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Front Is High and Back Is Low: Sound-Space Iconicity in Finnish
Lari Vainio1,2, Markku Kilpeläinen1, Alexandra Wikström2
1Perception, Action & Cognition Research Group, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Language and Speech
|December 6, 2023
Summary
This study reveals a novel sound-space symbolism in Finnish, linking high-pitched sounds with forward movement and low-pitched sounds with backward movement. This suggests an iconic association between pitch and spatial concepts like front/back.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Linguistics
- Psychology
Background:
- Previous research indicates links between spatial concepts and speech sounds, e.g., front vowels with forward concepts.
- The association between vocalization pitch and spatial directionality requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between vocalization pitch and spatial concepts of forward/front and backward/back in Finnish.
- To explore a potential novel sound-space symbolism phenomenon.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted using Finnish participants.
- Participants were presented with high- and low-pitched vocalizations and asked to associate them with spatial concepts.
Main Results:
- Participants consistently associated high-pitched vocalizations with forward-directed movement.
- Low-pitched vocalizations were associated with backward-directed movement.
- This association extended to concepts of front and back.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest a novel sound-space symbolism where high pitch iconically represents forward/front, and low pitch represents backward/back.
- This phenomenon may be grounded in the articulatory movements of the tongue.
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