Mapping Morphonosemantic Categories in Javanese Onomatopoeia

Ita Fitriana; Darsita Suparno

doi:10.26499/li.v43i2.791

Authors

Ita Fitriana Universitas Jenderal Soedirman https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0986-2980
Darsita Suparno Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26499/li.v43i2.791

Keywords:

Javanese, onomatopoeia, linguistic iconicity, morphonosemantics

Abstract

This study presents an in-depth analysis of the morphonosemantics process in Javanese onomatopoeia by applying the theoretical framework developed by Fitriana (2022) for Japanese mimetic language. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, data on onomatopoeia and its derivatives were collected from a corpus of contemporary Javanese magazines. This analysis, which focuses on the interaction between form and meaning, reveals that Javanese systematically utilizes phonological transformations and morphological processes to encode gradations of meaning. The main findings show that phonological alternations, particularly shifts in vowel quality (e.g., from front-high vowels to back-low vowels), consistently correlate with augmentative changes in size, mass, and strength. Meanwhile, morphological processes such as infixation (e.g., the insertion -um-), reduplication, and prenasalization systematically intensify the duration, repetition, or strength of an action or state. This detailed analysis of over 483 onomatopoeic forms contributes to the documentation of a threatened language variety and enriches the understanding of iconicity in minority languages. The study highlights the systematic relationship between phonological changes and semantic shifts in Javanese onomatopoeia, demonstrating its cultural and linguistic significance.

Author Biographies

Ita Fitriana, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman

Ita Fitriana received her undergraduate degree in 2010 and her master's degree in 2012, both from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. Then, she obtained her doctoral degree from Universitas Udayana, Indonesia in 2022. She participated in the ”Long-Term Japanese Teacher Training” program sponsored by the Japanese government in Japan in 2016-2017. Since 2014, Ita Fitriana has been working as a lecturer in the Japanese Department at the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, located in Purwokerto, Indonesia. Her email is ita.fitriana@unsoed.ac.id

Darsita Suparno, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah

Darsita Suparno graduated with first-class honors in linguistics from Universitas Indonesia in 1986. She received her master's and doctoral degrees in linguistics from Sam Ratulang University in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, in 2000 and 2012, respectively. She accepted a short-term research fellowship at the National University of Singapore's Asean Research Institute in 2007. She started lecturing in 1993. Her email address is darsitasuparno@uinjkt.ac.id.

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