Mimetic Parallels in Korean and Japanese

Korean and Japanese are both known for their extensive utilization of mimetic adverbs. A comparative examination reveals the systematic nature of sound symbolism in the two languages and the striking parallels in their phonology and morphology. Similar mechanisms of symbolic sound alternation, suffixation and reduplication are utilized in both languages to extend the expressive range of mimetic words. The utilization of dark-bright vowel pairs in Korean mimesis is well known, and a comparison between the two languages shows that Japanese also makes use of similar patterns of mimetic volume pairs. Not only does a comparative approach help illuminate the full systematic nature of sound symbolism in each language, but it may also help further our understanding of the wider relationship between the two languages.