vocable

Examples

• All

• Many contemporary powwow songs are made up of a combination of translatable text and vocables, which can be defined as syllables without dictionary definitions.

  Academic text (2003)

• An example of a series of vocables used in powwow songs is "he ya, he ya, he ya."

  Academic text (2003)

• The meaning is mostly in the precise vocables.

  Fiction book (1999)

• The most authentic performance of traditional music is singing in the original Native American language or vocables.

  Academic text (2006)

• After sundown, there is less reserve about singing with the mouth wide open, and fewer vocables are used.

  Academic text (2000)

• "One-Eyed Ford" is an example of a powwow song that contains vocables.

  Academic text (2003)

• Vocables should not be referred to as nonsense syllables or as arbitrary, improvisational sounds.

  Academic text (2003)

• Vocables (e.g., "hey ya hi yo") are syllables that match the characteristic sounds of a tribal language but do not have a direct translation.

  Academic text (2006)

• In many Native American songs, the performers use vocables to express emotion without specific words.

• The singer combined meaningful lyrics with vocables that added a unique rhythm to the song.

Synonyms

S

spoken word

vsvocable

2 2.6

Something you say aloud rather than write or think

emphasizes a sequence of sounds regarded as a distinct linguistic unit

Surface Forms

Etymology