THE SOUND PATTERNS OF ENGLISH NICKNAMES 英语论文.doc

THE SOUND PATTERNS OF ENGLISH NICKNAMES V. DE KLERK B. BOSCH The English lexicon has been found to reflect certain recognisable phonological preferences in relation to consonants, vowels, stress patterns and syllabic structure, and these trends have been reflected in sharper terms in analyses of particular subsets of vocabulary: phonaesthetic words (Crystal, 1995b) and first names (Cutler et al., 1994). Because nicknames are relatively impermanent informal names which allow users considerable linguistic licence in breaking the rules, this study analyses the phonological patterns of English nicknames in order to test the validity of the claims which have been made about English phonological preferences in general and specifically in names and favoured words. The study focuses specifically on nicknames reportedly used with positive social intent, in order to test whether positive nicknames follow more closely the phonological trends in phonaesthetic English words. The study reveals clear evidence of particular consonantal and vocalic preferences in nicknames as well as trends in terms of stress and syllabic structure, which can be argued to be linked to either the social intent of the nickname user or the gender of the bearer, which suggests evidence of some sound-symbolism at work in English nicknames. 1. Introduction The English lexicon has been found to reflect certain recognisable phonological preferences (Gimson, 1972; Bauer, 1983; Carlson et al., 1985; Cutler et al., 1994, p. 472). In addition to the existence of higher frequencies of certain phonemes and stress patterns, several theorists have pointed out interesting links between phonological patterns and certain meanings in English (see Taylor, 1976; Brown, 1994), despite the general acceptance that sound and meaning have no connection. The definition of terms such as phonaesthesia, synaesthesia and sound symbolism is problematic, as the area is notorious for terminological confusion. According to Crysta