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English onomatopoeia involves reduplicated words for periodic sounds which go from high to low amplitude harmonically, or which are steadily repeated. These are words like chit(ter)-chat(ter), pitter-patter, jingle-jangle, tick-tock, ding-dong, click-clack, plinky-plonky. It is apparent that English uses a vowel ablaut to indicate periodicity: The high front vowel /i/ seems to indicate high frequency or low amplitude; the back (low) vowel /o/ (/a/) low frequency or high amplitude (this is my interpretation anyway). The consonants encode the nature of the sound. In particular, stops like /k/ and /t/ stand for instantenious bursts which pop up and decay suddenly; while continuants like /l/ and /ŋ/ stand for resonating sounds which decay slowly.
Talmit does things in a similar fashion. The periodicity of a sound is encoded by an alternation of front /i/ and back /u/ in the diphthongs ui [ui̯] and its reverse ɩu [ɨu̯] (the latter replaced by ɩi [ɨi̯] by some speakers). The nature of the sound is encoded by two consonant clusters (which can be identical and/or single consonants). The adverbial suffix -ru is added twice.
However, some of these words may acquire an additional, abstract meaning by metaphorical extension (often a source of innuendo).
| root | full adverb | literal meaning | figurative meaning |
√d-nd |
dúiru-ndίuru | sound of a hammer forging iron | doing something with force and determination |
√ϕ-sϕ |
ϕúiru-sϕίuru | sound of wind or heavy breathing | being tired doing something |
√gr-gn |
grúiru-gnίuru | gnarling, sound of an empty stomach | doing something with envy or a hidden grudge |
√k-sk |
kúiru-skίuru | gentle cracking sound of burning wood | |
√kn-kn |
knúiru-knίuru | sound of squeaking wood (floorboards, ships, ...) | doing something halfheartedly or despite reservations |
√mn-mn |
mnúiru-mnίuru | sound of bells, jingling of metal | doing (achieving) something with lots of fame and glory |
√p-p |
púiru-pίuru | sound of steam coming from a cooking pot, or of steady breathing | doing something in high spirits |
√ps-pt |
psúiru-ptίuru | the sound of a soft pulp (clay, dough) hitting a flat surface | doing something badly, in a slapdash way |
√s-h |
súiru-hίuru | sound of a plane polishing wood | doing something diligently and efficiently |
√t-t |
túiru-tίuru | sound of tapping or knocking | |
√θl-θw |
θlúiru-θwίuru | sound of champing | doing something with great obvious pleasure |
√z-zn |
zúiru-znίuru | humming, sound of a bee |