Poll! Please contribute your vote!

**stormcrow** · 01-10-2012 11:21 PM

I want to ask a simple question. Which of these images is Bouba? And which of these images is Kiki?

There is no wrong answer, these are made-up names and made-up shapes. Just correlate a name with a shape, the first answer that pops into your head. Do it. Thank you.

Oh ya! Don't scroll down until you have answered! Academic integrity please!

**Xei** · 01-10-2012 11:28 PM

I always thought this experiment was pretty obvious... apparently it contradicts a fundamental principle of linguistics. Which suggests to me that linguistics is a bit of a mess.

**stormcrow** · 01-10-2012 11:33 PM

Yeah...cant really say much right now (no offense intended) I just want to collect a sample population first to compare my own statistical data to the results of the actual experiment. I don't want people to cheat.

Oh also people you can (you should for accuracies sake) vote more than once.

**Arra** · 01-10-2012 11:38 PM

I've seen this before and answered what I did.

Originally Posted by Xei

apparently it contradicts a fundamental principle of linguistics

In what way does it do that?

**Xei** · 01-10-2012 11:40 PM

Well I read that words are supposed to be independent of what they signify, and there shouldn't be any agreement between separate cultures.

**stormcrow** · 01-10-2012 11:45 PM

Hmmm should have mentioned for the participants to not share their answers until later. This is botched. :/
Thanks for your participation.

**Xei** · 01-10-2012 11:50 PM

Just edit the OP to say don't scroll down 'till you've voted.

**Arra** · 01-10-2012 11:53 PM

Sorry about that, I've deleted what I wrote.

**stormcrow** · 01-11-2012 12:01 AM

Originally Posted by Dianeva

Sorry about that, I've deleted what I wrote.

You are fine. I was ill-prepared.

**StonedApe** · 01-11-2012 01:23 AM

Originally Posted by Xei

Well I read that words are supposed to be independent of what they signify, and there shouldn't be any agreement between separate cultures.

Is that an actual principle? Sounds more like an opinion or hypothesis at best. How could phonetics not have an effect at least some of the time? BURRRRRp.

**Xei** · 01-11-2012 01:27 AM

Apparently. I can't remember where exactly I read it but it was authoritative and that's what it said, because I remember thinking it was very stupid, as you do.

**DrunkenArse** · 01-11-2012 03:15 AM

I too have seen that advanced as a principle of linguistics. I too remember seeing it in an authoritative source (i.e. I was convinced that linguists believe it) and I too thought that it was stupid on first seeing it. Having had a few years to reflect on it, I still think it's stupid.

**Original Poster** · 01-11-2012 07:47 AM

ki is a sharper sound than bou, I'm not an expert in linguistics but in terms of good writing techniques, the types of consonants and nouns used have a profound effect on how something is presented.

**Oneironaut Zero** · 01-11-2012 08:13 AM

Originally Posted by Omnis Dei

ki is a sharper sound than bou, I'm not an expert in linguistics but in terms of good writing techniques, the types of consonants and nouns used have a profound effect on how something is presented.

That is very close to the reason I chose the same ones.

'Bouba' immediately conjured up a correlation with the words 'blob, bulb, bulbous, ball, bola' etc, which are all indicative of something with a certain roundness or indistinct shape. 'Kiki' brought up ideas like 'cackle, crackle, kick, etc.' which seem much sharper, and might elicit more of that jagged design in, say, a comic. Though the associations are a bit vague, it's really the first thing that came to mind.

**HeavySleeper** · 01-11-2012 09:32 PM

I agree with what other posters have said so far. The word Kiki somehow made me think of something sharp or jagged, whereas I related the word Bouba with something quite round and curvaceous.

I don't think I've ever seen this experiment before. It will be interesting to find out why I, like others here made those connections.

**IndieAnthias** · 01-11-2012 09:42 PM

Just on the topic of linguistics in general, I thought this was a very interesting talk. I'm sorry I have nothing of my own to contribute to the discussion, this is yet another field that I would be fascinated by but have never looked into much. But I could follow the linked video easily enough. (it's in 3 parts.)

**ThePreserver** · 01-12-2012 12:10 AM

I presume I answered similarly for the same reasons as those above... "k" is the sharp sound (as well as the words I associated with kiki). and B is the softer sound to me (as well as words I associated with it.) I'm guessing most people who speak the same general dialect of English as I do would answer similarly.

**Puffin** · 01-12-2012 12:14 AM

Lmao, wow, I chose jagged for Kiki and curved for Bouba too... Kiki does indeed sound sharp and prickly, so that's gotta be why. I didn't think of any words that sound like the two names, but it's just the pronunciation that made me choose what I did.