ABSTRACT
This experimental study investigated whether infants use iconicity in speech and gesture cues to interpret word meanings. Specifically, we tested infants' sensitivity to size sound symbolism and iconic gesture cues and asked whether combining these cues in a multimodal fashion would enhance infants' sensitivity in a superadditive manner. Thirty-six 14-17-month-old infants participated in a preferential looking task in which they heard a spoken nonword (e.g., "zudzud") while observing a small and large object (e.g., a small and large square). All infants were presented with an iconic cue for object size (small or large) (1) in the pitch of the spoken non-word (high vs low), (2) in gesture (small or large), or (3) congruently in pitch and gesture (e.g., a high pitch and small gesture indicating a small square). Infants did not show a preference for congruently sized objects in any iconic cue condition. Bayes factor analyses showed moderate to strong support for the null hypotheses. In conclusion, 14-17-month-old infants did not use iconic pitch cues, iconic gesture cues, or iconic multimodal cues (pitch and gesture) to associate speech sounds with their referents. These findings challenge theories that emphasize the role of iconicity in early language development.
Subject(s)
Cues , Gestures , Speech Perception , Humans , Infant , Male , Female , Acoustic Stimulation , Bayes Theorem , Symbolism , Pitch Perception , Comprehension , Size PerceptionABSTRACT
One speech sound can be associated with multiple meanings through iconicity, indexicality, and/or systematicity. It was not until recently that this "pluripotentiality" of sound symbolism attracted serious attention, and it remains uninvestigated how pluripotentiality may arise. In the current study, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, and English speakers rated unfamiliar jewel names on three semantic scales: size, brightness, and hardness. The results showed language-specific and cross-linguistically shared pluripotential sound symbolism. Japanese speakers associated voiced stops with large and dark jewels, whereas Mandarin speakers associated [i] with small and bright jewels. Japanese, Mandarin, and English speakers also associated lip rounding with darkness and softness. These sound-symbolic meanings are unlikely to be obtained through metaphorical or metonymical extension, nor are they reported to colexify. Notably, in a purely semantic network without the mediation of lip rounding, softness can instead be associated with brightness, as illustrated by synesthetic metaphors such as yawaraka-na hizashi /jawaɾakanaçizaÉi/ "a gentle (lit. soft) sunshine" in Japanese. These findings suggest that the semantic networks of sound symbolism may not coincide with those of metaphor or metonymy. The current study summarizes the findings in the form of (phono)semantic maps to facilitate cross-linguistic comparisons of pluripotential sound symbolism.
Subject(s)
Language , Semantic Web , Symbolism , Semantics , PhoneticsABSTRACT
It has been shown that reading the vowel [i] and consonant [t] facilitates precision grip responses, while [É] and [k] are associated with faster power grip responses. A similar effect has been observed when participants perform responses with small or large response keys. The present study investigated whether the vowels and consonants could produce different effects with the grip responses and keypresses when the speech units are read aloud (Experiment 1) or silently (Experiment 2). As a second objective, the study investigated whether the recently observed effect, in which the upper position of a visual stimulus is associated with faster vocalizations of the high vowel and the lower position is associated with the low vowel, can be observed in manual responses linking, for example, the [i] with responses of the upper key and [É] with lower responses. Firstly, the study showed that when the consonants are overtly articulated, the interaction effect can be observed only with the grip responses, while the vowel production was shown to systematically influence small/large keypresses, as well as precision/power grip responses. Secondly, the vowel [i] and consonant [t] were associated with the upper responses, while [É] and [k] were associated with the lower responses, particularly in the overt articulation task. The paper delves into the potential sound-symbolic implications of these phonetic elements, suggesting that their acoustic and articulatory characteristics might implicitly align them with specific response magnitudes, vertical positions, and grip types.
Subject(s)
Hand Strength , Phonetics , Psychomotor Performance , Humans , Male , Female , Young Adult , Adult , Hand Strength/physiology , Psychomotor Performance/physiology , Symbolism , Reading , Speech Perception/physiologyABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Suicide is a leading cause of death, making suicide prevention a major public health priority. Increasing understanding of factors influencing suicidal behavior is paramount. Previous research has implicated psychological closeness, characterized by perceptions of how close/distant or attached/detached one feels to a particular object, as a cognitive factor that influences suicidal behavior. However, a better understanding of how psychological closeness to suicide methods is conceptualized by relevant populations is needed to improve its assessment and understand how it may confer risk for suicide. METHODS: The goal was to refine the conceptualization of psychological closeness to suicide methods by incorporating feedback from relevant populations. We conducted 30 interviews with those primarily identifying as having lived experience of suicide (n = 10), clinicians who work with suicidal patients (n = 11), and suicide researchers (n = 9). A rigorous thematic approach using NVivo software was used to uncover common themes. RESULTS: Primary themes included familiarity, comfort, and attachment, with one emerging theme of symbolism. We define these themes, provide context to their meaning, and share exemplary quotes across diverse participants. CONCLUSION: We consider clinical, research, and policy implications from an interdisciplinary lens and discuss the strengths and limitations of this study.
Subject(s)
Qualitative Research , Suicide , Humans , Male , Female , Suicide/psychology , Adult , Suicide Prevention , Middle Aged , Object Attachment , Suicidal Ideation , SymbolismABSTRACT
The authors take inspiration from a case of hysterical psychosis to illustrate a typical condition of this evocative disease: the symbolic language of hysteria, conjurer of archetypical images. The authors encourage the clinician not to decode such aspects in rational analytical terms, rather to have a more wide-open approach that promotes the emergence of the individual unconscious, reconnecting with the collective imagination. This approach could help psychiatrists better understand a subject's inner experiences and interpersonal behavior.
Subject(s)
Conversion Disorder , Psychotic Disorders , Humans , Hysteria , SymbolismABSTRACT
This study investigates the sound symbolic expressions of gender in Japanese names with machine learning algorithms. The main goal of this study is to explore how gender is expressed in the phonemes that make up Japanese names and whether systematic sound-meaning mappings, observed in Indo-European languages, extend to Japanese. In addition to this, this study compares the performance of machine learning algorithms. Random Forest and XGBoost algorithms are trained using the sounds of names and the typical gender of the referents as the dependent variable. Each algorithm is cross-validated using k-fold cross-validation (28 folds) and tested on samples not included in the training cycle. Both algorithms are shown to be reasonably accurate at classifying names into gender categories; however, the XGBoost model performs significantly better than the Random Forest algorithm. Feature importance scores reveal that certain sounds carry gender information. Namely, the voiced bilabial nasal /m/ and voiceless velar consonant /k/ were associated with femininity, and the high front vowel /i/ were associated with masculinity. The association observed for /i/ and /k/ stand contrary to typical patterns found in other languages, suggesting that Japanese is unique in the sound symbolic expression of gender. This study highlights the importance of considering cultural and linguistic nuances in sound symbolism research and underscores the advantage of XGBoost in capturing complex relationships within the data for improved classification accuracy. These findings contribute to the understanding of sound symbolism and gender associations in language.
Subject(s)
Language , Symbolism , Male , Female , Humans , Japan , Sound , LinguisticsABSTRACT
In this article, Amazon imagery serves as a case study for the complicated relationship of lesbian separatist movements of the 1970s and the classical Greek tradition. I consider how the use of mythological figures allowed lesbian feminists to rewrite and subvert dominant patriarchal narratives in ways that furthered their revolutionary projects. I argue that the nature of mythology is fundamentally fluid, collaborative, and open to queer reinterpretations and appropriations in ways that are rich with symbolic potential. Furthermore, the creation of separatist communities approximates an act of nation-building, and it is useful to consider other attempts to construct and theorize nations, ranging from Homi Bhabha on post-/anticolonial resistance to Berlant and Freeman on Queer Nationality. In particular, when considering a lesbian movement, we should remember that queer theory is messy because queerness itself is messy and resists boundaries and classification. Furthermore, what Ward frames as "dyke methods" (or dyke-centric queer methods) insist on categories that are fluid, messy, and shifting in their classifications and drawn toward as-yet-unknown queer possibilities. To study lesbian separatists with dyke methods is to embark on "an antiessentialist and interdisciplinary project" without necessarily "making a commitment to balanced ideas" (pp. 82-83). It is my hope that a messy, queer analysis of Amazonian symbolism in the construction of a lesbian nationalism will ultimately offer intriguing, if at times contradictory, possibilities.
Subject(s)
Homosexuality, Female , Sexual and Gender Minorities , Female , Humans , Feminism , Gender Identity , SymbolismABSTRACT
We analyze 391 news reports in Israeli newspapers between 2013 and 2015, covering murders of women and their family members by other family members and intimate partners. We compare articles where the perpetrators and victims are Jewish to those where the perpetrators and victims are Palestinian citizens of Israel (henceforth PCI). We found that articles tend to provide much more details about Jewish culprits than about PCI ones. As for ascribed motives, most murder cases by Jews were framed as an outcome of individual personality or the pathology of the culprit. Conversely, when Palestinian citizens were the killers, culture and tradition were invoked as the main motives. We suggest that the routine work of narration that the Israeli media preform when covering femicide is a case of political use of cultural stereotypes to gain moral ground in the intractable conflict between Jews and Palestinians.
Subject(s)
Arabs , Homicide , Jews , Newspapers as Topic , Humans , Arabs/psychology , Israel , Female , Stereotyping , Male , Family , Motivation , Symbolism , Crime Victims/psychologyABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Since 1993, when the Gold Foundation held its first White Coat Ceremony (WCC) to highlight humanism in medicine, many health professions have launched these ceremonies. In 2021, the University of Colorado College of Nursing hosted its first WCC. Postevent, a seven-question survey was sent to all faculty, staff, and student participants. The analytic question driving this program evaluation was as follows: "What is the significance of the White Coat Ceremony to APRN students?" Quantitative data from survey items were overwhelmingly positive; qualitative analysis of open-ended survey text reinforced the central WCC concept of Being/Becoming an APRN and elicited four themes: recognition, transition, symbolism, and connection. A detailed analysis of these themes is presented.
Subject(s)
Advanced Practice Nursing , Students, Nursing , Humans , Surveys and Questionnaires , SymbolismABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pictures drawn by people with aphasia (PWA) are often more challenging to understand than those drawn by healthy people. There are two types of objects: those that tend to be drawn symbolically (symbolically drawn objects-SOs) and those that are likely to be drawn realistically (realistically drawn objects-ROs). AIMS: To compare the identification rate and number of misunderstanding types between SOs and ROs drawn by PWA and healthy controls (HCs). To reveal trends in the misunderstandings of drawings by PWA, and to identify the language or cognitive abilities related to the identification rate of pictures drawn by PWA. METHODS & PROCEDURES: We designed a drawing task involving SOs and ROs. A total of 18 PWA and 30 HCs completed the task, and respondents identified the drawings. The identification rate and number of misunderstandings were analysed with two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) including group (PWA and HCs) and object type (SOs and ROs). The misunderstandings were divided into four categories varying in semantic and morphological similarity; these ratios were examined with a chi-square test. The relationships of language and cognitive abilities with the identification rate were investigated with multiple regression analyses. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: There was a significant effect of the interaction between group and object type on the identification rate (F(1.1387) = 3.90, Mean Squared Error (MSE) = 4139.67, p = 0.04): the identification rates for ROs were lower in the PWA than in the HCs. For the number of misunderstanding types, an interaction was observed between group and object type (F(1.56) = 8.26, MSE = 26.93, p < 0.01): the number of misunderstanding types for ROs in the PWA was greater than that in the HCs. The misunderstanding patterns differed between ROs and SOs (χ2(3) = 694.30, p < 0.001, V = 0.37). ROs were semantically related, whereas SOs were morphologically related. The identification rates of ROs and SOs were correlated only with Kanji writing scores (ROs: ß = 3.66, p = 0.01; SOs: ß = 6.57, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: In drawings by the PWA, SOs had a higher identification rate, while ROs had a lower identification rate and a greater variety of misunderstandings. SOs may increase drawing motivation. Interventions to improve the identifiability of SOs and ROs should reflect each character. Identification rates were correlated only with Kanji writing scores. The PWA, whose native language was Japanese and had preserved Kanji writing abilities, and their communication abilities may be increased through drawing. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject PWA often have impaired drawing abilities and draw pictures that third parties misinterpret. Some objects tend to be drawn symbolically, and some are drawn realistically. However, it is not clear whether there is a difference between these types of drawings depicted by PWA in identifiability and the tendency to be misunderstood by ordinary people. In addition, the relationships between language or cognitive abilities and the identification rate of drawn pictures are not clear. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge The identification rate differed between SOs and ROs. In drawings by PWA, SOs had a higher identification rate, while ROs had a lower identification rate and the greatest variety of misunderstandings. Approximately half of the misunderstandings were related to the target object. SOs tended to be confused with morphologically related objects, while ROs tended to be confused with semantically related objects. Identification rates were correlated only with Kanji writing scores. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? To motivate PWA's drawing, it is suitable to begin with SOs. Examining drawing ability from the perspective of SOs and ROs increases the chance of identifying drawing ability. PWA whose native language is Japanese and have preserved Kanji writing abilities may be able to increase their communication abilities through drawing.
Subject(s)
Aphasia , Humans , Male , Female , Aphasia/psychology , Middle Aged , Aged , Semantics , Adult , Pattern Recognition, Visual/physiology , SymbolismABSTRACT
The authors take inspiration from a case of hysterical psychosis to illustrate a typical condition of this evocative disease: the symbolic language of hysteria, conjurer of archetypical images. The authors encourage the clinician not to decode such aspects in rational analytical terms, rather to have a more wide-open approach that promotes the emergence of the individual unconscious, reconnecting with the collective imagination. This approach could help psychiatrists better understand a subject's inner experiences and interpersonal behavior. (AU)
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Young Adult , Symbolism , Psychotic Disorders/therapy , PsychiatryABSTRACT
It has been suggested that actions can provide a fruitful conceptual context for sound symbolism phenomena, and that tight interaction between manual and articulatory processes might cause that hand actions, in particular, are sound-symbolically associated with specific speech sounds. Experiment 1 investigated whether novel words, built from speech sounds that have been previously linked to precision or power grasp responses, are implicitly associated with perceived actions that present precision manipulation or whole-hand grasp tool-use or the corresponding utilisation pantomimes. In the two-alternative forced-choice task, the participants were more likely to match novel words to tool-use actions and corresponding pantomimes that were sound-symbolically congruent with the words. Experiment 2 showed that the same or even larger sound-action symbolism effect can be observed when the pantomimes present unfamiliar utilisation actions. Based on this we propose that the sound-action symbolism might originate from the same sensorimotor mechanisms that process the meaning of iconic gestural signs. The study presents a novel sound-action phenomenon and supports the view that hand-mouth interaction might manifest itself by associating specific speech sounds with grasp-related utilisations.
Subject(s)
Phonetics , Symbolism , Humans , Hand , Gestures , Hand StrengthABSTRACT
The maluma/takete effect refers to an association between certain language sounds (e.g., /m/ and /o/) and round shapes, and other language sounds (e.g., /t/ and /i/) and spiky shapes. This is an example of sound symbolism and stands in opposition to arbitrariness of language. It is still unknown when sensitivity to sound symbolism emerges. In the present series of studies, we first confirmed that the classic maluma/takete effect would be observed in adults using our novel 3-D object stimuli (Experiments 1a and 1b). We then conducted the first longitudinal test of the maluma/takete effect, testing infants at 4-, 8- and 12-months of age (Experiment 2). Sensitivity to sound symbolism was measured with a looking time preference task, in which infants were shown images of a round and a spiky 3-D object while hearing either a round- or spiky-sounding nonword. We did not detect a significant difference in looking time based on nonword type. We also collected a series of individual difference measures including measures of vocabulary, movement ability and babbling. Analyses of these measures revealed that 12-month olds who babbled more showed a greater sensitivity to sound symbolism. Finally, in Experiment 3, we had parents take home round or spiky 3-D printed objects, to present to 7- to 8-month-old infants paired with either congruent or incongruent nonwords. This language experience had no effect on subsequent measures of sound symbolism sensitivity. Taken together these studies demonstrate that sound symbolism is elusive in the first year, and shed light on the mechanisms that may contribute to its eventual emergence.
Subject(s)
Phonetics , Symbolism , Adult , Infant , Humans , Language , Sound , HearingABSTRACT
To the extent that we expect ideographs to be closer to the reality they depict than spoken or written words we are succumbing to the perennial allure of positivistic thinking. Morin powerfully argues that human communication, including ideography, cannot be understood apart from practice, thus removing the positivistic assumption that made the "puzzle of ideography" puzzling in the first place.
Subject(s)
Communication , Knowledge , Symbolism , Humans , PhilosophyABSTRACT
It has long been a tradition for doctors to dress professionally in white coats - a universal symbol of belonging to the medical profession. This tradition dates back to the time of Hippocrates, but during the XIX-XXI centuries, the symbolism of the white coat was criticized in connection with research on the spread of infections through tissue. Currently, many doctors refuse to use the oldest symbol of the profession, and the practice of medical activity is replete with new variants of the uniform of a medical worker (both in style and in color palette. However, it should be noted that the white coat symbolizes another important part of the medical education of students, the standard of professionalism and care, as well as a symbol of the trust they must earn from patients.
Subject(s)
Education, Medical , Medicine , Physicians , Humans , Symbolism , IncomeABSTRACT
This article was aimed to study the demonstration of urban images as topographic or background effects for depicting the social reality of life in large megacities. The research considered four literary works of Japanese and Chinese writers, namely the manga 'Hanzawa Naoki' (2020) by Jun Ikeido, the novel 'Convenience Store Woman' (2016) by Sayaka Murata, the manga 'Tokyo Ghoul' (2011) by Sui Ishida, and the Chinese novel 'Northern Girls' (2004) by Sheng Keyi. It was found that each literary work demonstrated the symbolism of the urban platform, on which specific cultural and social rules were formed (in the Japanese sense, the term 'joshiki' was used). So, there was a certain transformation of the Japanese traditional worldview to a mutually beneficial life activity, which can lead to marginalization. The study results also showed that the folklore images of Japanese yokai have transformed in the fantasy genre as metaphorical social roles that lack a sense of tolerance and liberality in the context of modern society.
Subject(s)
Metaphor , Symbolism , Female , Humans , JapanABSTRACT
Non-arbitrary mapping between the sound of a word and its meaning, termed sound symbolism, is commonly studied through crossmodal correspondences between sounds and visual shapes, e.g., auditory pseudowords, like 'mohloh' and 'kehteh', are matched to rounded and pointed visual shapes, respectively. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a crossmodal matching task to investigate the hypotheses that sound symbolism (1) involves language processing; (2) depends on multisensory integration; (3) reflects embodiment of speech in hand movements. These hypotheses lead to corresponding neuroanatomical predictions of crossmodal congruency effects in (1) the language network; (2) areas mediating multisensory processing, including visual and auditory cortex; (3) regions responsible for sensorimotor control of the hand and mouth. Right-handed participants (n = 22) encountered audiovisual stimuli comprising a simultaneously presented visual shape (rounded or pointed) and an auditory pseudoword ('mohloh' or 'kehteh') and indicated via a right-hand keypress whether the stimuli matched or not. Reaction times were faster for congruent than incongruent stimuli. Univariate analysis showed that activity was greater for the congruent compared to the incongruent condition in the left primary and association auditory cortex, and left anterior fusiform/parahippocampal gyri. Multivoxel pattern analysis revealed higher classification accuracy for the audiovisual stimuli when congruent than when incongruent, in the pars opercularis of the left inferior frontal (Broca's area), the left supramarginal, and the right mid-occipital gyri. These findings, considered in relation to the neuroanatomical predictions, support the first two hypotheses and suggest that sound symbolism involves both language processing and multisensory integration.
Subject(s)
Auditory Cortex , Speech Perception , Humans , Acoustic Stimulation/methods , Language , Symbolism , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Auditory Perception , Visual Perception , Brain MappingABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: to present a theoretical model for the interactional context of health professionals and families of children and adolescents under palliative care. METHODS: qualitative study based on the theoretical frameworks of Grounded Theory and Symbolic Interactionism. Ten palliative care professionals took part in this study through semi-structured interviews employing snowball technique from 2020 to 2021. RESULTS: the comparative data analysis resulted in the theoretical model "Searching for human connection to transcend symbolisms in pediatric palliative care". It reveals symbolic elements that substantiate the construction of a collaborative context integrating two phenomena: "Overcoming boundaries and intertwining paths" and "Embracing suffering to weave meaningful experiences". Symbolisms in palliative care guide the behavior of families and professionals, which makes them the key factor to be managed. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: symbolisms and suffering continually integrate the interactional experience of professionals. Empathy and compassion are fundamental elements to enable their connection with families.
Subject(s)
Empathy , Palliative Care , Adolescent , Humans , Child , Palliative Care/methods , Qualitative Research , Health Personnel , SymbolismABSTRACT
The aim of this article is to explore the conception of artificial life forms and the interactions we have with them by paying a particular attention to the analogies that characterize them and the mental processes they give rise to. The article adopts a crossed perspective, focusing on the representations conveyed by artificial life but also on the way we deal with the presence of so-called intelligent or social machines. Based on a multi-sited ethnography of design practices and human-machine interaction experiments, this article hypothesizes that robots and AI constitute a symbolic means of addressing problems regarding our understanding of what life could be whether it is biological or social. Starting from the history of automata, this article will first address the modalities by which an "artificial life" is conceived by analogy with vital processes. It will then focus on the way these processes come into play in an experimental interaction situation.
Subject(s)
Robotics , Humans , Symbolism , Anthropology , Mental Processes , Anthropology, CulturalABSTRACT
A classic example of the arbitrary relation between the way a word sounds and its meaning is that microorganism is a very long word that refers to a very small entity, whereas whale is a very short word that refers to something very big. This example, originally presented in Hockett's list of language's design features, has been often cited over the years, not only by those discussing the arbitrary nature of language, but also by researchers of sound symbolism. While the two groups disagreed regarding the role of arbitrariness and sound symbolism in language, they both agreed there is a nonsound symbolic relation between word length and entity size in this case. This paper shows that the length of the words whale and microorganism in fact reflects a sound symbolic pattern. An analysis of >600 languages from >100 language families shows that languages use longer words to denote the concept small than they do to denote the concept big. The paper thus shows how explicit judgments might differ from implicit cognitive association and the problem of relying on these in sound symbolism research.