A Morpho-Semantic study of Phonesthemes in English and Arabic

By
Inst.Amthal Mohammed Abbas (Ph.D) ,Assist. Inst. Eman Riyadh Adeeb
College of Education for Human Sciences
University of Diyala

Abstract

This study is an attempt to investigate phonesthemes in English and

Arabic. The study adopts the idea that there is significant similarity
between English and Arabic in the area of phnesthemes. Examples of a
number of sounds , simple and complex and their meanings, are provided
in both languages to verify the hypotheses of the study. These examples
show that a sound has a meaning and can affect the entire meaning of the
.word

‫ تتبنى‬. ‫هذه الدراسة هي محاولة الستقصاء معاني األصوات في اللغة االنكليزية و العربية‬
‫ و‬. ‫هذه الدراسة الفرضية القائلة بان هنالك تقارب واضح بين اللغتين في ظاهرة معاني األصوات‬
‫ تم ذكر أمثلة لعدد من األصوات مع معانيها في كال اللغتين و هذه األمثلة‬, ‫إلثبات صحة الفرضية‬
. ‫تظهر بأن األصوات لها معنى و يمكنها التأثير في المعنى العام للكلمة‬
1. Introduction

Scientific studies are now proving what poets and others have intuited
since the dawn of language: in our minds, " sound and meaning are
inextricably related ". The ancient Greek philosophers wrote sagely about
this phonetic and semantic relationship, but, until recently, many of their
intriguing observations have been ignored. Modern linguists call the
relationship between sound and meaning " sound symbolism ", but most
assume that it plays only a minor role in language. The general principle ,
they assume, is that sound and meaning relate only arbitrarily . According
to this view, called ' symbolism ' , we say things the way we do merely
out of custom, habit, or circumstance. The evidence accumulated from
the past three decades challenges this assumption, and it is clear that
sound symbolism plays a far larger role than hitherto recognized.
In this study, an attempt to investigate and analyze the phonesthemes in
English and Arabic is carried out . The idea of this study stems from the
fact that sounds , whether single or complex , have meaning , and both
languages under study converge in reference to this phenomenon .

2. Phonesthemes in English

1
 The term ' phonestheme ' (in Britain, ' phonaestheme ' ) was coined by
English linguist John Rupert Firth in his book Speech (1930) . They are
defined in different ways , some can be defined as sounds or groups of
sounds that occur in words with the same meaning . These sounds may be
single sounds as / I / which gives the meaning of smallness as in " tiny "
or / Λ/ gives the meaning of unpleasant things as in "ugly , undesirable "
or cluster , roughly speaking ' complex ' , of different sounds as / gl /
which gives the sense of light, vision’ as in : glimmer, glitter, glow, glint,
etc.

Shisler ( 1997 : 16 ) states that Phonesthetic sound symbolism, also

known as ' conventional sound symbolism ' or ' phonetic symbolism ' , is
the use of sound symbolic elements called phonesthemes. A phonestheme
is a sound, sound cluster, or sound type that is directly associated with a
meaning. The initial cluster /gl/ (light, shining) is often cited as an
example of an English phonestheme. It occurs, to a greater or lesser
extent, in the following words: glass, gleam, gleed (live coal), glisten,
glow, glare, glent (glean, shine), glimmer, glimpse, glister, glitter, glim
(shine, gleam), gloat, gloom, gloss, glaze (from gaze, glare, glance), glint
(ablaut variant of glent), glower (blend of glow, glare, glance, lower),
glum (look sullen) (probable ablaut variation of gloom), glade (a open
passage through a wood; a grassy open or cleared space in a forest), moon
glade (moonlight on water).

Phonesthemes can appear anywhere in a word in an initial, medial, or

final position.( Waugh , 1994 : 89 ).

Knowledge of phonesthemes can help one understand how the mind

grapples with new and old words, how (and why) similar words fit
together, how there is an underlying order to our seemingly arbitrary
lexicon, and how new words are born and how meanings evolve ( Ibid )

Many English sounds convey meaning by themselves another

example is / sn / which give the sense of ‘nose, mouth’ as in snore,
snack, snout, snarl, snort, sniff, sneeze, etc. It is important to note that
phonesthemes seem to outlast languages and, just as a starry sky is a
window into our cosmological past, so phonesthemes are a window into
our linguistic past. They are furthermore a glimpse into our linguistic
future, English will not last forever, but it is highly likely that at least
some of its phonesthemes will last until the end of human language itself.
Another view , adopted by Finegan ( 2008 : 95 ) , is directed to
consider Phonestheme as a blending of phoneme and esthetic
indicating the tendency of certain sounds to acquire esthetic or
emotional connotations. According to the morphological view,

2
 phonestheme is different from a morpheme because it does not meet
the normal criterion of compositionality and this is what will be
discussed later .
Finegan adds that Phonesthemes are of critical interest because of the
internal structure of words where the internal structure of the word is non-
compositional i.e., a word with a phonestheme in it has other material in
. it that is not itself a morpheme as shown in the examples above

There are many obvious similarities between a phonestheme and a

morpheme. As known that a morpheme, such as the prefix proto-, has
both a characteristic sound and a meaning and this is one of the criteria of
it.Phonestheme, such as the initial cluster of the sounds /gl/ also has a
characteristic sound and a meaning. Indeed, some linguists consider
phonesthemes to be nothing more than particular type of morpheme
depending on the ability of getting meaning and characteristic sound
(Bolinger1975:219) .
Confusing the issue is the word morpheme itself. A minimal sign
is a linguistic sign that does not contain smaller elements. Properly, a
morpheme is a set of minimal signs with identical content. For
example, the /z/ of boys, the /Iz/ of stitches, and the /s/ of cats are
minimal signs of the same morpheme. Unfortunately, a common
definition of morpheme is "the smallest meaningful language unit"
which seems to blur the distinction between morphemes and minimal
signs. A phonestheme is a type of minimal sign: the same speaker
always pronounces instances of the same phonestheme in the same
way. For example, the English phonaestheme "gl-" occurs in a large
number of words relating to light or vision, like "glitter","glisten",
"glow", "gleam", "glare", "glint", and so on; yet, despite this, the
remainder of each word is not itself a morpheme (i.e., a pairing of form
and meaning); i.e., "-isten", "-ow", and "eam" do not make meaningful
contributions to "glisten", "glow", and "gleam". Examples of
phonesthemes in English (i.e., aside from "gl-"), include "sn-", related
to the mouth or nose, as in "snarl", "snout", "snicker", "snack", and so
on, and "sl-", which appears in words denoting frictionless motion, like
"slide", "slick", "sled", and so on.
Although phonaesthemes are not integral to morphophonemic
structure in the language, they contribute to the structure and meaning
of vocabulary items in a similar manner to bound morphemes, and need
to be given similar status (Spencer,1991:201). It is a sort of genetic
fallacy to declare that " dusty, crusty, rusty, and musty ", or

3
 again," flutter, mutter, stutter, sputter, and splutter ", are unrelated to
each other ( Shisler , 1997 :17)
Morphemes are said to be segmentable unlike phonesthemes ;
morphemes play a syntactic role in a word. Morphemes can change the
part of speech of a word and, often, morphemes can be inserted only in
certain locations within a word. Phonesthemes can appear anywhere in
a word and they never play a syntactic role.
The semantic content of a morpheme, which is often directly
present in dictionary denotations, is more potent than that of a
phonestheme. For example, just about every proto- word has
something to do with earliness but only a fraction of / gl / words have
anything to do with light or shining.
Virtually all instances of the same morpheme derive from the
same etymon..
2.1 Types and Sense
This section is devoted to discuss the two types of phonethemes . The
phonesthemes may be single sounds , or roughly speaking " simple " or
clustering , roughly speaking " complex "; of more than one sounds .
Most of these sounds are gathered initially and convey different senses .
. Below is a concise description for the most popular ones
In discussing each of the two types mentioned earlier , some examples
of the sounds and their meanings are provided just to verify the first
hypothesis of the study. Let's start with the simple phonemthemes.
2.1.1 Simple phonethemes
By simple phonesthemes , it is meant the single-sound phonesthemes .
Henceforth , a partially-oriented survey is carried out to shed light on
the sounds and their meanings . The aim of this item is to investigate the
semantics of single sounds and their significance in the word. As it is
mentioned earlier , one sound can affect the meaning of the whole word.
Let's see in the following items .
1.The vowels /i:/ and /I/ suggest the meaning of smallness. The most
important thing in this domain is that such sounds appear in many words
that have smallness as a part of their meaning . This means that it is not
obligatory that all words with such sounds must have the smallness
sense (Stageberg1981;111-112). These phonesthemes are well
exemplified in the following words:
Wee (adj.) means " very small " as in : a wee girl.
Peep (v.) denotes "to look quickly and secretly at something or
somebody through a small opening" .

4
Squeak (v.) reveals " to make a short – high sound " .(Oxford Advanced
Dictionary )
And there is a large number of words with such sound as bit , jiffy ,
seep , clink , tipple , clink , giggle , dwindle , drizzle , etc.
It is said that the sound is a phonestheme only when it is related to the
meaning of the word which is a part . This means that the sounds /i:/ and
/I/ are phnesthemes when their sense is related to the sense of the
words , so this means that the words whose meaning does not include
smallness , the /i:/ and /I/ are merely meaningless vowels. Thus the
words " seat and sit " and many others with such sounds do not contain
phonesthemes .
2. The voiceless stop consonants / p , t , k / at the end of one syllable
words express an abrupt stoppage of movement . There is a large
number of words with such sounds whose meaning conveys an abrupt
stoppage of movement as " pat , slap , flick , tap , hit , crack , etc. "
(Stageberg 1981: 112).
3.This sense can be suggested and well exemplified by the use of a final
voiceless fricative /š / at the end of the monosyllabic words as in
"mash , clash , bash , crash , smash , splash , etc.
4. In most cases especially at the end of the two- syllable words , the
final sounds /-ər/ and /-el / give the meaning of repetition as "chatter ,
shimmer , clatter , gibber , patter , stammer , twitter , flutter , litter ,
shatter ,etc."( Ibid : 112) .
The syllabic sound /-el / is best shown in the following " babble. giggle,
twinkle , freckle , juggle , drizzle , wriggle , stipple , etc.".
Again not all /-el /and /-er /are phonesthemes but this depends on the
words that they are parts of as in " player " ; the sound here is not
phonestheme .(Ibid)
5.Many words which mean 'to talk indistinctly' contain one or more
occurrences of the labial consonant / m /, which is made with the lips
firmly closed, preventing clear articulation. That way, the very act of
pronouncing the word iconically mimics a key aspect of its meaning. You
can see this if you watch yourself in a mirror saying words like  "mumble,
murmur, mutter, muted, grumble " etc. It is probably not an accident that
these words also contain the phonestheme / Λ /."
(Katamba, 2005 : 176 ) .
6. The initial cluster /p/ (explosive vocal sounds, energy, fighting, etc.)
which is potent in words like " pipe, peep, puff, poof, purr, purl (gentle
murmuring or bubbling sound like the water of a shallow stream flowing
over stones), pop, pash (dash, smash), pat (dab), patter (the quick talk or
chatter of a comedian or entertainer, salesman, etc.; the slang or private

5
language used by a particular group or class; to repeat mechanically
without considering the meaning; to talk volubly but without much sense)
from paternoster, pitter (make small sounds like a grasshopper), puke, etc.
( Ibid ) 
7.The sound/Λ/ in the majority of the monosyllabic words convey the
(undesirable ) sense as in " muck , dud , grunt , gump"
( Stageberg1981:113).
There are other examples as klutz , grudge , glum , gunk …etc. In words
of more than one syllable , the sense of being (undesirable) seems to be
present as in slovenly , grumpy , blunder , humdrum , muddle , puddle
etc., (Katamba, 2005 : 176 ).
Complex Phonethemes 2.1.2

The majority of complex phonesthemes are bilateral and some are

. trilateral

Most of words with the sound cluster/ cl-/ are often related to the hands.1
.or to holding as in " claim, clamber, cling , clip, club, etc

The /fl-/ cluster in most of words convey the meaning of movement in .2

air or water whether the movement of an object , human or even light as
" flag , flagon , flap , flame , flight , flee, flue , flick , flutter , fluency ,
.etc

The sounds /gl-/ when they come in sequence initially , they convey .3
the meaning of light and shading in behavior as in "glad , glamour,
.glance , glint , glitter , etc
4. The initial combination of the sounds /s/ and /l/ gives the meaning of
overwhelming pejorative connotation as shown in the following words
"slang, slapdash , slash , slate , slave , sleaze.
5. This phonetheme conveys the meaning of pejorative but not as bad as
the cluster of / sl-/ sounds . The examples below show the following
sense as in "snack , snag , Snail , Snub , snuff " .
6.The confined lack and lessen in movement and activity is well
examplied with the initial clustering of the sound /s/ and /t/ as in " stab ,
stop , stagger, stagnate , stake,  statue ,  stiff,  still ,etc.
7. The Cluster / sw-/ connotes various kinds of movement , often
purposeful in nature as in "swaddle , swage , swarm , sway , swell,
swig , Swing , etc.

6
 8.Words are frequently associated with sounds caused by rapid movement
in or through air as in " whack , whap , whip , whisk , whisper , whoop ,
etc.
9. The sounds / spr / convey more than one meaning when they occur
together in this arrangement. Each one expresses something that is
related or not to the other one.
It is well shown in the following situations to convey the meaning of
springing or spreading as in " spread , sprout , spray , sprinkle , spring ,
etc."
Here , the meaning of the sequence of / spr-/ is to express spiritedness
and energy as in " spry , sprightly , springy ,sprint , etc " .
This cluster conveys two opposite senses , the meaning of narrowness
and wideness as in " strait, strangle, strickle, straight, etc."
The other meaning that the sequence of these sounds is striding which
refers to the long steps or implicitly conveys the meaning of the
improvement or development of something to better or worse situations
as in " straddle, straddle , stroll , struggle ,etc."
The use of these sounds in some situations and words expose another
meaning which is basically related to the movement and attack . Such
usage to some extent is related to the previous one in reflecting the
movement of something gently or nervously as in " stray , stride , strut ,
strafe , etc."
10. It a coincidence that so many of words began with ' / l / as in :
" licentious, lascivious, loose, lubricous, lecherous, libidinous, lustful,
lickerish and lewd " , is used to name a few. Somehow this luscious,
liquidy / l / sound seems well suited to convey the sense of wantonness.
Words commonly group this way, sharing both meaning and a vague
resemblance of sound. So the sounds we use to stand for things might start
off being arbitrary, but over time the arbitrariness often falls away.
(Burridge, 2004 : 213)
11. The cluster , wr , almost conveys bending or twisting movement ,
either physically or metaphorically as in " wrack , wreak , wrench ,
wrestle, wrist , wring , etc."
Phonesthemes can be of thee-element cluster . Let's take the following
example from Lewis Carroll's Humpty Dumpty

"Humpy Dumpty is a word formation on the principle of

rhyming reduplication with the root morpheme " hump ", and " hump ",
like " lump ", contains the English phonestheme  " –ump ", whose
meaning is 'something compact and heavy '. This semantic element is

7
appropriate to the interpretant of Humpty Dumpty, whose shape is
'exactly like an egg,' as Alice remarks." (Nöth, 1994 : 165).
12. It is suggested that the clustering of the sounds (-ump) , when they
come finally in most of English words , gives the sense of heaviness and
bluntness as in " bump , thump , stump , lump , dump , etc."
Now it is time to page through into the phenomenon in Arabic after
having it investigated in English.
3. Phonesthemes in Arabic
This section is carried out to focus the term in Arabic and , thus , to
find out whether the two languages diverge or converge in the area of
phonesthemes which , in turn , attain the second hypothesis of the study.
The beginning of the term " phonesthemes " can be traced to Al-Khalil
and Sibawaih under the agreement of all Arab linguists. Al-Khalil ( as
cited in Ibn-Jinni , 1913 : vol 2: 152) states that linguists were intrigued
by the sound of the grasshopper when they said " ‫ ( " ص َر‬to screech )
The Semantics of single sounds 3.1
In this section ,the meaning of single-handed sound will be focused.
Sounds are treated separately to elicit their meaning before we move to
study them in clusters. Adul-Qadir (1988:109) states that linguists
frequently neglected the study of the meaning of single sound and ,on the
.contrary, paid more attention to onomatopoeic ones

This section is based upon the fact that there is an agreement between the
sound and its meaning , i.e., every sound is consistent with a state . Many
linguists disagree to this idea ; it is claimed that sounds carry no meaning
by themselves because meanings are not confined to one factor but they
share many factors , most importantly is the context of situation . Let's
take the two sounds ((‫ ض‬and (‫ )م‬which designate the meaning of
(chewing). The meaning of chewing is attained in these two sounds since
they denote the sound of the chewing process, but what is left is the kind
of food to be chewed, i.e., ((‫ضم‬ َ ‫خ‬
َ and (‫ضم‬َ َ‫) ق‬.The verb(‫خضم‬
َ ) is used to
chew wet food like melon and cucumber and alike, while (‫ ) قضَم‬is used
for dry or hard food (Ibn Jinni , 1913:157.vol. 2). Thus , as Ibn Jinni
states , the denotative value of the sound is drawn from the properties of
the sound itself , for instance,(‫ )ق‬and (‫ )خ‬are so close with reference to
place of articulation and both of them are voiceless. Besides , the former
is forties while the latter is lenis. So, these two features determine the
meaning of the sound , therefore , fortis sounds are used to denote hard
things while lenis sounds can be used with soft things . To highlight this
idea , let's take this example, the two verbs (َ‫ ) َسد‬and (َ‫صد‬
َ ) can denote
differently . The former denotes ( to shut ) like:
He shut the door.

8
and can also be used with " seeing ". The latter ,i.e.,( ‫() ص َد‬to prevent or
force out) denotes an odd meaning in the above examples , the denotative
sounds occur in the beginning of the words . Let's have some other
examples in which denotative sounds occur in the middle. The two verbs
(‫) قسم‬and ( —‫ ) قصم‬can be applied to denote different actions; the latter (
‫ ( ) قصم‬to crush ) is more stronger than ( ‫( ) قسم‬to portion out).
Likewise, the two words ( ‫) الوسيلة‬and( ‫ ) الوصيلة‬are good examples of
the middle sound occurrence .The word ( ‫() الوصيلة‬connector) means to
connect between two parts, i.e., the idea of contact ,while the word
( ‫( ) الوسيلة‬means) can be used to mean an action that implies the idea of
begging. Thus , semantically , (to connect) is more effective and stronger
than (to beg).
Ibn Jinni inspired many Arab linguists who adopted the theory of " the
expressive value of Arabic sounds ". In this respect , Al-Aqqad (1970:43)
and Alayly (1962 : 156 ) agree with Anees ( 1980 : 134 ) in the area that
Arabic sounds accord with their meanings.
Al-Aqqad( 1970: 143 )states that the semantic value can not be attained
randomly with all sounds wherever they occur because these features can
be attained when the expressive sounds occur in the beginning or at the
end of the word only. For instance, let's take the sound( ‫) ح‬which
expresses the meaning of (ease and luxury) when it is uttered or
heard. According to its occurrence in the word, onset or outset , the
meaning can be designated, as in ( ‫( ) ارتياح‬ease), ( ‫( ) سماح‬bounty),
( ‫ ( ) فرح‬pleasure ) , ( ‫( ) مرح‬fun) , ( ‫( ) صفح‬forgiveness) , ( ‫( ) فتح‬bless),
etc. It can be easily seen that all these words denote " ease "
.
Depending on what has been stated by Al-Aqqad , Abdul-Qadir
(1988:113) makes his conclusive statement saying that the sound in
Arabic has no semantic value. He adds that the idea of ' three – sound-
word which denotes a meaning resulted from some sort of coordinated
arrangement of these sounds ' does not exist. To clarify his statement , let
examine the following examples.
In the word ( ‫ ( ) حرق‬burnt ), he claims that ( ‫) ح‬denotes ( ‫) السعة‬
( luxury ) , ( ‫ ) ر‬denotes ( ‫( ) التكرار‬repetition and continuity of an
action) while ( ‫ ) ق‬refers to ( —‫( ) االصطدام‬crush) and ( ‫( ) الشدة‬power). The
entire meaning resulted from combining the partial meaning of sounds is
the concept of burning.
Consequently , a large number of Arabic sounds can be easily
perceived to denote certain meanings. This can be noticed in the findings
of Arab linguists studies of this field.

Now let's examine the meanings of some Arabic sounds :

9
1. ( ‫ ) ت‬refers to ( ‫( ) القطع‬cutting) as in : ( َ‫ ( ) بت‬to cut off ), ( ‫) بتر‬
(to amputate) , ( ‫( ) ختم‬to veil) , etc.
2. ( ‫ ) ث‬denotes (—‫( ) االنتشار‬spreading) and ( ‫( ) التفربق‬parting) when it is
the second sound in a word like ( ‫بث‬ َ ) (to broadcast) , ( ‫( ) بثق‬to spout),
( ‫ ( ) اثرى‬to enrich ), etc.
3. ( ‫) خ‬frequently reveals ( ‫ ( ) الضغط‬press ) and ( —‫( ) الهبوط‬fall ) when it
occurs at the beginning of the word , like: ( ‫خرب‬ َ ) (to destroy), ( ‫) خاب‬
( to fail ), ( ‫( ) خمد‬to go out), etc.
4. ( ‫ ) د‬often refers to ( ‫ ( ) اللين‬softness ) and ( ‫( ) النعومة‬delicacy) like:
( ‫( ) دبغ‬to tan) , ( ‫( ) دمع‬to tear) , etc.
5. ( ‫ ) ذ‬denotes ( ‫( ) القطع‬cutting) when it occurs the second sound of a
word , as in : ( ‫ ( ) ذبح‬to slaughter ) , etc.
6. ( ‫ ) ر‬implies the meaning of ( ( ‫(التكرار‬repetition and continuity ) of
event wherever it occurs in a word , as in : ( ‫مر‬ َ ) ( to pass ) , ( ‫ ( ) ف َر‬to
flee ) , ( ‫ ( ) قرع‬to knock ) , etc.

3.2 The Semantics of complex sounds

As the simple sound has a semantic value , the complex also has a
semantic value. By complexity , it is meant that one sound accords
another sound , and , in turn , being together , they form the meaning of
the word .
Abdul-Qadir ( 1988 : 122) states that the sounds of the language are
merely phonemes ( distinctive phonetic units ) and their effect in the
meaning can be realized in the so-called " minimal pairs " wherein the
sound meaning changes as a result of changing the sound positions.
These distinctive phonetic units have some sort of significance that can
be reflected on the meaning of the words when they take certain
positions. This has resemblance with ' stress ' which affects the meaning
of the speech due to the changing of the position of word syllables .

The first linguist who paid attention to this phenomenon is Ahmed bin
Faris, ( as cited in Dhaif , ( 1997 : 211 ), when he said :
Almighty Allah puts His kindness and secrets in everything,
and I deeply thought in this to find out that you see the
sound ( ‫ ) د‬with (‫ ) ل‬with any third one to denote ' coming ,
going and vanishing from one place to another ' .

Then , a number of linguist, ( as cited in Ibn-Jinni , 1913 : vol 2: 152),

tried to investigate some sounds in different constructions and concluded
that combining two certain sounds and any third one added to them reveal
the same meaning even with changing the third sound by another one .
Let's check some examples .

10
1. The combination of ( ‫ ) أ‬and ( ‫ ) ب‬and any third sound denote the
idea of separation and alienation as in : ‫ ( اباح‬to disclose ), ‫ ( اب——اد‬to
exterminate ), etc.
2. The sounds ( ‫ ) ج‬and ( ‫ ) ر‬and any third sound reveal pulling and
traction as in : ‫جر‬
َ ( to pull ) , ‫ ( جرى‬to flow ) , ‫ ( جرف‬to drift ) . etc.
3. The sounds ( ‫ ) خ‬and ( ‫ ( س‬and any third sound denote falling and
descending like : ‫ ( خسئ‬to be driven ) , ‫ ( خسر‬to lose ) , etc.
4. The sounds ( ‫ ) ر‬and ( ‫ ) خ‬with any third sound denote softness and
easiness as in " ‫ ( رخ‬to dilute ) , ‫ ( رخم‬to become soft ) ,etc.
5. The sounds ( ‫ ) س‬and ( ‫ ) ل‬and a third one refer to something
departing from something else like " ‫ ( سلب‬to rip off ) , ‫ ( سال‬to forget ) ,
etc.
6. The sound ( ‫ ) ش‬and ( ‫ ) ب‬and another sound denote to the idea of
extension and prolongation as in the words like ‫شب‬ َ ( to become young
‫ ( شبع‬to eat one's fill ) , etc.

On the other hand , Abdul-Qadir ( 1988 : 126) makes a mention for a

criterion to distinguish between phonesthemes and those which are not
when he states that some words are not original in the dictionaries
because linguists identified a number of combinations , like those
mentioned above , to be phonesthemes . They believe that these
combination occur in Arabic and any other combinations are not Arabic
or , let's say , they are morphemes because Arabic does not include such
clusters like :
1. The sounds ( ‫ ) ج‬and ( ‫ ) ط‬which do not occur together unless the word
is arabized or translated into Arabic .
2. The sounds ( ‫ ) ج‬and ( ‫ ) ق‬as in ‫ ( جردقة‬bread ) which is not Arabic .
3. The sounds ( ‫ ) س‬and ( ‫ ) ز‬as in —‫ ( سهريز‬kind of fruit ) ,etc.

4 . Discussion and Conclusions

After reviewing the phenomenon in both languages , English and

Arabic , it can stated that :
1. The sound has a meaning whether by itself or in combination with
another sound . Phonesthemes in English language can occur in
different positions and can be of one , two or three-sound and
sometimes four-sound phonesthemes but in Arabic , it can be of
either one or two-sound phonesthemes .
2. In both languages , the meaning of the sound can affect the entire
meaning of the word , and this verifies the first hypothesis of the
study .
3. Both languages show , to a large extent , significant similarity in
that sounds have meanings and these meanings are peculiar . In
another word , every sound has a meaning whether simple or in
combination with other sounds . Phonesthemes can occur in

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 different position in the word in both languages , and this verifies
the second hypothesis of the study.
4. In English , the sound has the same meaning even when the
position of the sound is changed in the word while in Arabic , on
the other hand , the meaning of the word is changed whenever the
position of the sound is changed as the case with ' stress '. Both
languages converge in this area and this does not meet the second
hypothesis.
5. In both languages , when the sound has no meaning , it is
considered merely a phoneme .
6. Three-element phonesthems do not exist in Arabic while in
English, it is widespread. English four-sound phonesthemes are
not, to an extent , common .

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