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Mar 2, 2005Keywords:
iconic reduplication repetition duration interruption ikonies reduplikasie herhaling duur onderbreking
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Ikonisiteit en Afrikaanse reduplikasie
Abstract
Iconicity and Afrikaans reduplication
While the relationship between the form and meaning of a lexical item is in most cases seen as being arbitrary or unmotivated, there is a growing awareness that many reduplications are indeed motivated in that their form does resemble their referent in some way or other. This non-arbitrary relationship is best understood as being iconic in nature. The main focus of the paper is Afrikaans reduplication, understood as representing various types of diagrammatic iconicity. It will be argued that the iconic possibilities of a set of reduplicated speech elements should not be restricted by assuming semantic cores from which all meanings or functions of reduplications are then derived, and indicated, with reference to a wide range of examples mainly from recent Afrikaans prose, how these can be interpreted as being directly representative of various kinds of diagrammatic iconicity, such as repetition, intensification, duration and interruption.
Key Words: iconic, reduplication, repetition, duration, interruption
Kernbegrippe: ikonies, reduplikasie, herhaling, duur, onderbreking
Journal for Language Teaching Vol.38(2) 2004: 334-348
While the relationship between the form and meaning of a lexical item is in most cases seen as being arbitrary or unmotivated, there is a growing awareness that many reduplications are indeed motivated in that their form does resemble their referent in some way or other. This non-arbitrary relationship is best understood as being iconic in nature. The main focus of the paper is Afrikaans reduplication, understood as representing various types of diagrammatic iconicity. It will be argued that the iconic possibilities of a set of reduplicated speech elements should not be restricted by assuming semantic cores from which all meanings or functions of reduplications are then derived, and indicated, with reference to a wide range of examples mainly from recent Afrikaans prose, how these can be interpreted as being directly representative of various kinds of diagrammatic iconicity, such as repetition, intensification, duration and interruption.
Key Words: iconic, reduplication, repetition, duration, interruption
Kernbegrippe: ikonies, reduplikasie, herhaling, duur, onderbreking
Journal for Language Teaching Vol.38(2) 2004: 334-348
