Functioning of Syncretic Onomatopoeias that Transmit the Sound of Water in the Russian Language

Abstract

The article determines onomatopoeic syncretism in the Russian language. The study is important due to the anthropocentric approach which nowadays defines the role of the onomatopoeia in the worldview of the Eastern Slavs. That is why the phenomenon of syncretism permits to observe a more detailed usage of onomatopoeia in the Russian language. In this way it provides the most complete picture of the present worldview and its perception by the Russian people. The phenomenon of syncretism represents the combination of the features of verbs and onomatopoeic words. These verbs designate the action of instantaneous aspect. Onomatopoeias are words that imitate sounds of nature and the world around the human being, sounds and screams produced by animals, etc. Onomatopoeia syncretic words have a predicate function and at the same time imitate sounds produced during this action. The article studies main and contextual meanings that can develop onomatopoeic syncretic words. This type of word performs different functions in the text: nominative, linguistic, expressive, emotional, communicative, textual, socio-psychological. Due to the high expressive capacity they are widely used in everyday colloquial speech and in infant literature. Future research can be conducted by comparing this type of onomatopoeia in other Slavic languages ​​or languages ​​from other linguistic family groups.