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Phonosemantics (Phonosymbolism, Sound Symbolism)
(3,395 words)

Phonosemantics, phonosymbolism, or sound symbolism is the ability of speech sounds, their signs or intonation, to directly express meaning. The science that studies this linguistic phenomenon is also called phonosemantics. There are three types of sound symbolism – imitative, synesthetic, and conventional.This article incl…

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Koleva-Zlateva, Zhivka, “Phonosemantics (Phonosymbolism, Sound Symbolism)”, in: Encyclopedia of Slavic Languages and Linguistics Online, Editor-in-Chief: Marc L. Greenberg, General Editor: Lenore A. Grenoble. Consulted online on 25 September 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2589-6229_ESLO_COM_032009>
First published online: 2020



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