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dc.contributor.advisorSereno, Joan
dc.contributor.authorNakata, Kotoko
dc.date.accessioned2014-02-05T16:27:36Z
dc.date.available2014-02-05T16:27:36Z
dc.date.issued2013-12-31
dc.date.submitted2013
dc.identifier.otherhttp://dissertations.umi.com/ku:13040
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1808/12974
dc.description.abstractSound symbolism is a concept in which the sound of a word and the meaning of the word are systematically related. Some aspects of sound symbolism have been found to be language-specific and some to be cross-linguistic. The current study investigated sound symbolism in Japanese using Japanese mimetic non-words. In this study, voicing of consonants was examined and vowel influence was controlled. We examined whether the voicing contrast in consonants (/t, k, s/ vs. /d, g, z/) affects the perception in both Japanese native speakers and English native speakers who had no knowledge of Japanese. Two additional manipulations were also included. First, stimuli were evaluated on 4 different dimensions including both size (big-small) and shape (round-spiky) dimensions as well as evaluative dimensions (good-bad, graceful-clumsy), in order to examine the generality of the sound symbolism. Second, voicing was manipulated, creating a continuum from voiced to voiceless endpoints, in order to examine the categorical nature of the perception. In the current study, both Japanese and English speakers tended to associate voiced sounds with largeness, badness, and clumsiness and voiceless sounds with smallness, goodness, and gracefulness. In addition, the current study found, for a shape dimension, a tendency in English speakers to associate voiced stop consonants with roundness and voiceless stops with spikiness. This tendency was observed when the stimuli consisted of only stops and a vowel, but not when they also contained fricative consonants. Sound symbolism in Japanese and English is discussed.
dc.format.extent77 pages
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of Kansas
dc.rightsThis item is protected by copyright and unless otherwise specified the copyright of this thesis/dissertation is held by the author.
dc.subjectLinguistics
dc.subjectJapanese language-- phonology
dc.subjectSound symbolism
dc.titlePerception of sound symbolism in mimetic stimuli: The voicing contrast in Japanese and English
dc.typeThesis
dc.contributor.cmtememberJongman, Allard
dc.contributor.cmtememberMinai, Utako
dc.thesis.degreeDisciplineLinguistics
dc.thesis.degreeLevelM.A.
kusw.oastatusna
kusw.oapolicyThis item does not meet KU Open Access policy criteria.
kusw.bibid8086507
dc.rights.accessrightsopenAccess


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