In the broadest sense of the word, a vocable (from Latin: vocabulum) is any meaningful, identifiable utterance or writing, such as a word or term, that is fixed by their language and culture.[1][2] The use of the term for words in the broad sense is archaic and the term is instead used for utterances which are not considered words, such as the English vocables of assent and denial, uh-huh/əˈhʌ/ and uh-uh/ˈʌʔə/, or the vocable of error, uh-oh/ˈʌʔoʊ/.[3]
Such non-lexical vocables are often used in music, for example la la la or dum dee dum, or in magical incantations, such as abra-cadabra. Many Native American songs consist entirely of vocables; this may be due to both phonetic substitution to increase the resonance of the song, and to the trade of songs between nations speaking different languages.[4] Jewish Nigunim also feature wordless melodies composed entirely of vocables such as Yai nai nai or Yai dai dai.[5]
Vocables are common as pause fillers, such as um and er in English, where they have little formal meaning and are rarely purposeful.
Pseudowords that mimic the structure of real words are used in experiments in psycholinguistics and cognitive psychology, for example the nonsense syllables introduced by Hermann Ebbinghaus.
The proto-words of infants, which are meaningful but do not correspond to words of adult speech, are also sometimes called vocables.[6]
^"vocable". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
^The Cambridge Companion to Saussure
^Danesi (2004) A Basic Course in Anthropological Linguistics
^Golla (2011) California Indian Languages, §4.12.4
^Matansky, Eugene. "Nigun Shamil: The Soul Endlessly Yearning for What It Has Always Never Been". Herzog Academic College. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
^Crystal (2008) A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics
In the broadest sense of the word, a vocable (from Latin: vocabulum) is any meaningful, identifiable utterance or writing, such as a word or term, that...
vocal jazz, scat singing or scatting is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer...
international audiences in 2010, when a 1976 clip of him singing a non-lexical vocable version of the song "I Am Very Glad, As I Am Finally Returning Back Home"...
nevertheless conform to the language's phonotactic rules. It is thus a kind of vocable: utterable but meaningless. Such words lacking a meaning in a certain language...
speech dysfluency, is any of various breaks, irregularities, or non-lexical vocables which occur within the flow of otherwise fluent speech. These include "false...
vocalisation may refer to: Speech, communication using the human voice Vocable, an utterance that is not considered a word Speech production, the processes...
National Center for Voice and Speech Phonation Sweet Adelines International Vocable Vocal registration Vocaloid Titze, I. R. (2008). The human instrument....
(Subscription or participating institution membership required.) Portuguese Vocables in Asiatic Languages: From the Portuguese Original of M S R Dalgado. New...
Glossolalia Home sign, a similar phenomenon among sign languages Non-lexical vocables in music Private language argument Moisse, Katie (March 30, 2011). "Babies...
ISBN 9780262511230. Sebastião Rodolfo Dalgado; Anthony X. Soares (1988). Portuguese Vocables in Asiatic Languages: From the Portuguese Original of Monsignor Sebastiao...
hook/refrain from the chorus, with little additional content, often using vocables like "ah" or "oh". Examples include: "Umbrella" (Rihanna, 2007): the chorus...
several times, at the discretion of the lead singer. Many songs use only vocables, syllabic utterances with no lexical meaning. Sometimes, only the second...
distinction avec le gouvernement en tant qu'institution; d'autre part, sous un vocable peu usité et donc peu connoté, promouvoir un nouveau mode de gestion des...
997 D. Sivan, Grammatical Analysis and Glossary of the Northwest Semitic Vocables in Akkadian Texts of the 15th–13th C., BC from Canaan and Syria, 1984,...
wordiness and repetitiveness Scat singing – Vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all Colman, Andrew M., ed. (2009)...
could be as old as humanity itself. Research suggests that singing and vocables may have been what early humans used to communicate before the invention...
Options for Contemporary Art. Harrison speaks and sings in a language of vocables, "Animal Tongues," which she performs with her visual art. She has received...
and while they are no doubt important, most lyrics of most songs employ vocables, syllable sounds such as "ya", "hey", and "loi" (p. 86). This is particularly...
however, especially the lack of harmony and polyphony, and the use of vocables and descending melodic figures. Traditional instrumentations use the flute...
have as much importance as the melody. Sean-nós can include non-lexical vocables, called lilting, also referred to by the sounds, such as "diddly die-dely"...
Roux, 2002. French text : "C'est par simplification que l'on utilise ce vocable, car en aucun cas l'auvergnat ne peut être considéré comme une entité linguistique...
lalalala, Armaans word "La la la", a non-lexical vocable in music La La La (Luis Alberto Spinetta and Fito Páez album), 1986 La La La (Maki Ohguro album)...
written by Rajendra Krishan. The song "Mujhe Maar Daalo" with non-lexical vocable of this film was used in the song "People" which features in American rapper...