Reduplicative iconicity in 19 th century linguistics On theories of reduplicative iconicity in 19 th century linguistics Thomas Schwaiger Department of Linguistics, University of Graz thomas.schwaiger@uni-graz.at THOSST2014, Dijon, 20–21 February 2014 THOSST2014, Dijon, 20–21 February 2014 Thomas Schwaiger 1/8
Reduplicative iconicity in 19 th century linguistics Wilhelm von Humboldt Humboldt (1822) The repetition of syllables derives from a dim feeling aroused by certain grammatical relationships. Where this feeling involves repetition, intensification and extension of the concept, the repetition of syllables seems entirely appropriate. Where this is not the case, as so often in some American languages and in all third conjugation verbs in Old Indian, the repetition of syllables arises only from a peculiarity of phonetics. The same applies to the mutation of vowels. In no other language is this as common, as important or as regular as in Sanskrit, but only in a minority of cases does it possess the characteristics of a grammatical form. It is linked with a number of such forms, but then usually with more than one at the same time, so that what is characteristic in each case must be sought elsewhere. (Harden & Farrelly 1997: 37) THOSST2014, Dijon, 20–21 February 2014 Thomas Schwaiger 2/8
Reduplicative iconicity in 19 th century linguistics Wilhelm von Humboldt Humboldt (1836) Of like nature [i.e. ‘(sound-)symbolic’ as, for example, the formation of collectives by lengthening a vowel in Arabic; TS] is the direct repetition of the same syllable for multiple reference, and also to indicate the majority, or time past. It is remarkable to see, in Sanscrit, and partly also in the Malayan family of languages, how superior tongues cope with the doubling of syllables by weaving it into their sound-system, altering it by laws of euphony, and thereby depriving it of the cruder, symbolically imitative jangle of syllables. (Humboldt 1999: 75) THOSST2014, Dijon, 20–21 February 2014 Thomas Schwaiger 3/8
Reduplicative iconicity in 19 th century linguistics Wilhelm von Humboldt Humboldt (1836) The difference between raw natural sound and regulated tone is far more clearly evident still in another sound-form that makes an essential contribution to the inner verbal development, namely reduplication . The repetition of the initial syllable of a word, or even the whole word itself, either to reinforce significance for variety of expression, or as a mere sound-habit, is typical of the languages of many uncultured peoples. In others, such as some of the Malayan family, it already betrays an influence of the feeling for sound, that not always the root-vowel, but sometimes a related one, is repeated. In Sanscrit, however, reduplication becomes modified with such exact appropriateness to the internal word-structure on each occasion, that one may reckon five or six different patterns of it, distributed throughout the language. (Humboldt 1999: 121; original emphasis) THOSST2014, Dijon, 20–21 February 2014 Thomas Schwaiger 4/8
Reduplicative iconicity in 19 th century linguistics Heymann Steinthal Steinthal (1860: 160–161) (. . . ) still it is all too likely that doubling is just contracted repetition and that the former thus originally had the same meaning as the latter. (. . . ) it still has to be assumed that in the community spirit the original meaning of repetition and doubling, namely intensification, often must have changed into its opposite, and only then did the community spirit use the double sound form to express this shift also phonetically, as it so often happens in languages that by accident two sound forms develop for the same meaning, which are then used to express a newly formed differentiation. (. . . ) thus comprehensible, in that physically and mentally repetition in general can have the double effect of intensifying as well as weakening the impression. By habituation the body as well as the mind are made more receptive or more indifferent. THOSST2014, Dijon, 20–21 February 2014 Thomas Schwaiger 5/8
Reduplicative iconicity in 19 th century linguistics Wilhelm Wundt Wundt (1900: 592) As in general verbal forms originally express the objective temporal characteristics of events and states rather than the subjective relationship the speaker bears to the latter, so does the meaning of the perfect particularly also lie in the fact that it denotes the lasting state resulting from a preceding action. However, it thus seems only marginally different from the idea of constant duration. Now that, after a further conceptual shift in the perfect, this originally only secondary relation to the past has turned into the main concept, it is, however, exactly this application of sound repetition which is removed furthest from its more common forms and hence just again of limited distribution. THOSST2014, Dijon, 20–21 February 2014 Thomas Schwaiger 6/8
Reduplicative iconicity in 19 th century linguistics Wilhelm Wundt Wundt (1900: 594) From this point of view the two forms in the middle column of the above scheme [English version taken from Stolz et al. 2011: 93; TS], characterized by their distribution over all kinds of language areas, seem like two genetically independent phenomena that point back to equally primordial features of the human consciousness, regarding which one can thus not really determine with any safety whether one was there before the other. THOSST2014, Dijon, 20–21 February 2014 Thomas Schwaiger 7/8
Reduplicative iconicity in 19 th century linguistics Merci! THOSST2014, Dijon, 20–21 February 2014 Thomas Schwaiger 8/8
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