Re: water (was:re:sounds like...)

On Thu, 10 Dec 1998, And Rosta wrote:

> [my now standard three-week late follow-up]
>
> I'm rather surprised by how many people seem to wish their lgs to have
> onomatopoeic vocab. While I do contend that it exists, it can hardly
> be said that most lgs are rife with it, yet it is my impression that
> most artlangers here are guided by an aesthetic of naturalism. I had
> thought that the Livagian preoccupation with sound--meaning
> iconicities was another of its various perversities.
I don't think it's quite accurate to say that I want lots of onomatopoetic
words in Tokana.  What I *do* want is lots of words which conform to my
own personal sense of 'the right fit' between sound and meaning.  In some
cases this involves onomatopoetic associations, in other cases it involves
a kind of personal sound symbolism, and in other cases it seems to be
totally random.  I suppose you could argue that "pokot" = "turtle" is
a case of sound symbolism (round vowels, falling cadence).  But why
"teula" is the perfect word for "listen to", or why "talhkoh" is the perfect
word for "because", is beyond me.  They just *are*.  They fit somehow.

Matt.