White hmong reduplicative expressives

Author(s):

Ratliff, Martha

Format:

Book section

Publisher:

Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Language:

English

Abstract:

Introduction: The lexical category of expressives (or ideophones) is well represented in both Asian and African languages (for Asian languages, see the pioneering work of Diffloth 1972, 1976, 1979; as well as Klamer 2001, 2002; Svantesson 2003; and contributors to this volume). The Hmong language of the Hmong-Mien (Miao-Yao) language family of southern China and northern Southeast Asia is an especially good example of an expressives-rich Asian language. I have published preliminary studies of these words (1986, 2010 [1992]), but the occasion of this book on the aesthetics of grammar has given me an opportunity to examine these words once more, and to offer a new analysis of them. My earlier publications addressed the iconicity of the tone patterns in these reduplicative expressives, but I can now offer preliminary observations on the iconicity of pattern choice, consonant choice, and vowel choice as well. I am also eager to share this data with those who are interested in the aesthetics of grammar more generally; Hmong provides an excellent case study for those who wish to propose universals of aesthetic language on the basis of a large cross-linguistic study. Expressives in Hmong and other languages constitute a distinct lexical category; they are not nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs. Some languages such as Korean, Semai, and Hmong are rich in these words, while some languages such as English have only a handful of lexicalized expressives. In expressive-rich languages, speakers of average creativity can produce new exemplars on the spot, and hearers know how to interpret them: according to one Semai speaker we just fire them (Diffloth 1979: 56). In languages with only a few lexicalized expressives, speakers of average creativity tend not to produce new ones – they are inherited from speakers from past generations, just like all other words, and they do not constitute a separate lexical category. Examples of inherited expressive-like words in English are the adjective itsy-bitsy (~ itty-bitty) and the noun/verb flim-flam. Both are listed in dictionaries; both are assigned to regular lexical categories; and their first published uses are noted by lexicographers (the American Heritage Dictionary reports that flim-flam first appeared in 1538). © Cambridge University Press 2014.

ISBN:

9781139030489 (ISBN); 9781107007123 (ISBN)

Identifier:

HmongStudies2663