Vocable

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In speech, a vocable is an utterance, term, or word that is capable of being spoken and recognized. A non-lexical vocable is used without semantic meaning, while structure of vocables is often considered apart from any meaning. A vocable consists of one or a sequence of phonemes and may be represented by a string of letters or other symbols.

Non-lexical vocables, which may be mixed with meaningful text, are used in musics including Blackfoot music and other American Indian music, Pygmy music, the music of the Maldives and Highland Scots music. A common English example would be "la la la". Vocables frequently act as formal markers, indicating the beginning and end of phrases, sections or songs themselves (Heth, pg. 368-369), and also as onomatopoeic references, cueing devices, and other purposes ([1]).

The Blackfoot, like other Plains Indians, use consonants h, y, w, and vowels. They avoid n, c (ts) and other consonants. i and e tend slightly to be higher pitches, a, o, and u lower ones (Nettl 1989, p.71).

[edit] See also

• Scat singing
• Onomatopoeia
• Canntaireachd

[edit] Sources

• Nettl, Bruno (1989). Blackfoot Musical Thought: Comparative Perspectives. Ohio: The Kent State University Press. ISBN 0-87338-370-2.
• Heth, cited in (2001) in Ellen Koskoff (Ed.): The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: Volume 3, The United States and Canada. New York and London: Garland Publishing. ISBN 0-8240-4944-6. 
• "Native North Americans in Canada", The Canadian Encyclopedia Historica: Encylopedia of Music in Canada. Accessed 01/23/07.
• Chambers, "Non-Lexical Vocables in Scottish Traditional Music", PhD Thesis (1980)