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    Rights statement: This article may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record. © 2016 American Psychological Association

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Cross-sensory correspondences and symbolism in spoken and written language

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Cross-sensory correspondences and symbolism in spoken and written language. / Walker, Peter.
In: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, Vol. 42, No. 9, 09.2016, p. 1339-1361.

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Harvard

Walker, P 2016, 'Cross-sensory correspondences and symbolism in spoken and written language', Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, vol. 42, no. 9, pp. 1339-1361. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000253

APA

Walker, P. (2016). Cross-sensory correspondences and symbolism in spoken and written language. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 42(9), 1339-1361. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000253

Vancouver

Walker P. Cross-sensory correspondences and symbolism in spoken and written language. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 2016 Sept;42(9):1339-1361. Epub 2016 Feb 25. doi: 10.1037/xlm0000253

Author

Walker, Peter. / Cross-sensory correspondences and symbolism in spoken and written language. In: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 2016 ; Vol. 42, No. 9. pp. 1339-1361.

Bibtex

@article{8ab4ab18f2df428b8bf71d4ffab483f5,
title = "Cross-sensory correspondences and symbolism in spoken and written language",
abstract = "Lexical sound symbolism in language appears to exploit the feature associations embedded in cross-sensory correspondences. For example, words incorporating relatively high acoustic frequencies (i.e., front/close rather than back/open vowels) are deemed more appropriate as names for concepts associated with brightness, lightness in weight, sharpness, smallness, speed and thinness, because higher pitched sounds appear to have these cross-sensory features. Correspondences also support prosodic sound symbolism. For example, speakers might raise the fundamental frequency of their voice to emphasise the smallness of the concept they are naming. The conceptual nature of correspondences and their functional bi-directionality indicate they should also support other types of symbolism, including a visual equivalent of prosodic sound symbolism. For example, the correspondence between auditory pitch and visual thinness predicts that a typeface with relatively thin letter strokes will reinforce a word's reference to a relatively high pitch sound (e.g., squeal). An initial rating study confirms that the thinness-thickness of a typeface's letter strokes accesses the same cross-sensory correspondences observed elsewhere. A series of speeded word classification experiments then confirms that the thinness-thickness of letter strokes can facilitate a reader's comprehension of the pitch of a sound named by a word (thinner letter strokes being appropriate for higher pitch sounds), as can the brightness of the text (e.g., white-on-grey text being appropriate for the names of higher pitch sounds). It is proposed that the elementary visual features of text are represented in the same conceptual system as word meaning, allowing cross-sensory correspondences to support visual symbolism in language.",
keywords = "cross-sensory correspondences, symbolism in language, typographic factors in reading, congruity effects, speeded classification",
author = "Peter Walker",
note = "This article may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record. {\textcopyright} 2016 American Psychological Association",
year = "2016",
month = sep,
doi = "10.1037/xlm0000253",
language = "English",
volume = "42",
pages = "1339--1361",
journal = "Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition",
issn = "0278-7393",
publisher = "AMER PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC",
number = "9",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Cross-sensory correspondences and symbolism in spoken and written language

AU - Walker, Peter

N1 - This article may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record. © 2016 American Psychological Association

PY - 2016/9

Y1 - 2016/9

N2 - Lexical sound symbolism in language appears to exploit the feature associations embedded in cross-sensory correspondences. For example, words incorporating relatively high acoustic frequencies (i.e., front/close rather than back/open vowels) are deemed more appropriate as names for concepts associated with brightness, lightness in weight, sharpness, smallness, speed and thinness, because higher pitched sounds appear to have these cross-sensory features. Correspondences also support prosodic sound symbolism. For example, speakers might raise the fundamental frequency of their voice to emphasise the smallness of the concept they are naming. The conceptual nature of correspondences and their functional bi-directionality indicate they should also support other types of symbolism, including a visual equivalent of prosodic sound symbolism. For example, the correspondence between auditory pitch and visual thinness predicts that a typeface with relatively thin letter strokes will reinforce a word's reference to a relatively high pitch sound (e.g., squeal). An initial rating study confirms that the thinness-thickness of a typeface's letter strokes accesses the same cross-sensory correspondences observed elsewhere. A series of speeded word classification experiments then confirms that the thinness-thickness of letter strokes can facilitate a reader's comprehension of the pitch of a sound named by a word (thinner letter strokes being appropriate for higher pitch sounds), as can the brightness of the text (e.g., white-on-grey text being appropriate for the names of higher pitch sounds). It is proposed that the elementary visual features of text are represented in the same conceptual system as word meaning, allowing cross-sensory correspondences to support visual symbolism in language.

AB - Lexical sound symbolism in language appears to exploit the feature associations embedded in cross-sensory correspondences. For example, words incorporating relatively high acoustic frequencies (i.e., front/close rather than back/open vowels) are deemed more appropriate as names for concepts associated with brightness, lightness in weight, sharpness, smallness, speed and thinness, because higher pitched sounds appear to have these cross-sensory features. Correspondences also support prosodic sound symbolism. For example, speakers might raise the fundamental frequency of their voice to emphasise the smallness of the concept they are naming. The conceptual nature of correspondences and their functional bi-directionality indicate they should also support other types of symbolism, including a visual equivalent of prosodic sound symbolism. For example, the correspondence between auditory pitch and visual thinness predicts that a typeface with relatively thin letter strokes will reinforce a word's reference to a relatively high pitch sound (e.g., squeal). An initial rating study confirms that the thinness-thickness of a typeface's letter strokes accesses the same cross-sensory correspondences observed elsewhere. A series of speeded word classification experiments then confirms that the thinness-thickness of letter strokes can facilitate a reader's comprehension of the pitch of a sound named by a word (thinner letter strokes being appropriate for higher pitch sounds), as can the brightness of the text (e.g., white-on-grey text being appropriate for the names of higher pitch sounds). It is proposed that the elementary visual features of text are represented in the same conceptual system as word meaning, allowing cross-sensory correspondences to support visual symbolism in language.

KW - cross-sensory correspondences

KW - symbolism in language

KW - typographic factors in reading

KW - congruity effects

KW - speeded classification

U2 - 10.1037/xlm0000253

DO - 10.1037/xlm0000253

M3 - Journal article

VL - 42

SP - 1339

EP - 1361

JO - Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition

JF - Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition

SN - 0278-7393

IS - 9

ER -