ZVUČNI SIMBOLIZAM UZVIKA U STRIPU WATCHMEN

Abstract

This paper deals with the semantic correlation between the phonological structure of interjections and the context in which they are used. The aims are to determine which phoneme, group of phonemes, or feature of a phoneme is typically used in a specific context of the comic book, and the degree of soundsymbolic meaning. Given that sound symbolism characterizes primary interjections, 133 interjections found in the first and second issues of Alan Moore’s Watchmen were analysed. According to the pragmatic function (expressive, connative, and phatic) the examples were classified into connative and expressive interjections since there were no examples of phatic interjections. According to the semantic component (cognitive, emotive, and volitive), expressive interjections were subdivided into connative and emotive interjections of positive or negative meaning, for there were no examples for the volitive meaning. Each example is provided with its phonemic description and context via illustration and explanation. The study has found that connative interjections are not as symbolic as the expressive because they can be partially explained through three macro-concepts (SAY, GAPING, and EXPULSION), all of which are related to locution. Expressive interjections can be explained through nine macro-concepts which denote meanings of cognitive ability (THINK and QUESTION) or physical traits and body parts (e.g. ROUNDNESS, SMALL, NOSE). Although the results of this paper are based on a small sample, the findings contribute to the research on interjections as linguistic signs that express the sound-meaning relation in the context of comic books, as well as to the field of sound symbolism of interjections. In order to draw more general conclusions about interjections and sound symbolism future research should be conducted.