Zaum

This article is about the Russian Futurist concept. For the American band, see Zaum (band).
Not to be confused with ZA/UM.
Khlebnikov's book Zangezi (1922)

Zaum (Russian: за́умь, lit. 'transrational') are the linguistic experiments in sound symbolism and language creation of Russian Cubo-Futurist poets such as Velimir Khlebnikov and Aleksei Kruchenykh. Zaum is a non-referential phonetic entity with its own ontology. The language consists of neologisms that mean nothing. Zaum is a language organized through phonetic analogy and rhythm.[1] Zaum literature cannot contain any onomatopoeia or psychopathological states.[2]

  1. ^ Terras, Victor (1985). Handbook of Russian Literature. London: Yale University Press. p. 530. ISBN 978-030-004-868-1.
  2. ^ Kostelanetz, Richard (2013). A Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes. New York: Taylor&Francis. ISBN 978-113-680-619-3.