Phonaesthetics

Phonaesthetics (from the Greek: φωνή phōnē, "voice-sound"; and αἰσθητική aisthētikē, "aesthetics") is a branch of phonetics concerned with "the possible connection between sound sequences and meaning", according to Raymond Hickey.[1] Linguist David Crystal defines phonaesthetics as "a term sometimes used in linguistics to refer to the study of the aesthetic properties of sound".[2] According to Crystal:

Examples include the implication of smallness in the close vowels of such words as teeny weeny, and the unpleasant associations of the consonant cluster sl- in such words as slime, slug, and slush.[3]

Euphony and cacophony

Euphony

Euphony is used for effects which are pleasant, rhythmical and harmonious.[4][5][6] An example of euphony is the poem Some Sweet Day.

Some day Love shall claim his own
Some day Right ascend his throne,
Some day hidden Truth be known;
Some day—some sweet day.
— Lewis J. Bates, the poem Some Sweet Day

Cacophony

Cacophony consists of harsh, often discordant sounds. These sounds are often meaningless and jumbled together.[7] A discordant series of harsh, unpleasant sounds helps to convey disorder. This is often furthered by the combined effect of the meaning and the difficulty of pronunciation.

Example:

My stick fingers click with a snicker
And, chuckling, they knuckle the keys;
Light-footed, my steel feelers flicker
And pluck from these keys melodies.

— "Player Piano", John Updike[8]

See also

Look up phonaesthetics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Notes

  1. ↑ Hickey, Raymond (2013). A Dictionary of Varieties of English. John Wiley & Sons. p. 514. ISBN 111858404X.
  2. ↑ Crystal, David (2011). Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. John Wiley & Sons. p. 364. ISBN 9781444356755.
  3. ↑ Crystal, David (2001). A Dictionary of Language. University of Chicago Press. p. 260. ISBN 9780226122038.
  4. ↑ "CACOPHONY, Literary Terms and Definition by Carson-Newman University". Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  5. ↑ "Definition of Cacophony". Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  6. ↑ Elizabeth, Mary; Podhaizer, Mary Elizabeth (2001). "Euphony". Painless Poetry. Barron's Educational Series. ISBN 978-0-7641-1614-8.
  7. ↑ "Cacophony". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "Poetic Devices" (PDF). chaparralpoets.org. Retrieved 12 April 2017.

Further reading

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