Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Previous laboratory-based studies of sound symbolism tend to use established sound and meaning distinctions and find strong effects in participants forming mappings between them. Yet sound symbolism in natural language is extant, but only a weak effect. Without constraints and cueing to categorical distinctions in meaning, are sound symbolic effects still observable? We asked 40 participants to draw figures in response to 20 novel words presented auditorially varying in consonant and vowel properties. Plosives and front vowels resulted in more angular and straight-lined figures, whereas sonorants and back vowels elicited more rounded and curved shapes. The results are consistent with the classic bouba-kiki (takete-maluma) effect and show that both consonants and vowels can systematically shape sound-meaning mappings in the absence of explicit constraints. While natural language statistics may partly explain these effects, the consistency across phonemes - including those not frequent in English - suggests deeper perceptual or cognitive origins.
Source: Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
Authors: Padraic Monaghan, Simya Aravamuthan
Institution: Lancaster University
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,790
OpenAlex ID: W7129243191