Abstract. Iconic words are more frequent in infant-directed speech, but it is not known why. We examine whether caregivers use iconic words to engage infan

Abstract. Iconic words, especially animal onomatopoeia, are more prevalent in infant- than adult-directed speech, possibly because iconicity bootstraps wor

How we measure success in signal comprehension experiments fundamentally shapes our conclusions. Two recent studies have demonstrated that humans can guess the meanings of novel vocalizations and ape...

Iconicity is increasingly recognized as a core property of language, raising the evolutionary question of whether great apes use iconic gestures. This article challenges current theories of ape gestu...

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As humans, we store and share information. This allows us to distribute knowledge necessary for survival and to coordinate large groups. Our homini...

A surprising new study shows that baby chickens react the same way that humans do when tested for something called the "bouba-kiki effect," which has been linked to the emergence of language.

Humans across multiple languages spontaneously associate the nonwords “kiki” and “bouba” with spiky and round shapes, respectively, a phenomenon named the bouba-kiki effect. To explore the origin of t...

The origins of language are not found in the bouba-kiki effect

The origins of language are not found in the bouba-kiki effect

Two views claim to account for the origins of great ape gestural forms. On the Leipzig view, gestural forms are ontogenetically ritualised from action sequences between pairs of individuals. On the S...

We and our colleagues have been doing studies of great ape gestural communication for more than 30 years. Here we attempt to spell out what we have learned. Some aspects of the process have been relia...

AbstractThis chapter explores the phenomenon of sound symbolism: associations between language sounds and particular perceptual and/or semantic properties.

Natural human communication is multimodal. We pair speech with gestures, and combine writing with pictures from online messaging to comics to advertising. This…

Language is often regarded as a defining trait of our species, but what are its core properties? In 1960, Hockett published ‘The origin of speech’ enumerating 13 design features presumed to be common ...

Iconicity ratings studies have established that there are many English words which native speakers judge as “iconic,” that is, as sounding like what they mean. Here, we explore whether these iconic E...

Scientific Reports - Reply to: Not just the alveolar trill, but all “r-like” sounds are associated with roughness across languages, pointing to a more general link between sound and touch

Scientific Reports - Not just the alveolar trill, but all “r-like” sounds are associated with roughness across languages, pointing to a more general link between sound and touch

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Call for papers We are inviting abstracts on original research on any topic related to language contact/translanguaging, sociolinguistic variation, and language change in signing communities. All su...

From Birds to Words: Onomatopoeia, Metaphor, and the Language of Birdsong - Professor Bodo Winter's Inaugural Lecture

Sound symbolism refers to associations between language sounds (i.e., phonemes) and particular properties (e.g., certain shapes). For example, phonemes like /m/ are associated with roundness, while p....

Scientific Reports - People Can Create Iconic Vocalizations to Communicate Various Meanings to Naïve Listeners

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Typological research shows that across languages, trilled [r] sounds are more common in adjectives describing rough as opposed to smooth surfaces. In this study

Speakers of 28 languages linked sound and shape at least 88% of the time, in ‘strongest case of sound symbolism to date’

Typological research shows that across languages, trilled [r] sounds are more common in adjectives describing rough as opposed to smooth surfaces. In this study

Speakers of 28 languages linked sound and shape at least 88% of the time, in ‘strongest case of sound symbolism to date’