Kathleen,

I take your question to mean: "To what part of speech do such words as snicker-snack! belong?"  The concept of "part of speech" is concerned with their principal motivation for use in a sentence.  Virtually any word can be used as any part of speech, on occasion.  

My response as a traditionalist would be: "interjection."  These words seem to be like the typical interjections of former days: Oh!, Phew!, Ugh!, Wow!  In my grammar I have classed these words with the vocatives, used often to address another, such as, God!, Judas Priest!, My gads!  Still another subclass would be what I have called the Boolean replies: Yes, No, Absolutely, Undoubtedly, Maybe.  All of these words seem to be possible substitutes for a whole sentence in the sense that they may serve as a complete utterance by themselves.  For this reason the term "pro-sentence" may possibly serve as well as "interjection."  

Bruce

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Gregg Heacock 
  To: [log in to unmask] 
  Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2007 12:59 PM
  Subject: Re: onomotopoeia


  Kathleen,
  These are all evocative terms.  Words tend to be either mimetic or metaphoric.  One uses sound evocatively; the other, an image.  Mimetic words can replicate sounds, in which case they are onomatopoetic, or they can use sound to replicate an action, like "press" or "push" or "pull."  Almost all words ending with "-ash" do this.  Words beginning with "st-" usually signify a lack of movement, staying or sticking to one place.  The "str-" strains to stretch away from that sticking point, which takes some strength.  The term "snicker-snack" seems more of a sound than a word having meaning on its own.  Like "chortle," it could evoke a sound while inventing a meaning. Still, it is an example of the pow-er of words.  Good that you have one that raises questions.
  Gregg


  On Nov 25, 2007, at 10:32 AM, Kathi Bethell wrote:


    The question of onomotopoeia came up in a class discussion this past week.  A student questioned the form class of “Snicker-snack” (as in “the vorpal blade went snicker-snack!”). We moved on to animal sounds, comic book sound effects (Pow! Zap! Kerplunk!) and thoroughly amused and confused ourselves.

    The cow says “moo.”
    The mooing cows moved toward the barn.
    The cow smiled mooily (okay, we were goofing off by then).

    It’s easy to identify the verbs, adjectives, adverbs – but what are the onomotopoetic words themselves? Although moo can be a noun (the cow had a loud moo), what is snicker-snack?

    Kathleen Bethell


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