.| last3 = Vigliocco| first3 = Gabriella| title = What do English Speakers know about gera-gera and yota-yota?: A Cross-linguistic Investigation of Mimetic Words for Laughing and Walking| journal = Japanese Language Education Around the Globe| date = 2007}}
* {{Cite book| publisher = University of Texas| pages = 131–142|editor1=Wai Fong Chiang |editor2=Elaine Chun |editor3=Laura Mahalingappa |editor4=Siri Mehus | last = Nuckolls| first = Janis B.| title = SALSA XI: Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Symposium about Language and Society| chapter = To be or to be not ideophonically impoverished| location = Austin| series = Texas Linguistic Forum| date = 2004}}
* {{Cite book| publisher = John Benjamins| isbn = 978-90-272-2946-5|editor1= Voeltz, F. K. Erhard |editor2=Christa Kilian-Hatz | title = Ideophones| location = Amsterdam| series = Typological Studies in Language| date = 2001|url = https://vdocuments.mx/ideophones-typological-studies-in-language-44.html}}
* {{Cite book| publisher = L. Friederichsen| pages = 315–328|editor1= Boas, Franz | last = Westermann| first = Diedrich Hermann| title = Festschrift Meinhof| chapter = Laut, Ton und Sinn in westafrikanischen Sudansprachen| location = Hamburg| date = 1927}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{wti}}

Category:Phonaesthetics
Category:Semantics
Category:Parts of speech

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ideophone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideophone) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideophone?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.