808 research outputs found
Sensory language across lexical categories
Full text linkBeing able to talk about what humans perceive with their senses is one of the fundamental capacities of language. But how do languages encode perceptual information? In this paper, we analyze how experiences from different senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell) are encoded differentially across lexical categories (nouns, verbs, adjectives) in the English language. Three independently collected lists of perception-related words show that sound concepts are more prone to being expressed as verbs. Data from an independent rating study furthermore shows that nouns rated to strongly relate to motion are also rated to strongly relate to sound, more so than is the case for color-related nouns. We argue that the association of verbs with sound is due to sound concepts being inherently more dynamic, motion-related and event-based, in contrast to other sensory perceptions which are phenomenologically less strongly associated with motion and change. Overall, our results are the first to show differential encoding of perception-related concepts across different types of lexical categories. Our analyses of lexical patterns provide empirical evidence for the interconnection of semantics and gramma
Linguistic Synesthesia. A Meta-Analysis
No full textLinguistic synesthesias combine different senses, as in English smooth melody (touch→sound). For nearly a century, researchers have gathered data that have been interpreted as supporting the notion of a hierarchical ordering of the senses. According to this proposal, expressions map the presumed-to-be “lower” senses of touch, taste, and smell onto the presumed-to-be “higher” senses of sound and sight. Here, this proposal is tested in the first-ever meta-analysis of linguistic synesthesias, combining thirty- eight datasets from fourteen different languages. The authors demonstrate that clear patterns emerge from the data, but many such patterns are inconsistent with the notion of a linear hierarchical order or a simple lower/higher divide of the senses. This calls for a shift in what theories are considered to be viable for explaining asymmetries between the senses in linguistic synesthesia
Semantic distance predicts metaphoricity and creativity judgments in synesthetic metaphors
Full text linkThis paper discusses a way of operationalizing metaphoricity quantitatively using a numerical measure of the semantic distance between two domains. We demonstrate the construct validity of this measure with respect to metaphoricity and creativity judgments in the domain of English synesthetic metaphors – expressions such as sweet melody and loud color that involve combinations of terms from conceptually distinct sensory modalities. In a pre-registered study, we find that a continuous measure of sensory modality difference predicts metaphoricity and creativity judgments. While our results use synesthetic metaphors as a test case, it is possible to extend the application of our measure of semantic distance to other metaphorical expressions. In addition to demonstrating the utility of this measure, this work also demonstrates the utility of rating data in the domain of metaphor research
How do numbers move mentally? The interplay between numerical cognition and multiple dimensions of space
No full textThe linguistic dimensions of concrete and abstract concepts: lexical category, morphological structure, countability, and etymology
Full text linkThe distinction between abstract and concrete concepts is fundamental to cognitive linguistics and cognitive science. This distinction is commonly operationalized through concreteness ratings based on the aggregated judgments of many people. What is often overlooked in experimental studies using this operationalization is that ratings are attributed to words, not to concepts directly. In this paper we explore the relationship between the linguistic properties of English words and conceptual abstractness/concreteness. Based on hypotheses stated in the existing linguistic literature we select a set of variables (part of speech, morphological structure, countability, etymology) and verify whether they are statistically associated with concreteness ratings. We show that English nouns are rated as more concrete compared to other parts of speech, but mass nouns are rated as less concrete than count nouns. Furthermore, a more complex morphological structure is associated with abstractness, and as for etymology, French- and Latin-derived words are more abstract than words of other origin. This shows that linguistic properties of words are indeed associated with the degree of concreteness that we attribute to the underlying concepts, and we discuss the implications that these findings have for linguistic theory and for empirical investigations in the cognitive sciences
Case Western Stats Workshop
No full textWiki and files for the data analysis with R and the tidyverse workshop held by Bodo Winte
Case Western Stats Workshop
No full textWiki and files for the data analysis with R and the tidyverse workshop held by Bodo Winte
Case Western Stats Workshop
No full textWiki and files for the data analysis with R and the tidyverse workshop held by Bodo Winte
Sensory linguistics: language, perception and metaphor Converging evidence in language and communication research ;, v. 20./ Bodo Winter.
No full textIncludes bibliographical references and index."One of the most fundamental capacities of language is the ability to express what speakers see, hear, feel, taste, and smell. Sensory Linguistics is the interdisciplinary study of how language relates to the senses. This book deals with such foundational questions as: Which semiotic strategies do speakers use to express sensory perceptions? Which perceptions are easier to encode and which are 'ineffable'? And what are appropriate methods for studying the sensory aspects of linguistics? After a broad overview of the field, a detailed quantitative corpus-based study of English sensory adjectives and their metaphorical uses is presented. This analysis calls age-old ideas into question, such as the idea that the use of perceptual metaphors is governed by a cognitively motivated 'hierarchy of the senses'. Besides making theoretical contributions to cognitive linguistics, this research monograph showcases new empirical methods for studying lexical semantics using contemporary statistical methods"--Sensory linguistics : introduction to the book -- The five senses folk model -- Sensory semiotics -- Ineffability -- The embodied lexicon hypothesis -- Synesthesia and metaphor -- Synesthetic metaphors are not metaphorical -- The hierarchy of the senses -- Explaining the hierarchy of the senses -- Methodological foundations -- Norming the senses -- Dominance relations and specialization of sensory words -- Correlations and clusters -- Semantic preferences of sensory words -- Frequency, semantic complexity and iconicity -- The evaluative dimension -- Re-evaluating the hierarchy of the senses.1 online resource (xiv, 289 pages)
Iconicity ratings
No full textMaterials for the following paper: Winter, Bodo, Gary Lupyan, Lynn K. Perry, Mark Dingemanse, and Marcus Perlman. “Iconicity Ratings for 14,000+ English Words.” Behavior Research Methods, April 20, 2023. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-023-02112-6
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