4. Imagic Icons in Chinese and Other Languages

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4. Imagic Icons in Chinese andOther Languages
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4. Imagic Icons

• 4.1. Saussures Principle I Revisited
• Almost all language is symbolic as the
  relationship between words and their meanings is
  not (merely) based on contiguity or similarity,
  but on convention.
• Saussure Principle I The Arbitrary Nature of
  the Sign -- The bond between the signifier and
  the signified is arbitrary.
• the whole group of systems grounded on the
  arbitrariness of the sign. In fact, every means
  of expression used in society is based, in
  principle, on collective behavior orwhat amounts
  the same thingon convention.

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4.1. Saussures Principle I Revisited

• In concluding let us consider two objections
  that might be raised to the establishment of
  Principle I
• 1) Onomatopoeia (???) might be used to prove that
  the choice of the signifier is not always
  arbitrary. But onomatopoeic formations are never
  organic elements of a linguistic system. Besides,
  their number is much smaller than is generally
  supposed. As for authentic onomatopoeic words
  (e.g. glug-glug, tick-tock, etc.), not only are
  they limited in number, but also they are chosen
  somewhat arbitrarily, for they are only
  approximate and more or lest conventional
  imitations of certain sounds (cf. English bow-wow
  and French ouaoua) . (Saussure, Chapter 1)
• ???????. A mosquito hums and hums.
• ???????. Two flies drone and drone. (??????)

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4.1. Saussures Principle I Revisited

• The bark of a dog in 18 languages
• 2) Interjections (??), closely related to
  onomatopoeia, can be attacked on the same grounds
  and come no closer to refuting our thesis. One is
  tempted to see in them spontaneous expressions of
  reality dictated, so to speak, by natural forces.
  But for most interjections we can show that there
  is no fixed bond between their signified and
  their signifier. We need only compare two
  languages on this point to see how much such
  expressions differ from one language to the next
  (e.g. the English equivalent of French a?e! is
  ouch!).
• ??(??/??) in 24 languages
• Saussure is both right and wrong.
• Right Particularly deserving of notice are
  icons in which the likeness is aided by
  conventional rules (Peirce 1940105)
• Wrong The role and importance of nonarbitrary
  coding in language is grossly underestimated.

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• 4.2. Imagic Icons (beyond Onomatopoeia and
  Interjection)
• Direct relationship between particular sounds
  with particular meanings recurrent patterns of
  association
• Example 1 the concept of round conveyed by the
  use of lip-rounding vowels (like u and ü) in
  Chinese
• Circle, ring, sphere, ball, roll, cylindrical
  mass, round, circular, ellipse, etc.
• ?? yuan?? quan??? yuanquan??? yuanzhou???tuoyuan??
  juan?? huan?? wei??? raoquan?? zhuan???
  xuanzhuan?? tuan?? hu?? zhu?
• In contrast?? dian?? mian?? xian?? fang?? jian??
  bian?? jiao?

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• In ancient Chinese
• ?? hui???????????
• ?? wei????,????
• ?? hui????,????
• ?? yun????,????
• ?? gun???????,????
• ?? gun????????,?????
• ?? qun?????,????????????????
• ?? jun????,?????

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• More examples in Mandarin
• ? guo vs ? cai? gua vs ? ye? dou vs ? mi? dong
  vs ? shan? guo vs ? chan? wan vs ? fan??
  huntun vs ? mian?? baozi vs ?? mantou? qiu?
  zhu? qu? wan? wan? tuo? lun? tong?
  tong? kong?? kulong
• Counter-examples?
• Numerous words containing lip-rounding vowels but
  not referring to round shapes????????????????????
  ???
• ?? dan?an exception ?? luan?in ancient Chinese
  and in modern Hakka(???), Southern Min(???
  ?????), Northern Min(????????) -- in other
  parts of China,???is a taboo word.

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• Example 2 i for quite sounds a for loud
  sounds in Mandarin.
• ??? xiao-mimi smiling with a smile on ones
  face
• ??? xiao-xixi grinning, smiling broadly
• ??? xiao-haha laughingly, with a laugh
• ? jing still, quiet, calm
• ?? qingjing peace and quiet
• ?? jijing silence
• ??? qingsheng-de whispery
• ??/?? siyü/diyü whisper ------
• ? cao noise
• ? chao make a noise quarrel
• ?? xiangsheng noise

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• ?? zaosheng noise
• ?? caozá noisy
• ?? jiaohan to yell
• ?? jiaorang to yell
• ?? jiaohuan to yell
• ?? nahan to shout
• ?? rangrang to make a loud noise
• ? mà to scold
• ?/? hao/hao to howl
• ?? haotao to cry loudly
• ?? guzao to make an uproar
• ?? changxiao to make a loud whistling sound
• Counter-examples?
• ? qi to weep ? ti to cry, weep, crow ? ming
  to cry, to make a sound ? si to yell, (of
  horses) neigh, whinny

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• Example 3 In Chinese antonymous pairs, i for a
  smaller magnitude (size, length, weight,
  distance, etc) others (a u etc) for a bigger
  magnitude
• ? qing light (in weight) vs ? zhong heavy
• ? jin near vs ? yuan far
• ? qin (of social connetions) close vs ? shu
  distant
• ? xì thin, fine, soft vs ? cu thick, wide,
  rough, husky
• ? di low (in height) ? gao high
• ? bi close vs ? kai open
• ? mi close, dense vs ? shu sparse, scattered
• ? ji gathered vs ? san scattered
• ? jin tight vs ? song loose
• ? ji fast, quick vs ? huan slow, relaxed
• ? li (of knife) sharp vs ? dun blunt

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• ? li inside vs ? wai outside
• ? pin poor, impoverished ? fu rich, abundant
• ? ji barren, infertile (soil) vs ? yu fertile,
  fat, plump
• ? yin feminine vs ? yang masculine
• ? ci female vs ? xiong male
• ? pin female (of some animals) vs ? mu male
  (of some animals)
• ? bing combine, merge vs ? fen separate,
  divide
• ? ning congeal, condense vs ?/?/? rong melt,
  dissolve
• ? si private vs ? gong public
• ?/? zi/ying son/baby vs ?/? mu/fu
  mother/father
• Counter-examples?
• ? chi late vs ? zao early
• ? jin move forward ? tui move backward
• ? chi loose, relaxed ? zhang tense, tight
• ? zhang tense, tight vs ? zhang open, spread,
  stretch
• ? shi teacher ? sheng student

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• Basic Phonetics
• Phonetics the study of the speech sounds of
  human languages
• The Speech Organs

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• Voiceless and Voiced s- vs z-, f- vs v-

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• Articulators tongue, lips, roof of the mouth,
  etc
• oral cavity ?? , nasal cavity ??

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• Phonetic Transcription and IPA
• INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET (IPA)
• Each phonetic symbol represents one and only one
  sound.
• The use of phonetic symbols to represent speech
  sounds is called transcription.
• Phonetic Classification
• (a) how they are made, i.e. the manner of
  articulation (????)
• (b) where in the oral cavity they are made, i.e.
  the place of articulation (????).
• (With respect to manner of articulation), two
  broad distinctions
• (1) sounds which are made with a smooth,
  continuous, unobstructed airflow through the oral
  cavity
• (2) sounds which are made with some obstruction
  to the airflow in the oral cavity.

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• Consonant (??) and vowels (??)
• Consonants are the speech sounds which are made
  by a closure or narrowing in the vocal tract so
  that the air-stream is either completely blocked
  or so restricted that audible friction is
  produced. (e.g. p s)
• Vowels are the speech sounds which are
  articulated with the air-stream coming evenly
  over the center of the tongue. They do not
  involve a complete closure nor the degree of
  narrowing which will cause audible friction.
  (e.g. i a u)
• Vowels sounds in which there is no obstruction
  to the flow of air as it passes from the larynx
  to the lips.

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• What Criteria to Use When Classifying Vowels
• The total configuration of the oral cavity
• (a) How high is the tongue?
• (b) What part of the tongue is involved that is,
  what part is raised or lowered?
• (c) What is the position of the lips?
• Two major parameters
• (1) the shape of the lips (the degree of lip
  rounding)
• (2) tongue position (the part of the tongue which
  is raised and the height to which it is raised.)
• The other parameters
• (3) the duration of the vowel (long vowels vs
  short vowels)

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• Rounded and Unrounded Vowels in Chinese
• ??????????. e.g. i as in ? (M) y as in ?(M)
• Rounded vowels in Cantonese and Mandarin
• Unrounded vowels in Cantonese and Mandarin
• a i e

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• Tongue Position Two-dimensional Parameter
• (1) Horizontal dimension the part of the tongue
  that is raised (front-central-back)
• (2) Vertical dimension the height of tongue
  raising (high-mid-low)

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• Horizontal the part of the tongue that is raised
• Front refers to the part of the tongue opposite
  the hard palate.
• Back refers to the part of the tongue opposite
  the soft palate.
• Central refers to the part of the tongue opposite
  where the hard palate and soft palate meet.
• Vertical the extent to which the tongue rises in
  the direction of the palate, or how open is the
  mouth
• High (close)
• Mid-high (close-mid)
• Mid-low (open-mid)
• Low (open)

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• Vowels in IPA

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• Vowels in Cantonese and Mandarin
• i as in ?, ? (C, M), ?, ? (C, the main sound)
• front, high, unrounded
• y as in ?, ? (C, M), ?, ? (C, the main sound)
• front, high, rounded
• e as in ?, ?, ? (C, before ng, -k), ?, ? (M,
  the 3rd sound)
• front, mid-high, unrounded
• a as in ? (C), ?, ?, ? (C, M, the 2nd sound)
• front, low, unrounded

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• u as in ?, ? (C, M), ?, ? (C, the sound after
  f)
• as in ?, ? (C), ?, ? (C, the 1st sound)

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• Monophthongs ??? and Diphthongs ???
• Pure vowels vs gliding vowels
• A monophthong has an unchanging quality.
• A diphthong is a gliding vowel which involves a
  change in quality within the one vowel. It glides
  from one element to a second element.
• Example ai in Cantonese and Mandarin (as in
  ?).

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• Consonants in Chinese
• What Criteria to Use When Classifying Consonants?
• Two major criteria
• (1) manners of articulation ????
• (2) places of articulation ????
• Two minor criteria (articulatory variables)
• (1) aspiration ???? how strong the air-flow is
  when the obstruction is released
• (2) voicing ?? whether the vocal cords vibrate.

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• By Articulatory Variables (The Two Minor
  Criteria)
• (1) Aspiration refers to the breath that
  accompanies a speech sound production.
• If a consonant is articulated with an audible
  puff of breath, then it is aspirated such as the
  ph (or p) in ? (M).
• If a consonant is articulated without audible
  breath, then it is unaspirated, such as the p
  in ? (M).
• (2) Voicing refers to the auditory result of the
  vibration of the vocal cords.
• The speech sounds which are produced with the
  vibration of the vocal cords are called voiced
  sounds ??.
• Those that are produced without the vibration of
  the vocal cords are voiceless sounds ??.
• All vowels are (normally) voiced.
• Only the following consonants in Cantonese and
  Mandarin are voiced the rest are voiceless.

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• By Manner of Articulation
• (1) stop (or plosive) ?? (???????) p- in ?
• Two articulators are brought into contact with
  each other and there is a complete closure in the
  oral cavity resulting in the interruption of
  airflow through the mouth. The closure is
  suddenly released, resulting in an explosive rush
  of air. The velum is raised such that no air
  escapes through the nasal cavity.
• Stops in Cantonese (C) and Mandarin (M)
• p as in ??????? (C) ??????? (M)
• ph as in ??????? (C) ??????? (M)
• t as in ??????? (C) ??????? (M)
• th as in ??????? (C) ??????? (M)
• k as in ??????? (C) ??????? (M)
• kh as in ??????? (C) ??????? (M)
• kw as in ??????? (C).
• kwh as in ??????? (C).

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• (2) nasal (or nasal stop) ?? m- in ?
• There is a complete closure in the oral cavity
  (as for stops), but this time the velum is
  lowered, allowing air to escape smoothly through
  the nasal cavity.
• Nasal consonants in Cantonese and Mandarin
• m as in ??????? (C) ??????? (M)
• n as in ??????? (C) ??????? (M)
• as in ??????? (the 1st sound) ??????? (the
  last sound) (C) ??????? (the last sound) (M)
• (3) fricative ?? f- in ? (C), ? (M) s- in
  ?
• Two articulators are brought close enough
  together to cause audible friction as air passes
  through the narrow gap in between them.
• Fricatives are continuant consonants.
• Plosives are not continuants.

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• Fricatives in Cantonese and Mandarin
• f as in ??????? (C) ??????? (M).
• s as in ??????? (C) ??????? (M)
• as in ??????? (M)
• as in ??????? (M)
• h as in ??????? (C)
• x as in ??????? (M)
• (4) affricate ??? ts- in ?
• Combines the characteristics of stops and
  fricatives. Initially, there is a complete
  closure in the oral cavity (as in stops), but the
  release is gradual rather than abrupt, resulting
  in audible friction as air escapes (as in
  fricatives).
• Involving two manners of articulation
• A combination of a plosive and a fricative

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• (5) lateral ?? l- in ?
• The air-stream is obstructed along the center of
  the oral tract, but both sides of the tongue are
  away from the roof of the mouth, so that the air
  can go through the mouth laterally.
• Lateral in Cantonese and Mandarin
• l as in ??????? (C) ??????? (M)
• Confusion of l/n in Cantonese ?? (lei
  nei)
• l is a kind of voiced continuant (or,
  approximant).
• (6) voiced continuant ???.
• In the production of a continuant, the space
  between two approximating vocal organs is a
  little wide than that of a fricative, just wide
  enough to avoid causing clearly audible friction
  when the air-stream passes through them.
• Also referred to as approximant.
• Two kinds of voiced continuants liquids ?? and
  glides ??
• Liquids in Cantonese and Mandarin
• l as in ??????? (C) ??????? (M)
• as in ??????? (M)

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4.2. Imagic Icons

• Glides (semi-vowels ???) in Cantonese
• w as in ??????? (C).
• j as in ??????? (C).
• w and j are closely similar to u and i,
  but with a narrower passage, and much shorter.