This study investigates the phenomenon of sound symbolism in Mapudungun, an endangered language spoken by the Mapuche people in Chile and Argentina. The research, conducted by a team including linguist María Catrileo, explores the systematic associations between coronal consonant alternations and affective meanings, revealing how these phonetic variations convey emotional nuances that differ from other languages, such as Spanish, which primarily rely on morpho-syntactic resources for similar effects.

Employing a meta-analytical approach and corpus data, the authors document how palatalized coronal consonants in Mapudungun typically signal diminutive or positive affect, while dentalized forms convey augmentative or pejorative meanings. This study highlights the diachronic trajectory of these alternations, suggesting their historical productivity and integration into the grammatical system, which contrasts with previous understandings of sound symbolism as largely limited to specific lexical items.

The findings have significant implications for linguistic theory, particularly regarding the interplay between iconicity and grammatical structure. They also contribute to the understanding of language evolution, suggesting pathways from iconic sounds to abstract grammatical forms, which could inform future research in phonology, morphology, and the study of endangered languages.

Source: dx.doi.org