Abstract
AbstractThe current study experimentally examined whether labial consonants were sound-symbolically associated with the images of softness and cuteness in Japanese and English. The results showed that all the bilabial consonants [p, b, m, ɸ, w] used in Japanese convey such images. In English, the consonants evoking the image of softness were bilabials but not labiodentals, and those linked to the image of cuteness were unaspirated, low-frequency bilabials. These results demonstrated the pluripotentiality of sound symbolism, meaning that a certain set of linguistic sounds evokes different meanings and images both within a single language and across languages (e.g. Winter et al. 2019; Kawahara and Kumagai to appear). Moreover, under the backcloth that the description of the glide /w/ concerning the place of articulation in Japanese and English is not uncontroversial, the current paper indicates – based on the current sound-symbolic experimental results – that the glide /w/ is phonologically labial in each language.
Highlights
Introduction1.1 Sound symbolism of bilabial consonantsIn linguistics, it is assumed that an arbitrary relationship exists between sounds and meanings (de Saussure 1916)
1.1 Sound symbolism of bilabial consonantsIn linguistics, it is assumed that an arbitrary relationship exists between sounds and meanings
The experiments in this study showed that Japanese speakers associate all the bilabial consonants [p, b, m, ɸ, w] with the images of softness and cuteness
Summary
1.1 Sound symbolism of bilabial consonantsIn linguistics, it is assumed that an arbitrary relationship exists between sounds and meanings (de Saussure 1916). Sound symbolism has become one of the featured research themes in linguistics, psychology, and cognitive science (for overview papers, see, e.g. Hinton et al 1994/2006; Nuckolls 1999; Akita 2015; Lockwood and Dingemanse 2015; Sidhu and Pexman 2018; Kawahara 2020) These overview articles and edited books on sound symbolism show that a variety of research topics have been explored – such as basic vocabulary and interjections (e.g. Wichmann et al 2010; Urban 2011; Blasi et al 2016; Winter et al 2019), human names
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