The Specificity of Sound Symbolic Correspondences in Spoken Language Open Access
Tzeng, Christina Y. (2011)
Abstract
Abstract
The Specificity of Sound Symbolic Correspondences in Spoken
Language
By Christina Y. Tzeng
Sound symbolism, or non-arbitrary correspondences between the sound
of a word
and its meaning, appears to be an inherent property of natural
language. Although
previous research suggests that listeners are sensitive to
sound-to-meaning
correspondences, little is known about the specificity of these
mappings. The present
study investigated whether sound symbolic properties correspond to
specific meanings,
or whether these properties extend to other semantic dimensions as
well. Native English-
speaking adults heard sound symbolic foreign words for four
dimensional adjective pairs
( big/small, round/pointy, fast/slow, moving/still), and for
each foreign word, chose which
of two English antonyms was its correct translation. Choice
dimension either matched or
mismatched the meaning dimension from which the word was drawn.
Participants
reliably matched foreign words to their correct meanings,
replicating the finding that
listeners utilize sound-to-meaning correspondences to infer the
meanings of unfamiliar
words across unrelated languages. Foreign words were also mapped to
related semantic
dimensions, suggesting that sound symbolic properties also
facilitate word-to-meaning
mappings across a range of associated and co-varying dimensions.
However, mappings to
correct meanings were more consistent than for mismatched
dimensions, suggesting
overall specificity in sound-to-meaning mappings. That sound
symbolic properties elicit
agreement regarding meaning within mismatched dimensions may be a
product of
overlapping semantic features across these dimensions.
The Specificity of Sound Symbolic Correspondences in Spoken
Language
By
Christina Y. Tzeng
B.A., Columbia University, 2009
Advisor: Lynne C. Nygaard, Ph.D.
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the
James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies of Emory University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
in Psychology
2011
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Sound symbolism and word learning 5
Specificity of sound symbolic correspondences 6
Experiment 1 8
Methods 9
Participants 9
Stimuli 9
Design and Procedure 11
Results and Discussion 11
Experiment 2 13
Methods 14
Participants 14
Stimuli 14
Design 14
Procedure 15
Results and Discussion 16
Specificity 18
Valence 19
General Discussion 21
Sound symbolism and organization of semantic space 22
Mechanisms underlying sensitivity to sound symbolism 26
References 30
Tables 38
Figure Captions 40
Figures 41
Appendix 48
About this Master's Thesis
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