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The grammar of Japanese mimetics: Perspectives from structure, acquisition and translation

Contributors

Noriko Iwasaki ni3@soas.ac.uk
Editor

Peter Sells
Editor

Kimi Akita
Editor

Abstract

Mimetic words, also known as ‘sound-symbolic words’, ‘ideophones’ or more popularly as ‘onomatopoeia’, constitute an important subset of the Japanese lexicon; we find them as well in the lexicons of other Asian languages and sub-Saharan African languages. Mimetics play a central role in Japanese grammar and feature in children’s early utterances. However, this class of words is not considered as important in English and other European languages. This book aims to bridge the gap between the extensive research on Japanese mimetics and its availability to an international audience, and also to provide a better understanding of grammatical and structural aspects of sound-symbolic words from a Japanese perspective. Through the accounts of mimetics from the perspectives of morpho-syntax, semantics, language development and translation of mimetic words, linguists and students alike would find this book particularly valuable.

Citation

Iwasaki, N., Sells, P., & Akita, K. (Eds.). (2016). The grammar of Japanese mimetics: Perspectives from structure, acquisition and translation. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315646695

Book Type Edited Book
Acceptance Date Mar 22, 2025
Publication Date Dec 1, 2016
Deposit Date Aug 18, 2016
Publisher Routledge
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Series Title Routledge Studies in East Asian Linguistics
ISBN 9781317295778
DOI https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315646695