摘要：Background in ethnomusicology and linguistics. Church bells have played and still play an
important role in Eastern European communities (cf. Sachs, 1930, p. 54; Vilys, 2000;
Agapkina, 1999). In Lithuania, sets of three to five bells are used; the techniques of ringing and
the sizes of the bells are different for different announcements. These formulaic techniques are
reflected in the vocal imitations of bells (a layer of folklore). So far these imitations of bells
have not been studied at all. From the point of view of quantitative linguistics, these imitations
could be analyzed in terms of frequencies of certain sounds and their combinations. Quite a few
studies have dealt with the frequencies in standard Lithuanian (see below).
Background in acoustics. The basics of bell acoustics are well known (cf. Fletcher & Rossing,
1998, p. 675-707). For the present study, knowledge of the dominant bands in the bell spectrum
and the decay times for different partials (long for low partials and short for high partials; cf.
Perrin et al. 1983) seem to be the most applicable. Relevant features of voice acoustics are also
well studied; namely, the dependence of vowel phonetics on two first formants as well as the
features of nasals and plosives (cf. Kent & Read, 2002). Phonetic analogies of instrumental
timbres have been discussed (e.g., for guitar timbre: Traube & Depalle, 2004).
Aims. We aim to reveal the regularities in phonetics of bell imitations (Lithuanian traditional
bell imitations and nonsense syllables) and their origins in bell acoustics.
Main contribution. Frequencies of occurrences of certain speech sounds and their combinations
in standard Lithuanian, traditional Lithuanian vocal imitations of bells, and in the nonsense
syllables evoked by bell strokes (imitation experiment) were analyzed. The statistical analysis of
bell imitations reveals some correspondence between bell size and the phonetic quality of
vowels. The largest bell frequently evokes a perception of back vowels, while the smallest one
results predominantly in front vowels. Some syllables are especially frequent in the imitations
(based on different vowel diphthongs or starting from voiced plosives and ending with nasals,
such as [din], [dan]). On the other hand, the acoustical analysis of the bell spectra also reveals
similar correspondences between bell size and the acoustic-phonetic quality of vowels (in terms
of formants). The perception of consonants (first of all, the initial [d] and the final nasals), can
be attributed to the overall dynamics and the dynamic changes in the spectra (prominence of low
partials at the end of sound due to their slow decay, etc.). Generally, the traditional imitations
and the statistics of their phonetics present an intermediate case between standard Lithuanian
and the imitations of bells using nonsense syllables.
Implications. Phonetics of vocal imitations of bells can be explained by features of bell
acoustics collated to acoustical phonetics. The present study could be further extended to other
cases of onomatopoeia, also to a cross-cultural domain. It provides new data for research
regarding analogies between instrumental timbres and phonetics.
A comprehensive account of the phenomena of folk onomatopoeia requires expertise in both
the humanities (ethnomusicology, music analysis, etc.) and the sciences (acoustics, statistics
关键词：bells, onomatopoeia, acoustical phonetics, Lithuanian traditional culture
