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The source and magnitude of sound-symbolic biases in processing artificial word material and their implications for language learning and transmission

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2014

Alan Nielsen  and
Drew Rendall
Alan Nielsen
Affiliation:
University of Lethbridge
Drew Rendall*
Affiliation:
University of Lethbridge
*
Correspondence addresses: Drew Rendall, Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, T1K 3M4, Canada. Email: d.rendall@uleth.ca.
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Abstract

There exists a fundamental paradox in linguistic cognition. Experiments show consistent sound-symbolic biases in people's processing of artificial words, yet the biases are not manifest in the structure of real words. To address this paradox, we designed an experiment to test the magnitude and source of these biases. Participants were tasked with matching nonsense words to novel object forms. One group was implicitly taught a matching rule congruent with biases reported previously, while a second group was taught a rule incongruent with this bias. In test trials, participants in the congruent condition performed only modestly but significantly better than chance and better than participants in the incongruent condition who performed at chance. These outcomes indicate the processing bias is real but weak and reflects an inherent learning bias. We discuss implications for language learning and transmission, considering the functional value of non-arbitrariness in language structure and underlying neurocognitive mechanisms.

Keywords

symbol groundingsound symbolismartificial language learningBouba-Kikilanguage acquisition
Type
Research Article
Information
Language and Cognition , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , June 2012 , pp. 115 - 125
Copyright
Copyright © UK Cognitive Linguistics Association 2012

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