NO PHONETIC ICONICITY IN EVALUATIVE MORPHOLOGY*

Abstract

Abstract. Claims about the sound symbolism or phonetic iconicity of words and morphemes denoting size are reviewed, and it is pointed out that these claims are said to apply to diminutive and augmentative morphology. A genetically diverse sample of fifty languages, thirty of which have markers for both diminutives and augmentatives, is introduced, and the claims for phonetic iconicity are tested against the sample. There is no evidence of any universal pattern of sound symbolism in this area. Alternative explanations for existing patterns are suggested, and reasons for the persistence of the claims about sound symbolism in this area are sought.

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