Abstract
I am always amazed when I hear stories of expeditions into native lands, especially when voyagers are able to communicate with native peoples without sharing a language. Are there certain human sounds with meanings that can cross the language barrier? In this experiment you will investigate the Bouba-Kiki Effect to find out if abstract visual properties can be linked to sound.Objective
In this experiment you will find out if certain symbolic characteristics, like sharpness and roundedness, can cross language barriers.
Introduction
One of the most amazing things humans can do is use language to communicate. Humans have evolved the ability to use language over many thousands of years, resulting in many languages being spoken around the world today. How did our ability to use language evolve? Where did the first use of language come from?
One idea is that the first use of language represented sounds that became linked to concepts through usage. Eventually these sounds and meanings became more complex in structure and more diverse, creating more complex language. This idea brings with it a major question. Were the first sounds arbitrary and random, or were they consistently applied to certain concepts or symbols? You might think that since modern languages have different origins, that different random associations with sounds could be at the root of these differences. However, a psychological phenomenon called the Bouba-Kiki Effect shows a different possibility.
In the Bouba-Kiki Effect, people are shown a pointy picture or a curvy picture and asked to identify it as "Bouba" or "Kiki" even though those are both non-sense words. A surprising number of people, regardless of language, identify the rounded shape as "Bouba" and the pointy shape as "Kiki" even though they had not been told what the words might mean. Even very young children make the same identification most of the time. What does this mean? Is this evidence of a human predisposition to associating certain sounds with abstract concepts?
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| Most people, when asked, will say that the shape on the left is "Kiki" and that the shape on the right is "Bouba" even though they may not speak the same language and have not been told what the two words mean (Wikipedia, date unknown). |
While the deeper meaning behind the Bouba-Kiki Effect is being debated in coffee shops at colleges and universities around the globe, you can turn it into a nifty science fair experiment. You will make your own set of Bouba-Kiki flash cards. Then you will test volunteers with your flash cards to see if you observe the Bouba-Kiki Effect. Will you see it, or will you have the results of a 50–50 random chance event?
Terms, Concepts and Questions to Start Background Research
To do this type of experiment you should know what the following terms mean. Have an adult help you search the Internet, or take you to your local library to find out more!
Bibliography
Materials and Equipment
Experimental Procedure
| Volunteer | Number of "Correct" Responses | Number of "Incorrect" responses | Total Number of Responses |
| #1 | |||
| #2... |
Variations
Credits
Sara Agee, Ph.D., Science Buddies
Last edit date: 2007-08-24 12:00:00
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