People around world associate rolled R with a jagged line, study finds

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/nov/20/people-around-world-associate-rolled-r-jagged-line-linguistics-bouba-kiki

34 points · 7 comments · view on lemmy.world

7 Comments

AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 1y (2 replies)

I always wondered if the Bouba/Kiki effect was reflected in the shape of the associated letters, or if it was just a coincidence.

I can’t think of any writing systems that associate an “r” sound with a jagged-line character, though.

jendrik@discuss.tchncs.de · 8 pts · 1y (1 reply)

The bouba-kiki-effect has been observed in languages without writing systems

AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 1y

Yeah, I was assuming any influence would go the other way (i.e., people make letters that remind them of the sounds).

AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space · 6 pts · 1y (1 reply)

I’m guessing it’s to do with the perturbed waveform. Someone should do a followup study to see whether any other sounds with similar characteristics(i.e. an idling car engine, a TR-808 drum machine handclap) would have similar associations.

lvxferre@mander.xyz · 11 pts · 1y
[ removed ]
Deebster@programming.dev · 3 pts · 1y

Palikúr

I'd never heard of this language - Palikúr is an indigenous South American language spoken in Brazil and French Guiana (only 1500 speakers).

lime@feddit.nu · 2 pts · 1y (2 replies)

i want to know what "jagged" means here. rolled Rs are too soft to form the "jagged" characteristic i imagine from a T sound. i see a rolled R as more of a rectified sine wave, half-rounded.

then again if the other line was completely flat...

lvxferre@mander.xyz · 2 pts · 1y (1 reply)
[ removed ]
lime@feddit.nu · 1 pts · 1y

yeah see, that's not the line i would draw for what it *feels* like.