The integration of a word into one language from another, typically resulting in a neologism, in which the non-native quality of the word is masked by replacing it with phonetically and semantically comparable words or roots from the adopting language. It is a linguistic phenomena in which the phonetic sounds of words are associated with their meaning. It is also known as a phono-semantic association or sound symbolism.
In other words, distinct sounds or phonemes in a language might be associated with different concepts, traits, or emotions, and these relationships can be found across languages. Thus, the approximate sound and meaning of the original phrase in the source language are preserved, even when the new expression in the target language (the PSM – the phono-semantic match) may sound naive.
Calquing differs from phono-semantic matching in that it incorporates (semantic) translation but not phonetic matching (i.e., retaining the approximate sound of the borrowed word by matching it with a similar-sounding pre-existing word or morpheme in the target language). It is also distinct from homophonic translation, which preserves a word’s sound but not its meaning.
This phenomenon can manifest in various ways:
- Iconicity: In some cases, the sound of a word may resemble or imitate the concept it represents. For example, in English, words like “buzz,” “murmur,” or “hiss” have sounds that mimic the sounds they describe.
- Sound Patterns: Certain phonetic patterns or combinations of sounds may be consistently associated with specific meanings. For instance, words with the “gl-” sound often convey notions of brightness or light, as seen in “glow,” “gleam,” or “glitter.”
- Emotional Associations: Certain sounds or phonetic elements may evoke emotional responses or convey emotional qualities. For example, words with soft and rounded sounds (e.g., “cuddle,” “cozy”) may be associated with comfort or gentleness.
- Word Families: Phono-semantic matching can also be observed in the way related words within a language share common phonetic elements. For instance, words in a family, such as “run,” “runner,” and “running,” often share a similar sound pattern.
Phono-semantic matching is a fascinating area of study in linguistics and can provide insights into the evolution of language and the ways in which humans convey meaning through sounds and words.
