title: Cross-linguistic sound symbolism and crossmodal correspondence: Evidence from fMRI and DTI.
abstract: Non-arbitrary correspondences between spoken words and categories of meanings exist in natural language, with mounting evidence that listeners are sensitive to this sound symbolic information. Native English speakers were asked to choose the meaning of spoken foreign words from one of four corresponding antonym pairs selected from a previously developed multi-language stimulus set containing both sound symbolic and non-symbolic stimuli. In behavioral (n=9) and fMRI (n=15) experiments, participants showed reliable sensitivity to the sound symbolic properties of the stimulus set, selecting the consistent meaning for the sound symbolic words at above chances rates. There was increased activation for sound symbolic relative to non-symbolic words in left superior parietal cortex, and a cluster in left superior longitudinal fasciculus showed a positive correlation between fractional anisotropy (FA) and an individual's sensitivity to sound symbolism. These findings support the idea that crossmodal correspondences underlie sound symbolism in spoken language.
authors: Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: kate.revill@emory.edu.
authors: Kate Pirog
authors: KP
authors: Revill
authors: Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors: Laura L
authors: LL
authors: Namy
authors: Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors: Lauren Clepper
authors: LC
authors: DeFife
authors: Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors: Lynne C
authors: LC
authors: Nygaard
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008037:Linguistics; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D012660:Semantics; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013561:Symbolism; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Crossmodal correspondences; DTI; Sound symbolism; Spoken language; fMRI