Japanese onomatopoeia

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Japanese onomatopoeia means the onomatopoeia in the Japanese language and there is an important factor among others in the formation of new words . It is used very frequently not only in the language of children and nurses , but also in adult language and greatly enriches literary expressiveness. The high productivity of Japanese onomatopoeia, i.e. the ability to use onomatopoeia to create new linguistic expressions, is reflected in both the spoken and the written language. In the comics in particular, one encounters a wide variety of free new formations.

The Japanese onomatopoeic words are mostly written in either the Hiragana or Katakana script, both of which are (purely phonetic) syllabary scripts . Katakana is commonly used for foreign words, but most Japanese onomatopoeia are not foreign language expressions.

Giongo and Gitaigo

Japanese onomatopoeia exists in two forms: Giongo and Gitaigo .

Giongo (also called Giseigo ) is onomatopoeia (onomatopoeia, tone painting) in the proper sense and represents natural sounds or other acoustic phenomena in language. Gitaigo, on the other hand, does not describe any audible phenomena, but the state or nature of objects, the manner of actions or Feelings as well as sensual sensations.

Examples of Giongo

  • wanwan : barking a dog
  • buubuu : grunt of a pig
  • nyaanyaa : meowing
  • kokekokkoo : screaming a rooster
  • pachipachi : clapping hands
  • dokaan : explosion
  • zaazaa : pouring rain
  • shiin : deep silence
  • dokidoki : violent pounding of the heart

Examples of Gitaigo

  • tsurutsuru : smooth, slippery
  • fuwafuwa : soft, downy
  • furafura : dull, powerless, exhausted
  • nikoniko : smile
  • kurukuru : move in a circle
  • tappuri : sufficient, plentiful
  • gudenguden : drunk
  • perapera : fluent, fluent (language ability)
  • geragera : laughing maliciously, nasty

Strictly speaking, Gitaigo words belong to the ideophones because they describe something inaudible. However, it is not always easy to draw a clear line between Giongo and Gitaigo. The aforementioned “shiin”, for example, describes the “sound” of something inaudible. “Dokidoki” can also be the feeling when your heart is beating heavily, because you normally cannot hear your own heart even when you are excited.

The words Giongo , Giseigo and Gitaigo themselves each consist of three Kanji characters , which have the following meanings:

  • Gi-On-Go ( 擬 音 語 ): imitation - sound - word (language)
  • Gi-Sei-Go ( 擬 声 語 ): imitation - voice - word (language)
  • Gi-Tai-Go ( 擬 態 語 ): imitation - state (shape) - word (language)

Trend connection between meaning and sounds used

The voiceless sounds [k], [s], [t] and [p] often stand for the properties “sharp”, “light” or “small”. The corresponding voiced variants [g], [z], [d] and [b], on the other hand, tend to depict properties such as “dull”, “heavy”, “large” or “dirty”. This is how oppositions arise, for example

  • kirakira : glitter, sparkle (for example stars)
  • giragira : dazzle, glaring (for example the sun)
  • tone : light knocking (for example on the door)
  • dondon : violent knocking (for example on the door)
  • potopoto : drop
  • botoboto : drop (in larger or heavier drops)

This difference between the voiceless ([k], [s], [t], [p]) and the voiced ([g], [z], [d], [b]) series of sounds is in the writing on the two added short dashes ( dakuten ) recognizable.

  • き (ki) vs. ぎ (gi)
  • と (to) vs. ど (do)
  • ぽ (po) vs. ぼ (bo)

Structure of word formation

Onomatopoietic words in Japanese are often identified by repeating the same or using similar syllables. A part of a word can often also be used as an independent onomatopoeic word (possibly through a slight sound modification).

  • wanwan vs. wan
  • kirakira vs. kirari
  • dokidoki vs. dokin

grammar

Japanese onomatopoeic expressions are used adverbially , but also adjectivally , but rarely nominally . In adverbial use, the functional word ( particle ) と (to) is either optional or mandatory, depending on the verb used:

  • Zaazaa (to) furu. ( ザ ー ザ ー （と） ふ る。 ): (It) is raining cats and dogs.
  • Wanwan (to) hoeru. ( わ ん わ ん （と） ほ え る。 ): (A dog) barks woof.
  • Oioi (to) naku. ( お い お い （と） な く。 ): (Someone) weeps bitterly / howls.
  • Dokin to suru. ( ド キ ン と す る。 ): (Someone's) heart pounds with excitement.

In the adjectival use, the onomatopoeic words with the following syllable "na" are used as so-called "na adjectives":

  • tsurutsuru na kagami (mirror): smooth mirror
  • jiguzagu na unten (driving): zigzag driving

Examples of nominal expressions are:

  • wanwan : dog
  • buubuu : pig
  • gatagata : rattle

literature

  • Kayo Funatsu-Böhler: Grammar in a nutshell, Japanese . Ernst Klett, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-12-561331-7
  • Tarō Gomi: Kotobazukan 2. Yōsu no Kotoba . Kaiseisha, Tokyo 1985, ISBN 4-03-343020-2 ( 五味 太郎 （１９８５） 「言葉 図 鑑 ​​２ よ う す の こ と ば」 」（偕 成 社） ; A picture book with 470 different onomatopoeic expressions.)
  • Wolfgang Hadamitzky: Handbook and Lexicon of Japanese Writing, Kanji and Kana 1. Langenscheidt, Berlin - Munich 1995, ISBN 3-468-49388-6
  • Konrad von Heuduck, Koujirou Hioki et al .: New basic Japanese course . Dogakusha, Tokyo 1992, ISBN 4-8102-0300-X
  • Noriko Katsuki-Pestemer: Basic Japanese 2 . Dürr & Kessler, Rheinbreitbach 1994, ISBN 3-8018-0091-1
  • Shoko Hamano: The Sound-Symbolic System of Japanese . CSLI Publications [u. a.], Stanford, Calif. 1998, ISBN 1-57586-144-5 (scientific work on the phonosemantics of Japanese onomatopoeia)
  • Hisao Kakehi, Ikuhiro Tamori, Lawrence C. Schourup: Dictionary of iconic expressions in Japanese . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin [a. a.] 1996, ISBN 3-11-012810-1 (comprehensive Japanese-English onomatopoetic dictionary)

Web links