Preface
Japanese words have been romanized throughout this writeup.
In Japanese, phonoaesthetics are almost always written in hiragana. Among other things, this indicates their Japanese linguistic roots. They have been found as early as the Manyoushuu (万葉集) and early Heian women's literature. (Kaiser)
To quote Kaiser:
"In modern Japanese, phonoaesthetic Japanese (PJ) expressions are common in the informal register of speech; they are much less used in formal language. In writing, they are widely found in literature, but less in essays and even less in specialist articles, and are virtually absent from law codes and legal documents. In newspapers, they are infrequent in the politics and economics sections, but appear more often in the social pages. PJ items stike a chord with people's feelings, and are therefore widely used in the language of advertisements, but are also ubiquitous in comics, including many newly invented ones (for instance, to imitate the laughter or sound of anger of an extraterrestrial being) to supplement the pictures."
Kaiser, pp. 37
For the language learner, among the most confusing of phonoaesthetic Japanese is the use of the phenomime, a type of onomatopoeia which does not specifically refer to any audible or otherwise perceptible sound. How can one understand the meaning of a sound one cannot truly hear? And how can that inaudible sound be represented by language?
The phenomime is often used as an adverb in Japanese, sometimes using the special adverbial marker to (と) as a suffix. This form of adverbial use is unfamiliar to the native speaker of English, because English uses a myriad of verbs, many themselves onomatopoeiac. Japanese, on the other hand, tends to use one common, base verb and an assortment of phenomimes as adverbs.
Consider different kinds of the English verb walk below. (Koujien)
Kinds of walk
Japanese Japanese English
Phenomime Verb Verb
tobotobo aruku trudge
chokochoko aruku trot
noronoro aruku inch (along)
yoroyoro aruku stagger, stumble, shamble
furafura aruku shamble, teeter
burabura aruku stroll, loiter
zorozoro aruku swarm (in/out), cluster
In his textbook, Kaiser (2001) describes another type of phonoaesthetic, the psychomime. Although the difference between the above phenomime is fuzzy, and it is often considered to be a sub-type, psychomimes are used to express states of mind or emotion, while phenomimes are used to express an action, movement, or state. The simplest type of phonoaesthetic, the phonomime, mimics a natural sound. Most of the examples given by jprockwell above are phonomimes.
Here are examples of psychomimes being used as Japanese adverbs to express facial or body expressions, as well as emotional states and feelings. They often take the standard Japanese verb suru (する), do, and I have attempted to provide suitable verbs for their usage. Note that while the psychomimes are all linguistically adverbs, they often translate into different forms in English.
Facial / Body Expressions and Reactions
Japanese Japanese English
Psychomime Verb Expression
angurito akeru be open-mouthed with amazement
eg. kuchi wo angurito akeru
bonyari suru be vacant, dull, sleepy
boutto suru be absent-midned
buzutto suru be sulky
deredere suru be spoony
doronto suru be dull (esp. eyes)
fufunto suru be huffy, turn up one's nose
gessori suru be disenheartened
gyotto suru be startled, shocked
gyorogyoro saseru roll one's eyes, glare
herahera warau gloat, smirk
jirijiro miru stare
kerotto suru behave as if nothing had happened,
forget one's grievance
magomago suru get confused, be at a loss
majimaji(to) suru gaze at
muttsuri shita look sullen
eg. muttsuri shita kao = a sullen face
nikoniko warau smile, beam
nyanya warau smirk, look pleased
nitanita warau grin
ninmari warau grin from ear to ear, look satisfied
pokanto shita blank-looking, vacant-looking
poutto shita depressed, disappointed, sad-looking
Emotional States or Feelings
Japanese Japanese English
Psychomime Verb Expression
akkerakanto suru be vacant, distracted
dokidoki suru be anxious
gakkari suru feel downcast, dejected
hiyahiya suru be frightened, scared
hotto suru feel relieved
iraira suru be irritated, aggravated
jirijiri suru be irritated, impatient
mutto suru be annoyed, be angry
ukiuki suru feel elated
uttori suru be fascinated, rapt
wakuwaku suru be excited
Another common usage of the psychomime is to express different types of pain. The verb "itamu" (to be painful) may also be used in place of "suru".
Types of Pain
Japanese Japanese English
Psychomime Verb Expression
chikichiku suru sting, prick
gangan suru pounding, splitting (headache)
hirihiri suru tingle
jiinto suru numbing pain
kirikiri suru stabbing pain
piripiri suru sharp, biting pain
shikushiku suru gripping pain
zukizuki suru throb, smart
Being able to "hear" these inaudible sounds is probably a sign of having mastered the Japanese language.
If nothing else, being able to understand the concept of the Sound of Silence is very zen.
Afterword
I suppose it bears mentioning that the Japanese word for onomatopoeia is
giseigo, based on three characters which mean "imitate", "voice", and "word".
Sources:
Genius Japanese-English Dictionary. Tokyo, Japan. Taishukan.
Kaiser, Stefan. (2001) Japanese Language II. Tokyo, Japan. Council of Local Authorities for International Relations.
Koujien, 5th ed.