The paper deals with the Buryat ideophones which are used with a verb enēxe “to laugh.”
They are divided on underived and derivative words which are also subdivided into onomatopoeic
and sound-symbolic words. The aim of this research is to reveal the connection between acoustic-
articulatory features of consonants of the stem and semantics of the considered words. The author
puts forward the idea that mimic and body movements could be directly reflected by phonetic-articulatory means of language. On the basis of acoustic-articulatory characteristics, it is revealed
that the stems ending on the consonant r designate throaty laugh, ending by the consonant g des-
ignate keckle and ending by the consonant n designate loud laugh. Vowel a is presented in the
words imitating the strong, loud soundings; vowel o – in words, imitating distinct, clear sound-
ings, vowel ü expresses deaf sounding. The long vowel refers to continuous action. Underived
sound-symbolic words characterize movements of lips, face, and body muscles appearing while
somebody laughs. The derivative onomatopoeic words which are used with a verb enēxe “to
laugh” are formed by means of a suffix -sа. The description of the ideophonic lexis made it possi-
ble to expose semiotic, psychophysiological and linguistic foundations of the sound symbolic
essence of the language.
Bordzhanova T. G. Smekhovaya kul’tura kalmykov (predvaritel’nye zametki) [Laughter culture of Kalmyks (preliminary notes)]. In: Smekh: istoki i funktsii [Laughter: sources and functions]. St. Petersburg, Nauka, 2002, pp. 119–126.
Butovskaya M. L., Kozintsev A. G. Etologicheskoe issledovanie smekha i ulybki u mladshikh
shkol’nikov: rol’ pola i sotsial’nogo statusa v neverbal’noy kommunikatsii [Ethological research
of laughter and smile of primary school-aged children: role of gender and social class in nonverbal communication]. In: Smekh: istoki i funktsii [Laughter: sources and functions]. St. Petersburg, Nauka, 2002, pp. 43–61.
Grammatika buryatskogo yazyka. Fonetika i morfologiya [Grammar of the Buryat language.
Phonetics and morphology]. Moscow, Izd. vost. lit., 1962, 340 p.
Shagdarov L. D. Izobrazitel’nye slova v sovremennom buryatskom yazyke [Ideophonic words
in the Buryat language]. Ulan-Ude, Buryat. kn. izd., 1962, 149 p.
Shagdarov L. D. Problemy novoy akademicheskoy grammatiki buryatskogo yazyka (imya sushchestvitel’noye, imya prilagatel’noye, narechiye, poslelogi, modal’nyye slo-va, slova kategorii sostoyaniya, izobrazitel’nyye slova) [Issues of the new academic grammar of the Buryat language
(noun, adjective, adverb, postlogs, modal words, categories of condition words, pictorial words)].
Ulan-Ude, BSC SB RAS Publ., 2013, 192 p.
Ulzytuev D. Zokheolnuuday sugluulbari (III boti) – Sobranie sochineniy: v 3 t. [Collected
edition: in 3 vols]. Ulan-Ude, NovaPrint, 215, 528 p.