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Article published In:
Gesture
Vol. 19:2/3 (2020) ► pp.161–195

“How do you even know what ideophones mean?”

Gestures’ contributions to ideophone semantics in Quichua

| Brigham Young University

Using data from the Northern Pastaza (qvc) and Upper Napo Quichua (quw) dialects of Amazonian Ecuador, this paper argues that the semantics of ideophones, a highly marked form class of expressive words, is principled and describable with a combination of sensori-semantic features and a fine-grained typology of gestures, based on insights from Streeck (2008) and others. Specifically, ideophones’ sensori-semantics are broken down into a semantic map consisting of 3 super- and 7 subcategorical distinctions. The greater the number of categories encoded by an ideophone’s semantics, the greater are the range of gestures used. Finally, gesture types identified by Streeck (2008) and others, were found among a very different group of people who are not western, educated, industrialized, rich, or democratic. Further research into ideophones and their gestures may find broader significance for ideophone semantics, and more generally, for the interrelations between language and gesture.

Keywords: ideophones, iconic gestures, semantic features, sensory categories, depiction
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Ideophones in Pastaza Quichua
  • Gesture classification schemes and ideophones
  • Sensori-semantic maps of Pastaza Quichua ideophones
  • Methodology and analyses of ideophone-gesture composites
    • Visual ideophones with bounding gestures
      • Bounding gesture, observer viewpoint, with chem (visual, Pattern)
      • Bounding gesture, character viewpoint, with shinki (visual, Color)
      • Bounding gesture, observer viewpoint with saninajaxlja (visual, Color)
      • Bounding gesture, character viewpoint, with shaka (visual, Pattern)
    • Sound ideophones’ gestural impoverishment
      • Expansive beat gestures, character viewpoint, with shun (sound), chik (sound, Cognition)
      • Cessation of gesture with suyu
    • Movement ideophones with handling, marking, acting, making, abstract motion, and drawing gestures
      • Handling gesture, character viewpoint, with tjak (movement, Haptic, sound)
      • Handling gesture, character viewpoint, with taw (movement, sound)
      • Acting gesture, observer viewpoint, with pusking (visual, movement, Configurational)
      • Acting gesture, character viewpoint, with pusking (visual, movement, Configurational)
      • Making gestures, character viewpoint with pak (movement, Haptic, sound)
      • Marking gesture, character viewpoint, with tsak (movement, Haptic, Proprioception)
    • When more than one gesture type and perspective is used
      • Abstract motion/drawing gesture, character and observer perspective, with kukuli (sound, Emotion)
      • Abstract motion/drawing gesture, character and observer perspective with pis (sound, Emotion, Cognition)
    • Deictic gestures in hybrid constructions
      • Deictic + bounding gesture, character viewpoint, with wing (visual, Pattern)
      • Deictic + modeling gesture, character viewpoint, with tupu (movement, Haptic, sound)
      • Deictic + beat gesture, character viewpoint, with tsyun (sound, Emotion)
  • Discussion
  • Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 28 September 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/gest.20005.nuc
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