Ongisetsu - Ongisetsu

Japanese: 音義説 - おんぎせつ

The idea that each sound or each line of the Japanese syllabary has its own unique meaning, and that from that perspective, the meaning and etymology of words are explained. They can be roughly categorized into two types: the one-line-one-meaning theory, which holds that each line has a meaning, as taught by Hirata Atsutane and Suzuki Shigetane, and the one-sound-one-meaning theory, which holds that each sound has a meaning, as taught by Tachibana Moribe and Hori Hidenari. These ideas are related to the idea of Kotodama (spirit of words). There are certainly phenomena such as onomatopoeia and sound symbolism, which have a certain degree of inevitability between sound and meaning, and the impression that "a" is bright and large, and "i" is sharp and pointed, can influence the naming of new products and the word choices of poets. However, it is clearly a mistake to exaggerate this and apply it to all words, as the relationship between sound and meaning is essentially non-inevitable. There are similar ideas outside of Japan as well.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

五十音図の各音，もしくは各行の音にはそれぞれ固有の意義があるとみて，その観点から単語の意味や語源の説明をしようとする考え。各行に意義ありとする一行一義説は平田篤胤，鈴木重胤など，各音に意義ありとする一音一義説は橘守部，堀秀成などと，おおまかに分類することができる。これらの考えは言霊 (ことだま) 思想に通じるものである。擬声語や音象徴という，音と意味との間にある程度の必然性のある現象が確かに存在し，アは明るく大きなもの，イは鋭くとがったものなどという印象が，新商品の命名や詩人の言葉選びに影響を与えたりすることがある。しかし，それを過大視してすべての単語に及ぼすのは，明らかにまちがいで，音と意味との関係は，本質的に非必然的なものである。日本以外にも類似の考え方がある。

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