Meanings Hidden in Sounds : A New Approach to Mastering Japanese Mimetic Words

"Sound-symbolic words often facilitate communication in Japanese and are an indispensable layer of the language. However, are one of the most difficult linguistic aspects for non-native speakers to master due to cultural differences and lack of efficient studying materials. Contradictory to the traditional Saussure' s theory of the unmotivated nature of the linguistic sign, this research shows that meanings of mimetic words are often phonologically defined. This close form-meaning relation in Japanese mimesis should not be ignored when developing new teaching methods of those words to non-native speakers.