Iconicity in gotoochi-kitii ‘localized Hello Kitty’
-
Kiyoko Toratani
Abstract
This paper explores the form-meaning-referent relationship of a compound noun, gotoochi-kitii ‘localized Hello Kitty’, which denotes a small souvenir figurine featuring a Japanese commercial character, Hello Kitty. It argues that the diagrammatic iconicity observed in English noun-noun compounds (e.g. Ungerer 1999) is also at work in this recently coined Japanese compound. Further, iconicity plays an important part in the process of image construction. An iconic image of a local entity metonymically selected into the domain of gotoochi ‘local area’ (source) is mapped onto an image selected into the domain of Hello Kitty (target) based on kitty-is-an-agent (or ‑undergoer) metaphor. Deviation from the basic one-to-one mapping pattern leads to a creation of more complex images. Blending theory allows us to detail the mechanisms of this type of image construction.
Abstract
This paper explores the form-meaning-referent relationship of a compound noun, gotoochi-kitii ‘localized Hello Kitty’, which denotes a small souvenir figurine featuring a Japanese commercial character, Hello Kitty. It argues that the diagrammatic iconicity observed in English noun-noun compounds (e.g. Ungerer 1999) is also at work in this recently coined Japanese compound. Further, iconicity plays an important part in the process of image construction. An iconic image of a local entity metonymically selected into the domain of gotoochi ‘local area’ (source) is mapped onto an image selected into the domain of Hello Kitty (target) based on kitty-is-an-agent (or ‑undergoer) metaphor. Deviation from the basic one-to-one mapping pattern leads to a creation of more complex images. Blending theory allows us to detail the mechanisms of this type of image construction.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors ix
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Iconicity and conceptualization
- Iconicity by blending 13
- The Bashō code 25
- Iconicity in gotoochi-kitii ‘localized Hello Kitty’ 43
- Grammar-internal mimicking and analogy 63
- To draw a bow 引 83
- Spatiotemporal aspects of iconicity 95
-
Part II. Visual iconicity
- From diagrams to poetry 121
- The iconized letter 141
- The semantics of structure 159
- Visual iconicity in Latin poetry 173
- Shared and direct experiential iconicity in digital reading games 191
- Iconicity, intermediality, and interpersonal meanings in a Social Semiotic Space 211
- Model and icon 233
- Degrees of indetermination in intersemiotic translation 247
-
Part III. Auditory iconicity
- Sound, image and fake realism 263
- Opera, oratorio, and iconic strategies 275
- On some iconic strategies in concept albums within the Italian singer-songwriter tradition 295
- Iconically expressible meanings in Proto-Indo-European roots and their reflexes in daughter branches 311
- The lexical iconicity hierarchy and its grammatical correlates 331
- Author index 351
- Subject index 355
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors ix
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Iconicity and conceptualization
- Iconicity by blending 13
- The Bashō code 25
- Iconicity in gotoochi-kitii ‘localized Hello Kitty’ 43
- Grammar-internal mimicking and analogy 63
- To draw a bow 引 83
- Spatiotemporal aspects of iconicity 95
-
Part II. Visual iconicity
- From diagrams to poetry 121
- The iconized letter 141
- The semantics of structure 159
- Visual iconicity in Latin poetry 173
- Shared and direct experiential iconicity in digital reading games 191
- Iconicity, intermediality, and interpersonal meanings in a Social Semiotic Space 211
- Model and icon 233
- Degrees of indetermination in intersemiotic translation 247
-
Part III. Auditory iconicity
- Sound, image and fake realism 263
- Opera, oratorio, and iconic strategies 275
- On some iconic strategies in concept albums within the Italian singer-songwriter tradition 295
- Iconically expressible meanings in Proto-Indo-European roots and their reflexes in daughter branches 311
- The lexical iconicity hierarchy and its grammatical correlates 331
- Author index 351
- Subject index 355
