Semantic features of onomatopoeic verbs in German spoken language

Abstract

Onomatopoeic verbs belong to the language phenomenon, which in linguistics is called onomatopoeics. The peculіarity of word formation of verbs is that a significant part of them is formed from onomatopoeic exclamations, which are also reffered as onomatopes. They originate from environmental noises and sounds (water, waves, trees), as well as natural phenomena (wind, lightning, thunder). Sounds can also be produced by people and animals. Onomatopoeia convey a specific meaning by naming a concrete sound. Onomatopoeias are the basis for word formation of verbs and nouns. Compared to neo-onomatopoetic vocabulary, onomatopoeia is characterized by specific semantics. An essential feature of the semantics of sound imitations is that they are phonetically motivated: the sounds themselves are a direct imitation of the corresponding phenomenon or action. The basis for such motivation seems to be within the onomatopoeic word. Thus, their meaning differs from the lexical semantics of other words. The sound motivation of the lexical meaning is a specific feature of onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeic vocabulary is present in both literary and colloquial German. The word formation, usage and semantics of onomatopoeic verbs in spoken German have specific features. The most important semantic feature of onomatopoeic verbs in spoken German is that they are characterized by transferred meanings. Therefore, colloquial verbs are characterized by a high degree of expressiveness. Semantically, all verbs are divided into several groups. The largest group includes verbs with speech meanings. A large number of them come from the sound imitation of animals and birds. Many verbs denote the meaning of movement. There are verbs that indicate the use of food and alcohol, heavy breathing, snoring, loud laughter.