This study explores the concept of iconicity, which refers to a relationship of
similarity between sound and meaning in words. The Bouba-kiki effect, where participants
consistently associate certain phonemes with round or spiky shapes, and ideophones, which
are sensory words like zigzag, are examples of iconicity. In this study, iconicity ratings, based
on native speaker judgments, are used to assess iconicity, while semantic and phonetic
embeddings provide distributional and articulatory information ...
This study explores the concept of iconicity, which refers to a relationship of
similarity between sound and meaning in words. The Bouba-kiki effect, where participants
consistently associate certain phonemes with round or spiky shapes, and ideophones, which
are sensory words like zigzag, are examples of iconicity. In this study, iconicity ratings, based
on native speaker judgments, are used to assess iconicity, while semantic and phonetic
embeddings provide distributional and articulatory information about words. Linear
regression models are employed to connect these elements, investigating the extent to which
iconicity information is captured in English phonetic and semantic word embeddings. The
models successfully predict iconicity ratings to a certain degree, suggesting the presence of
iconicity information in these embeddings. Moreover, the models' predictions align with
previous research on the phonetic and semantic dimensions of iconicity. This research shines
light on the relationship between iconicity and word embeddings, and contributes to our
knowledge on the cognitive and linguistic mechanisms underlying the phenomenon of
iconicity
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