A phono-pragmatic analysis of Taylor's "twinkle twinkle little star"

Abstract

The poem, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" by Jane Taylor is an old nursery rhyme which can be analysed from a phono-pragmatic stance. The essence is to show how a phonological reading of any piece can contribute to meaning making of such a piece. To do this, the
distinctive feature theory in phonology is adopted to explain how the end-line rhyme has been used to cause differences in word meanings. The major finding is that although the poem has been intended to provide a lullaby for babies in need of some soothing, the poet's use of distinctive feature device has taken it beyond a mere song to a more meaningful communicative enterprise. Creative artists are enjoined to explore distinctive features of sounds in order to achieve meaning-making in both oral and written communications.