Size sound symbolism in mothers’ speech to their infants

IF 1.7 2区 文学 Q1 LINGUISTICS
Catherine Laing, Ghada Khattab, Shayne Sloggett, Tamar Keren-Portnoy
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Six-month-olds infer object size based on pitch: they map high-pitched vowels onto smaller objects and low-pitched vowels onto larger objects (Peña et al., 2011). The ‘sound symbolism bootstrapping hypothesis’ (Imai & Kita, 2014) proposes that this may support understanding of word-meaning correspondences; by drawing on iconic pairings between linguistic cues and corresponding referents (e.g., higher pitch for smaller objects), infants develop understanding of word-referent associations. Here we analyse mother-child interactions, testing whether sound-symbolic pitch-size correspondences occur in infant-directed speech. 40 dyads engaged in (semi-)naturalistic interaction around picture books containing images of toys of varying sizes. We compare mothers’ pitch when referring to small versus large toys, analysing i) actual size (bigger vs. smaller toys); ii) relative toy size congruence (i.e., congruent vs. incongruent with real-world expectation); and iii) transparency of the test paradigm as regards its focus on size contrastiveness (non-transparent, moderately transparent, highly transparent) to observe the nuances of size sound symbolism in infant-directed speech.
母亲对婴儿说话时的大小音象征意义
六个月大的幼儿会根据音调推断物体的大小:他们会将高音调元音映射到较小的物体上,而将低音调元音映射到较大的物体上(Pena 等人,2011 年)。声音符号引导假说"(Imai & Kita, 2014)认为,这可能有助于理解词义对应关系;通过利用语言线索和相应参照物之间的图标配对(例如,音调越高表示物体越小),婴儿就能理解词义关联。在此,我们对母子互动进行了分析,以检验在婴儿引导的言语中是否会出现声音-符号音高-大小的对应关系。40对母子围绕绘本进行了(半)自然互动,绘本中包含不同大小的玩具图像。我们比较了母亲在提到小玩具和大玩具时的音调,分析了 i) 实际大小(大玩具和小玩具);ii) 玩具大小的相对一致性(即与现实世界的期望一致和不一致);iii) 测试范式的透明度,即其对大小对比性的关注点(不透明、中度透明、高度透明),以观察婴儿引导性言语中大小声音符号的细微差别。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
4.70
自引率
4.50%
发文量
142
期刊介绍: A key publication in the field, Journal of Child Language publishes articles on all aspects of the scientific study of language behaviour in children, the principles which underlie it, and the theories which may account for it. The international range of authors and breadth of coverage allow the journal to forge links between many different areas of research including psychology, linguistics, cognitive science and anthropology. This interdisciplinary approach spans a wide range of interests: phonology, phonetics, morphology, syntax, vocabulary, semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, or any other recognised facet of language study.
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