Lampungese Lexicalized Onomatopoeia
Abstract
This study examines lexicalized onomatopoeia in Lampungese, a local Indonesian language whose sound-symbolic system has not yet been systematically described despite its longstanding contact with multiple linguistic communities. Onomatopoeia, understood as the creation of lexical items through the imitation of natural sounds, demonstrates both universal cognitive tendencies and language-specific phonological shaping. The purpose of this research is to identify Lampungese onomatopoeic items that have undergone lexicalization and to analyse their phonetic resemblance, morphological patterning, and semantic characteristics. The data were obtained through naturalistic observation of spontaneous Lampungese interactions, guided lexical elicitation based on Dingemanse’s sound-source categories, and verification through the method of depiction, in which speakers responded to auditory and visual stimuli to confirm the iconic basis and contextual use of each form. All items were analysed using detailed phonetic comparison and interpreted through the degrees of iconicity framework. The study identifies 28 sound-imitating forms in Lampungese, yet only eight display stable usage, semantic consolidation, and structural regularity sufficient to be considered lexicalized. These lexicalized items share a consistent structural pattern: each contains an iconic core that approximates the natural sound source and an empty morpheme that attaches without contributing semantic content but aligns the form with Lampungese phonotactic constraints. All eight forms fall under direct onomatopoeia and belong to the domains of animal sounds and object-interaction sounds, while the remaining items function only as descriptive sound expressions in discourse. Overall, the findings provide a systematic account of how sound imitation becomes integrated into the Lampungese lexicon.
References
Alfarisyi, F., et al. (2022). Analisis onomatope dalam bahasa Jepang dan bahasa Jawa. Comserva: Jurnal Penelitian dan Pengabdian Masyarakat, 1(11), 1047–1053.
Apriliandini, A., et al. (2025). Onomatope dalam lagu anak-anak terhadap perkembangan bahasa. Jurnal Basataka (JBT), 8(1), 596–605.
Badan Pengembangan Bahasa dan Perbukuan. (2019). Bahasa dan peta bahasa di Indonesia. https://petabahasa.kemdikbud.go.id/provinsi.php?idp=Lampung
Choksi, N. (2020). Expressives in Hindi language film songs. In N. Badenoch & N. Choksi (Eds.), Expressives in the South Asian linguistic area (pp. 177–194). Brill.
Creswell, J. W. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design. SAGE Publications.
Darwin, C. (1871). The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. John Murray. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/12293-000
Dingemanse, M. (2018). Redrawing the margins of language: Lessons from research on ideophones. Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics, 3(1), 4. https://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.444
Dingemanse, M., & Enfield, N. J. (2024). Interactive repair and the foundations of language. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 28(1), 30–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2023.09.003
Dofs, E. (2008). Onomatopoeia and iconicity: A comparative study of English and Swedish animal sound (Master’s thesis). Karlstads University.
Eberhard, D. M., Simons, G. F., & Fennig, C. D. (2023). Ethnologue: Languages of the world (26th ed.). SIL International.
Fadhilah, S., Suwandi, S., & Sugianti, S. (2024). Analisis makna dan fungsi onomatope dalam Webtoon “7 Wonders” karya Metalu pada season 1. Pustaka, 4(4), 22–45.
Ferber, M. (2019). Onomatopoeia and sound symbolism. In N. Fabb, V. Attridge, A. Durant, & C. MacCabe (Eds.), Poetry and language: The linguistics of verse (pp. 93–110). Cambridge University Press.
Fitriana, I., & Suparno, D. (2025). Mapping morphonosemantic categories in Javanese onomatopoeia. Linguistik Indonesia, 321–335.
Flaksman, M. A. (2018). Onomatopoeia and regular sound changes. Journal of Siberian Federal University: Humanities & Social Sciences. https://doi.org/10.17516/1997-1370-0351
Laing, C. E. (2019). Phonological motivation for the acquisition of onomatopoeia: An analysis of early words. Language Learning and Development, 15(2), 177–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/15475441.2019.1577138
Laili, N. M., & Putri, F. (2021). Phonological study of onomatopoeia in children’s song. JELTL: Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics, 6(1), 211–224.
McLean, B., & Dingemanse, M. (2025). A multi-methods toolkit for documentary research on ideophones. In J. P. Williams (Ed.), Capturing expressivity. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192858931.003.0005
Muin, A., Rauf, M., & Hidayat, N. A. (2016). The onomatopoeia in Robert Vendetti’s comic “The Flash.” Elite: English and Literature Journal, 3(1).
Nurhidayati, S. A., & Mulyadi. (2024). Struktur semantik onomatope bahasa Indonesia: Pendekatan Metabahasa Semantik Alami. Semantik, 13(2), 219–238.
Qinhua, M. (2018). The significance of onomatopoeia in languagization: From the perspective of sound–meaning relationship under dynamic system principle. Macrolinguistics, 6(8), 43–62.
Reranta, R. C. (2021). Comparison of declarative–interrogative intonation in Lampungnese. Teknosastik: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra, 19(31), 31–41.
Kustina, R. (2020). Onomatope bahasa Devayan. Jurnal Metamorfosa, 8(1), 112–122. https://doi.org/10.46244/metamorfosa.v8i1.348
Sidhu, D. M. (2024). Sound symbolism in the lexicon: A review of iconic–systematicity. Language and Linguistics Compass, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/lnc3.70006
Thompson, A. L., & Do, Y. (2019). Defining iconicity: An articulation-based methodology for explaining the phonological structure of ideophones. Laboratory Phonology, 10(1), 1–33.
Tyler, J., & Sparks, P. (2002). The guitar and its music: From the Renaissance to the Classical Era. Oxford University Press.
Zlatev, J., et al. (2023). Analyzing polysemiosis: Language, gesture, and depiction in two cultural practices with sand drawing. Semiotica, 253, 81–116.
