Implications for phonetic symbolism: The relationship between pure tones and geometric figures

O’Boyle, Michael W.; Tarte, Robert D.

doi:10.1007/bf01068115

Cited by 44 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…One such non-speech experiment on sound symbolism was conducted by O'Boyle and Tarte (1980), who did not find a significant correlation between frequencies of pure tones and the figures that they represent. They moreover cite (apparently unpublished) results (Tarte 1976) which found that speakers associated low tones with small figures significantly more often than with large objects-a correlation opposite of the one that the frequency code hypothesis predicts.…”

Section: Summary: Articulatory or Acoustic?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…tions based on the frequency code hypothesis (Ohala 1983b(Ohala , 1994see also Newman 1933;O'Boyle and Tarte 1980). This hypothesis builds on the correlation between the size of a resonator (or a resonating cavity) and its resulting frequency: lower frequencies imply large resonance cavities or resonators because the resonance frequency inversely correlates with its size.…”

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confidence: 99%

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A Cross-linguistic Study of Sound Symbolism: The Images of Size

Shinohara¹,

Kawahara²

2010

BLS

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In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt:Although the sound-meaning relationship is often arbitrary (Saussure 1916), cases exist in which some sounds correspond to certain meanings. Such association between sounds and meanings is known as sound symbolism, and there has been a longstanding interest in the existence and the nature of sound symbolism. This paper reports an experiment on size-related sound symbolism, which shows that certain sound symbolisms hold robustly across languages. In particular, we investigate how the images of size (small or large) are affected by three phonetic factors: the height of vowels, the backness of vowels, and voicing in obstruents. Our rating experiment of four languages—Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean—shows that these three factors contribute to the images of size, with only a few exceptions. To explain the results, we offer phonetic grounding of these size-related sound symbolic patterns. We further raise the possibility that these phonetically grounded sound symbolic patterns are ‘embodied’ in the sense of Johnson (1987) and Lakoff and Johnson (1980, 1999).

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Section: Summary: Articulatory or Acoustic?mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Cross-linguistic Study of Sound Symbolism: The Images of Size

Shinohara¹,

Kawahara²

2010

BLS

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“…The majority of studies in the area of sound symbolism have tended to restrict themselves to detailing the existence of particular crossmodal associations (e.g., Boyle & Tarte, 1980;Holland & Wertheimer, 1964;Lindauer, 1990;Taylor, 1963), checking for the universality of such associations across cultures/languages (e.g., Davis, 1961;Gebels, 1969;Osgood, 1960;Rogers & Ross, 1975;Taylor & Taylor, 1962;see Hinton et al, 1994, for a review), and/or charting their emergence over the course of human development (e.g., Irwin & Newland, 1940;Maurer, Pathman, & Mondloch, 2006). Interestingly, the latest research suggests that neuropsychological factors may also impact on the expression of crossmodal correspondences: It has, for instance, been reported that children with autism spectrum disorder do not show the bouba/kiki effect (Oberman & Ramachandran, 2008;Ramachandran & Oberman, 2006).…”

Section: Crossmodal Correspondences: Early Research On Crossmodal Matmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crossmodal correspondences: A tutorial review

Spence

2011

Atten Percept Psychophys

1,210

1,263

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In many everyday situations, our senses are bombarded by many different unisensory signals at any given time. To gain the most veridical, and least variable, estimate of environmental stimuli/properties, we need to combine the individual noisy unisensory perceptual estimates that refer to the same object, while keeping those estimates belonging to different objects or events separate. How, though, does the brain "know" which stimuli to combine? Traditionally, researchers interested in the crossmodal binding problem have focused on the roles that spatial and temporal factors play in modulating multisensory integration. However, crossmodal correspondences between various unisensory features (such as between auditory pitch and visual size) may provide yet another important means of constraining the crossmodal binding problem. A large body of research now shows that people exhibit consistent crossmodal correspondences between many stimulus features in different sensory modalities. For example, people consistently match high-pitched sounds with small, bright objects that are located high up in space. The literature reviewed here supports the view that crossmodal correspondences need to be considered alongside semantic and spatiotemporal congruency, among the key constraints that help our brains solve the crossmodal binding problem.

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“…Note that angularity, bitterness, and carbonation are all initially disliked as stimuli [55,56]. The common meanings associated with different kinds of sensory stimuli [57][58][59][60] may therefore provide a possible explanation for at least certain of the shape symbolism effects that have been documented in the food and beverage sector to date. The affective value, or pleasantness, of sensory stimuli therefore provides one way in which the 'meaning' of very different types of sensory stimuli could be matched.…”

Section: Using Shape Symbolism To Set Consumer Expectations In the Fomentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the shape symbolism of the taste, flavour, and texture of foods and beverages

Spence

Ngo

2012

Flavour

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Consumers reliably match a variety of tastes (bitterness, sweetness, and sourness), oral-somatosensory attributes (carbonation, oral texture, and mouth-feel), and flavours to abstract shapes varying in their angularity. For example, they typically match more rounded forms such as circles with sweet tastes and more angular shapes such as triangles and stars with bitter and/or carbonated foods and beverages. Here, we suggest that such shape symbolic associations could be, and in some cases already are being, incorporated into the labelling and/or packaging of food and beverage products in order to subconsciously set up specific sensory expectations in the minds of consumers. Given that consumers normally prefer those food and beverage products that meet their sensory expectations, as compared to those that give rise to a 'disconfirmation of expectation', we believe that the targeted use of such shape symbolism may provide a means for companies to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Here, we review the latest research documenting a variety of examples of shape symbolism in the food and beverage sector. We also highlight a number of the explanations for such effects that have been put forward over the years. Finally, we summarise the latest evidence demonstrating that the shapes a consumer sees on the label and even the shape of the packaging in which the product is served can all impact on a consumer's sensory-discriminative and hedonic responses to food and beverage products.

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Implications for phonetic symbolism: The relationship between pure tones and geometric figures

Cited by 44 publications

References 9 publications

A Cross-linguistic Study of Sound Symbolism: The Images of Size

A Cross-linguistic Study of Sound Symbolism: The Images of Size

Crossmodal correspondences: A tutorial review

Assessing the shape symbolism of the taste, flavour, and texture of foods and beverages

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