Shinohara Kazuko, Yamauchi Naoto, Kawahara Shigeto, Tanaka Hideyuki
Division of Language and Culture Studies/Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
Cooperative Major in Advanced Health Science/Graduate School of Bio-Applications and Systems Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
PLoS One. 2016 Sep 28;11(9):e0163525. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0163525. eCollection 2016.
Despite Saussure's famous observation that sound-meaning relationships are in principle arbitrary, we now have a substantial body of evidence that sounds themselves can have meanings, patterns often referred to as "sound symbolism". Previous studies have found that particular sounds can be associated with particular meanings, and also with particular static visual shapes. Less well studied is the association between sounds and dynamic movements. Using a free elicitation method, the current experiment shows that several sound symbolic associations between sounds and dynamic movements exist: (1) front vowels are more likely to be associated with small movements than with large movements; (2) front vowels are more likely to be associated with angular movements than with round movements; (3) obstruents are more likely to be associated with angular movements than with round movements; (4) voiced obstruents are more likely to be associated with large movements than with small movements. All of these results are compatible with the results of the previous studies of sound symbolism using static images or meanings. Overall, the current study supports the hypothesis that particular dynamic motions can be associated with particular sounds. Building on the current results, we discuss a possible practical application of these sound symbolic associations in sports instructions.
尽管索绪尔有一个著名的观点，即声音与意义的关系原则上是任意的，但我们现在有大量证据表明声音本身可以具有意义，这些模式通常被称为“语音象征”。先前的研究发现，特定的声音可以与特定的意义相关联，也可以与特定的静态视觉形状相关联。声音与动态运动之间的关联研究较少。本实验采用自由诱发法，结果表明声音与动态运动之间存在多种语音象征关联：（1）前元音与小运动相关联的可能性大于与大运动相关联的可能性；（2）前元音与角向运动相关联的可能性大于与圆向运动相关联的可能性；（3）塞音与角向运动相关联的可能性大于与圆向运动相关联的可能性；（4）浊塞音与大运动相关联的可能性大于与小运动相关联的可能性。所有这些结果都与先前使用静态图像或意义进行的语音象征研究结果一致。总体而言，本研究支持这样一种假设，即特定的动态运动可以与特定的声音相关联。基于当前的研究结果，我们讨论了这些语音象征关联在体育教学中的一种可能的实际应用。
