Phonesthesia as a manifestation of iconicity: a diachronic study of the phonestheme gr- in the English lexicon
Résumé
This empirical study is based on a set of analyses conducted during two years of MA, which investigated the diachronic behaviour of gr- monomorphemes in the Oxford English Dictionary. Our purpose was to trace back the emergence and evolution of the phonestheme gr- using lexicographic material and statistical tools (see Smith 2016 and 2019). Phonesthemes can be seen as instances of iconicity since they are motivated form-meaning patterns perceivable in the lexicon (first acknowledged by Jespersen 1922 and Firth 1930). They mostly appear as meaning-carrying consonant onsets in English, which conventional morphological theories (Bolinger 1950, Blust 1988) struggle to define and analyse (Kwon and Round 2014). Mainly two main types of evidence that support the existence of phonesthemes have drawn attention so far, that is psycholinguistic (Hutchins 1998, Abelin 1999, Bergen 2004) and statistical evidence (Abelin 1999, Drellishak 2006, Otis et Sagi 2008, Sagi et al. 2012, Abramova et al. 2013, Liu et al. 2018).
This study relies on a key word-based lexicographic analysis, and through the constitution of conceptual categories, aims at singling out key phonosemantic features. Three types of analyses were thus conducted: 1) a statistical analysis, which allowed us to know which features were the most attested, and which ones combined the most with other features; 2) an examination of semantic changes, in order to observe the convergence of senses towards a particular phonosemantic feature; and 3) an isolation of etymological roots in order to see if the existence of those phonosemantic features could be explained by etymology alone or if other processes were at stake.
As a result, two main phonosemantic features were identified: unpleasant sounds and sensations on the one hand, and bad mood on the other. It looks as though a core onomatopoeic submeaning associated with rough or unpleasant sounds has spread to other submeanings, not necessarily associated with sound, but potentially implemented by other senses. In particular, the unpleasantness of the original sound association may well have evolved into an ideophonic submeaning linked to bad feelings and discomfortable emotions. The onomatopoeic component unsurprisingly seems to be older and less attested in the lexicon, as opposed to the subsequent ideophonic component, which is much more widely attested and seems to appear slightly later. To be more accurate, our hypothesis for further inquiry is that the core phonosemantic feature associated with sound may have drifted towards the realm of physical sensations, and eventually to that of emotions and humour. Although this aspect still needs explicit evidence, it would constitute a case of iconic subsemantic change, which in itself is very promising.