Sound symbolism is a non-arbitrary relationship between speech sounds and meaning. We
review evidence that, contrary to the traditional view in linguistics, sound symbolism is an …

This review covers experimental approaches to sound-symbolism—from infants to adults,
and from Sapir's foundational studies to twenty-first century product naming. It synthesizes …

Iconic words and signs are characterized by a perceived resemblance between aspects of
their form and aspects of their meaning. For example, in English, iconic words include peep …

Signed languages exhibit iconicity (resemblance between form and meaning) across their
vocabulary, and many non-Indo-European spoken languages feature sizable classes of …

How abstract is language? We show that abstractness pervades every corner of language,
going far beyond the usual examples of freedom and justice. In the light of the ubiquity of …

Iconicity–the correspondence between form and meaning–may help young children learn to
use new words. Early‐learned words are higher in iconicity than later learned words …

Interest in iconicity (the resemblance-based mapping between aspects of form and
meaning) is in the midst of a resurgence, and a prominent focus in the field has been the …

The arbitrariness of the linguistic sign is a fundamental assumption in modern linguistic
theory. In recent years, however, a growing amount of research has investigated the nature …

The ability to control attention–by inhibiting pre-potent, yet no longer relevant information–is
an essential skill in all of human learning, and increasing evidence suggests that this ability …

The existence of sound-symbolism (or a non-arbitrary link between form and meaning) is
well-attested. However, sound-symbolism has mostly been investigated with nonwords in …