Abstract
Data from 48 four-year-old nursery school pupils supported the hypothesis that subjects could discriminate between categorical word dimensions in different languages. The subjects were presented with words in four word dimensions (loud, soft, large, small) in Hawaiian, French, Spanish, and English. Response choices of (1) small-black, (2) large-black, (3) small-white, and (4) large-white tokens indicated cultural and/or genetic sex differences. Males preferred black in association with soft and large word category dimensions and vice versa for females. Although white tokens were associated with small and soft words, results were reversed for Hawaiian. It was suggested that the Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian) language family origin of Hawaiian, as compared to the Indo-European origin of English, French, and Spanish, could account for this difference in phonological symbolism.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
