Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Linguistics

Sound and meaning in the world's languages

Subjects

The sounds of words that represent particular meanings are usually thought to vary arbitrarily across languages. However, a large-scale study of languages finds that some associations between sound and meaning are widespread.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: The bouba–kiki phenomenon.

Notes

  1. See all news & views

References

  1. de Saussure, F. Course in General Linguistics (McGraw-Hill, 1916).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Blasi, D. E., Wichmann, S., Hammerström, H., Stadler, P. F. & Christiansen, M. H. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 113, 10818–10823 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Milan, E., Iborra, O., de Cordoba, M. J., Juárez-Ramos, V., Artacho, M. A. R. & Rubio, J. L. J. Consc. Stud. 20, 84–102 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Hinton, L., Nichols, J. & Ohala, J. (eds) Sound Symbolism (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1994).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Köhler, W. Gestalt Psychology 2nd edn (Liveright, 1947).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Sapir, E. J. Exp. Psychol. 12, 225–239 (1929).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Dean, L. G., Kendal, R. L., Schapiro, S. J., Thierry, B. & Laland, K. N. Science 335, 1114–1118 (2012).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Kirby, S., Cornish, H. & Smith, K. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 105, 10681–10686 (2008).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Mesoudi, A., Whiten, A. & Laland, K. N. Behav. Brain Sci. 29, 329–347; discussion 347–383 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to W. Tecumseh Fitch.

Related links

Related links

Related links in Nature Research

Speech science: Tuned to the rhythm

Linguistics: Deep relationships between languages

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Fitch, W. Sound and meaning in the world's languages. Nature 539, 39–40 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature20474

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature20474

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing