A Note on Setswana Onomatopoeia

Resumo

Abstract

The Setswana language, like other African languages, has a rich word class category of onomatopoeia that are derived from diverse sound sources in the environment of the speakers. Onomatopoeia are sounds imitations. They subsequently derive ideophones which are the secondary function of imitated sounds. In the Setswana grammars, little or nothing is said about onomatopoeia, but rather ideophones are accounted for and given prominence in linguistic analysis of the language. This preliminary discussion of onomatopoeia will illustrate that this word category needs to be studied in Setswana as a distinct word category. They are the primary source of ideophones. Further, the discussion will argue that onomatopoeia present interesting linguistic value at the level of their phonology, morphology and syntax, and that they cannot be neglected in the study of the Setswana language. This note on Setswana onomatopoeia therefore intends to open a discussion on onomatopoeia and how they relate to other word categories in the language.