Vocable: Difference between revisions
imported>Eatingbugs mNo edit summary |
imported>Citation bot Altered url. URLs might have been anonymized. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Abductive | Category:Articles with incomplete citations from May 2025 | #UCB_Category 41/158 |
||
| Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
In the broadest sense of the word, a '''vocable''' (from {{langx|la|vocabulum}}) is any identifiable utterance or writing, such as a word or term, that is fixed by their language and culture.<ref>{{OED|vocable}}</ref><ref>''The Cambridge Companion to Saussure''</ref> The use of the term for words in the broad sense is archaic and the term is instead used for utterances which are not considered [[word]]s, such as the English [[interjection]]s of assent and denial, ''uh-huh'' {{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|h|ʌ}} and ''uh-uh'' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʌ|ʔ|ə}}, or the interjection of error, ''uh-oh'' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʌ|ʔ|oʊ}}.<ref>Danesi (2004) ''A Basic Course in Anthropological Linguistics''</ref> | In the broadest sense of the word, a '''vocable''' (from {{langx|la|vocabulum}}) is any identifiable utterance or writing, such as a word or term, that is fixed by their language and culture.<ref>{{OED|vocable}}</ref><ref>''The Cambridge Companion to Saussure''</ref> The use of the term for words in the broad sense is archaic and the term is instead used for utterances which are not considered [[word]]s, such as the English [[interjection]]s of assent and denial, ''uh-huh'' {{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|h|ʌ}} and ''uh-uh'' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʌ|ʔ|ə}}, or the interjection of error, ''uh-oh'' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʌ|ʔ|oʊ}}.<ref>Danesi (2004) ''A Basic Course in Anthropological Linguistics''</ref> | ||
Such non-lexical vocables are often [[Non-lexical vocables in music|used in music]], for example ''la la la'' or ''dum dee dum'', or in magical incantations, such as ''abra-cadabra''. [[Scat singing]] is essentially all vocables.<ref>William R. Bauer, "Scat Singing: A Timbral and Phonemic Analysis", ''Current Musicology'', 2002, no.71-73, {{doi|10.7916/cm.v0i71-73.4828}}</ref> Many [[Native American music|Native American songs]] consist entirely of vocables; this may be due to both phonetic substitution to increase the [[Sonorant|resonance]] of the song, and to the trade of songs between nations speaking different languages.<ref>Golla (2011) ''California Indian Languages'', §4.12.4</ref> [[Jewish]] [[Nigun]]im also feature wordless melodies composed entirely of vocables such as ''Yai nai nai'' or ''Yai dai dai''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Matansky |first1=Eugene |title=Nigun Shamil: The Soul Endlessly Yearning for What It Has Always Never Been |url=https://www.academia.edu/10011516 | Such non-lexical vocables are often [[Non-lexical vocables in music|used in music]], for example ''la la la'' or ''dum dee dum'', or in magical incantations, such as ''abra-cadabra''. [[Scat singing]] is essentially all vocables.<ref>William R. Bauer, "Scat Singing: A Timbral and Phonemic Analysis", ''Current Musicology'', 2002, no.71-73, {{doi|10.7916/cm.v0i71-73.4828}}</ref> Many [[Native American music|Native American songs]] consist entirely of vocables; this may be due to both phonetic substitution to increase the [[Sonorant|resonance]] of the song, and to the trade of songs between nations speaking different languages.<ref>Golla (2011) ''California Indian Languages'', §4.12.4</ref> [[Jewish]] [[Nigun]]im also feature wordless melodies composed entirely of vocables such as ''Yai nai nai'' or ''Yai dai dai''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Matansky |first1=Eugene |title=Nigun Shamil: The Soul Endlessly Yearning for What It Has Always Never Been |url=https://www.academia.edu/10011516 |publisher=Herzog Academic College |access-date=28 June 2021}}</ref> | ||
Vocables are common as [[pause filler]]s, such as ''um'' and ''er'' in English, where they have little formal meaning and are rarely purposeful. | Vocables are common as [[pause filler]]s, such as ''um'' and ''er'' in English, where they have little formal meaning and are rarely purposeful. | ||
Latest revision as of 06:06, 2 June 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Distinguish". Template:Full citations needed In the broadest sense of the word, a vocable (from Template:Langx) is any identifiable utterance or writing, such as a word or term, that is fixed by their language and culture.[1][2] The use of the term for words in the broad sense is archaic and the term is instead used for utterances which are not considered words, such as the English interjections of assent and denial, uh-huh Template:IPAc-en and uh-uh Template:IPAc-en, or the interjection of error, uh-oh Template:IPAc-en.[3]
Such non-lexical vocables are often used in music, for example la la la or dum dee dum, or in magical incantations, such as abra-cadabra. Scat singing is essentially all vocables.[4] Many Native American songs consist entirely of vocables; this may be due to both phonetic substitution to increase the resonance of the song, and to the trade of songs between nations speaking different languages.[5] Jewish Nigunim also feature wordless melodies composed entirely of vocables such as Yai nai nai or Yai dai dai.[6]
Vocables are common as pause fillers, such as um and er in English, where they have little formal meaning and are rarely purposeful.
Pseudowords that mimic the structure of real words are used in experiments in psycholinguistics and cognitive psychology, for example the nonsense syllables introduced by Hermann Ebbinghaus.
The proto-words of infants, which are meaningful but do not correspond to words of adult speech, are also sometimes called vocables.[7]
See also
References
- ↑ Template:OED
- ↑ The Cambridge Companion to Saussure
- ↑ Danesi (2004) A Basic Course in Anthropological Linguistics
- ↑ William R. Bauer, "Scat Singing: A Timbral and Phonemic Analysis", Current Musicology, 2002, no.71-73, Script error: No such module "doi".
- ↑ Golla (2011) California Indian Languages, §4.12.4
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Crystal (2008) A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics