Linguistics and Languages

Sound-meaning associations allow listeners to infer the meaning of foreign language words

S. Hayakawa and V. Marian

Discover how foreign words might reveal their meanings through sound! This intriguing research by Sayuri Hayakawa and Viorica Marian uncovers the regular patterns in sound-meaning associations across languages. With surprising results exceeding chance accuracy, this study explores the links between phonology and semantics, opening new avenues in linguistic understanding.

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Playback language: English

Index

Abstract

This study investigates whether the meaning of foreign words can be partially deduced from their phonological form. Monolingual English speakers and native Spanish speakers listened to antonym word pairs in various foreign languages and judged their English equivalents. Results showed accuracy exceeding chance, suggesting a regularity in sound-meaning mappings across languages. This ability correlated with verbal working memory and the consistency of phonological and semantic covariation across languages.

Publisher

Communications Psychology

Published On

Nov 02, 2023

Authors

Sayuri Hayakawa, Viorica Marian

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