Analysis of Onomatopoeia in Doraemon Volume I By Fujiko F. Fujio

Abstract

Onomatopoeia is one of the distinctive linguistic features of the Japanese language used to imitate sounds and
describe movements, conditions, and emotions. This study aims to describe the forms and meanings of
onomatopoeia found in Doraemon Volume I by Fujiko F. Fujio. This study employed a qualitative descriptive
method. The data consisted of dialogues, narrations, and sound effects containing onomatopoeia in the manga.
Data were collected through observation and note-taking techniques and analyzed through identification,
classification, interpretation, and conclusion drawing. The analysis of onomatopoeic forms was based on
Kindaichi's (1978) theory, while the analysis of meanings followed Akimoto's (2002) classification. The findings
revealed five forms of onomatopoeia, namely giseigo, giongo, gitaigo, giyougo, and gijougo, with giongo being
the most dominant. Five semantic categories were identified: mono ga dasu oto, doubutsu no nakigoe, hito no
hitozawa, hito no ugoki, and hito no yousu/shinjou. These findings indicate that onomatopoeia in Doraemon
Volume I is predominantly used to represent sounds produced by objects and to enhance the expression of
characters' movements, voices, and emotions.
Keywords: onomatopoeia, Doraemon Volume I, Kindaichi, Akimoto, Japanese linguistics.