Web Activity 5.2 Using cues from form-meaning correspondences

A number of studies have found that children and adults have certain biases about the match between meanings and sounds. Below are some example stimuli from a few of these studies. See if you share the biases that the researchers observed within their study populations. Are the responses of your class overall more accurate than you’d expect by chance? (In the following exercise, you should be able to match forms to meanings one-sixth of the time by chance alone.)

A. Verbs describing motion.

The following stimuli were devised for a study by Mutsumi Imai and colleagues. Match the forms in the left column with their most likely meanings in the right column:

a. batobato                                1. somewhat swift, light walking with playful steps

b. chokachoka                            2. casual walking at normal speed, with small steps

c. hyaihyai                                 3. running with heavy steps

d. tokutoku                               4. slow walking with very heavy steps   

e. yotoyoto                                5. fast walking with small steps

f. nosunosu                               6. staggering, as if very tired

Click to reveal a discussion of the study results.

Source:

Imai, M., Kita, S., Nagumo, M., & Okada, H. (2008). Sound symbolism facilitates early verb learning. Cognition, 109(1), 54-65.

 

B. Names and personality traits

These stimuli come from a 2015 study by David Sidhu and Penny Pexman. Consider the names in column A. For each name, identify the traits from columns b. and c. that you associate with each name. Choose as many or as few traits from each column that seem to apply.

A.                                   B.                                   C.

Leo                                 adaptable                         aggressive

Kai                                  easygoing                        angry

Etta                                 funny                              determined

Manolo                            open                               harsh

Molly                               friendly                            irritable

Tia                                  nice                                 jumpy

Noelle                              sensitive                          rigid

Kate                                versatile                           sarcastic

Click here to reveal discussion of study results.

Source:

Sidhu, D. M., & Pexman, P. M. (2015). What’s in a name? Sound symbolism and gender in first names. PloS one, 10(5), e0126809.

 

C. Sound symbolism and brand names

Brand names are often made up and don’t correspond to existing words of any language—consider, for example, brand names like Xerox, Kodak, Aspirin, Lego, Google. But not all possible sound combinations seem equally appropriate for a product. Researchers have been interested in the sound-based inferences that consumers might make based on a brand name’s sounds. The following stimuli are based on studies of fictional brand names.

Answer each of the questions below:

1. Which laptop computer seems smaller?

          a. Detab       b. Dutab

2. Which car seems faster?

          a. Kazz                   b. Fazz

3. Which vacuum cleaner seems heavier?

          a. Keffi                   b. Kuffi

4. Which cologne seems more masculine?

          a. Fobal                  b. Kobal

5. Which ketchup seems thicker?

          a. Nodax       b. Nidax

6. Which knife seems sharper?

          a. Kolb                   b. Folb

7. Which beer seems darker?

          a. Godan      b. Gidan

8. Which toilet paper seems softer?

          a. Filire                  b. Kilire

9. Which athletic shoes seem lighter?

          a. Zulay                 b. Fulay

10. Which dress seems prettier?

          a. Rupa                  b. Repa

Click here to reveal study results.

Source:

Klink, R. R. (2000). Creating brand names with meaning: The use of sound symbolism. Marketing Letters, 11(1), 5-20.