Языки стран Дальнего Востока, Юго-Восточной Азии и Западной Африки

Stella T. Zhivkova Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohrisdki”, Bulgaria Sound Symbolism of Japanese Onomatopoeia as a Determining Factor for the Effectiveness of Kuchishoga (Solfege-Mnemonic System for Traditional Japanese Musical Instruments) The often claimed “uniqueness” of Japanese culture is not a mere catchphrase. On the contrary, a great variety of examples adduced from different cultural spheres substantiate the claim that Japanese culture does have a particular character. It has long been my belief that Japanese culture possessesa certain aptitude to generating images of various character. I refer to this common feature using different terms: image-evoking loci, foci of imagistic intensity, image-laden foci, image-charged foci etc. (Zhivkova 2006). In the present paper examples taken from the verbal aspect of the culture in question are discussed: 1) Mimetic and onomatopoeic words, which encapsulate sensual information evoking a clear-cut vision of how something happens; 2) Onomatopoeic-like solfege syllables used in teaching traditional musical instruments which due to sensory information carried by the vowels and consonants enable the music learner to memorize efficiently pitch, hand-movement and melody. Both onomatopoeic words from language and the mnemonic syllables serve as recognizable icons that guide imagination and help picture a situation or a gesture . Keyword: onomatopoeia, gitaigo, sound-symbolism, Japanese culture, image-evoking loci, image-predilection 1. Mimetic and Onomatopoeic Words as Snapshots of Situations and Gestures Throughout my overall research on Japanese culture I regard the phenomenon of Japanese onomatopoeia as yet another illustrative example of imagery in Japanese culture. Onomatopoeic wordsare broadly referred to as “iconic” or “mimetic”, imitations of sounds from the outside world such as voices and noises. In the literature on the subject, these words are usually classified into three