Dataset Information

How sound symbolism is processed in the brain: a study on Japanese mimetic words.

ABSTRACT: Sound symbolism is the systematic and non-arbitrary link between word and meaning. Although a number of behavioral studies demonstrate that both children and adults are universally sensitive to sound symbolism in mimetic words, the neural mechanisms underlying this phenomenon have not yet been extensively investigated. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how Japanese mimetic words are processed in the brain. In Experiment 1, we compared processing for motion mimetic words with that for non-sound symbolic motion verbs and adverbs. Mimetic words uniquely activated the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS). In Experiment 2, we further examined the generalizability of the findings from Experiment 1 by testing another domain: shape mimetics. Our results show that the right posterior STS was active when subjects processed both motion and shape mimetic words, thus suggesting that this area may be the primary structure for processing sound symbolism. Increased activity in the right posterior STS may also reflect how sound symbolic words function as both linguistic and non-linguistic iconic symbols.

SUBMITTER: Kanero J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4026540 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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How sound symbolism is processed in the brain: a study on Japanese mimetic words.

Kanero Junko J Imai Mutsumi M Okuda Jiro J Okada Hiroyuki H Matsuda Tetsuya T

PloS one 20140519 5

Sound symbolism is the systematic and non-arbitrary link between word and meaning. Although a number of behavioral studies demonstrate that both children and adults are universally sensitive to sound symbolism in mimetic words, the neural mechanisms underlying this phenomenon have not yet been extensively investigated. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how Japanese mimetic words are processed in the brain. In Experiment 1, we compared processing for moti ...[more]

PMID: 24840874

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Project description:Cross-modal interactions between auditory and haptic perception manifest themselves in language, such as sound symbolic words: crunch, splash, and creak. Several studies have shown strong associations between sound symbolic words, shapes (e.g., Bouba/Kiki effect), and materials. Here, we identified these material associations in Turkish sound symbolic words and then tested for their effect on softness perception. First, we used a rating task in a semantic differentiation method to extract the perceived softness dimensions from words and materials. We then tested whether Turkish onomatopoeic words can be used to manipulate the perceived softness of everyday materials such as honey, silk, or sand across different dimensions of softness. In the first preliminary study, we used 40 material videos and 29 adjectives in a rating task with a semantic differentiation method to extract the main softness dimensions. A principal component analysis revealed seven softness components, including Deformability, Viscosity, Surface Softness, and Granularity, in line with the literature. The second preliminary study used 27 onomatopoeic words and 21 adjectives in the same rating task. Again, the findings aligned with the literature, revealing dimensions such as Viscosity, Granularity, and Surface Softness. However, no factors related to Deformability were found due to the absence of sound symbolic words in this category. Next, we paired the onomatopoeic words and material videos based on their associations with each softness dimension. We conducted a new rating task, synchronously presenting material videos and spoken onomatopoeic words. We hypothesized that congruent word-video pairs would produce significantly higher ratings for dimension-related adjectives, while incongruent word-video pairs would decrease these ratings, and the ratings of unrelated adjectives would remain the same. Our results revealed that onomatopoeic words selectively alter the perceived material qualities, providing evidence and insight into the cross-modality of perceived softness.

Dataset Information

How sound symbolism is processed in the brain: a study on Japanese mimetic words.

Publications

How sound symbolism is processed in the brain: a study on Japanese mimetic words.

Similar Datasets

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