leaf
↔
ear
6 realizations
Related shifts
| ID | Meaning 1 | Direction | Meaning 2 | |
| 9119 | ear | → | branch, twig | Open |
| ACCEPTED Realization 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| type | Polysemy | |
| language | Bench | |
| lexeme | háy | |
| meaning 1 | leaf | |
| direction | ← | |
| meaning 2 | ear | |
| reference | Rapold 2006: 609 GLD | |
| comment | also attested as i̋nč háy, literally 'tree-ear' |
|
| ACCEPTED Realization 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| type | Polysemy | |
| language | Dorze | |
| lexeme | way-e | |
| meaning 1 | leaf | |
| direction | — | |
| meaning 2 | ear | |
| reference | Alemayeh 2002: 8 GLD | |
| comment | ||
| ACCEPTED Realization 3 | ||
|---|---|---|
| type | Polysemy | |
| language | Fula | |
| lexeme | kaakol | |
| meaning 1 | plant leaf | |
| direction | → | |
| meaning 2 | auricle | |
| reference | Zubko 1980: 286 | |
| comment | ||
| ACCEPTED Realization 4 | ||
|---|---|---|
| type | Polysemy | |
| language | Khoekhoe | |
| lexeme | ǂgae | |
| meaning 1 | leaf | |
| direction | ← | |
| meaning 2 | ear | |
| reference | Haacke Khoekhoe 2002: 385 | |
| comment | Meanings in details: 1 - (elongated/larger) leaf (of a plant) 2 - external ear (elongated) |
|
| ACCEPTED Realization 5 | ||
|---|---|---|
| type | Polysemy | |
| language | Kora | |
| lexeme | ǁnãub | |
| meaning 1 | ear | |
| direction | → | |
| meaning 2 | leaf | |
| reference | Du Plessis 2018 on Kora language: 317 | |
| comment | ||
| ACCEPTED Realization 6 | ||
|---|---|---|
| type | Polysemy | |
| language | Sheko | |
| lexeme | hàːy | |
| meaning 1 | leaf | |
| direction | — | |
| meaning 2 | ear | |
| reference | Hellenthal 2010: 493 GLD | |
| comment | ||
The shift is bidirectional, based mainly on the cognitive mechanism of "establishing similarity", but for different reasons. There are cases where the direction is leaf → ear, they are made using the similarity principle "an ear is similar in its shape to a leaf", as in Fula. There are cases where the direction is opposite: ear → leaf and the similarity is established according to the principle "a leaf is similar to the hanging ear of an animal", as in Khoekhoe, or according to the principle "leaves are ears of a tree", as supposedly in Bench. For the Kora language, this shift is the continuation of the shift: to hear → ear.
The illustration shows the relict plant Velvichia (Welwitschia mirabilis), endemic to the Namib Desert (Namibia). In the Khoekhoe texts that I analysed with a native speaker (Anna S.), there is the same word ǂgae, which means "Welwitschia leaf" and "human ear".
Velvichia (Welwitschia mirabilis)