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Winter B, Lupyan G, Perry LK, Dingemanse M, Perlman M. Iconicity ratings for 14,000+ English words. Behav Res Methods 2024; 56:1640-1655. [PMID: 37081237 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-023-02112-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023]
Abstract
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 and crash, which mimic the sounds they denote, and wiggle and zigzag, which mimic motion. As a semiotic property of words and signs, iconicity has been demonstrated to play a role in word learning, language processing, and language evolution. This paper presents the results of a large-scale norming study for more than 14,000 English words conducted with over 1400 American English speakers. We demonstrate the utility of these ratings by replicating a number of existing findings showing that iconicity ratings are related to age of acquisition, sensory modality, semantic neighborhood density, structural markedness, and playfulness. We discuss possible use cases and limitations of the rating dataset, which is made publicly available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bodo Winter
- Department of English Language & Linguistics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
| | - Gary Lupyan
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Lynn K Perry
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Mark Dingemanse
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Marcus Perlman
- Department of English Language & Linguistics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
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2
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Brooks JA, Tzirakis P, Baird A, Kim L, Opara M, Fang X, Keltner D, Monroy M, Corona R, Metrick J, Cowen AS. Deep learning reveals what vocal bursts express in different cultures. Nat Hum Behav 2023; 7:240-250. [PMID: 36577898 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01489-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Human social life is rich with sighs, chuckles, shrieks and other emotional vocalizations, called 'vocal bursts'. Nevertheless, the meaning of vocal bursts across cultures is only beginning to be understood. Here, we combined large-scale experimental data collection with deep learning to reveal the shared and culture-specific meanings of vocal bursts. A total of n = 4,031 participants in China, India, South Africa, the USA and Venezuela mimicked vocal bursts drawn from 2,756 seed recordings. Participants also judged the emotional meaning of each vocal burst. A deep neural network tasked with predicting the culture-specific meanings people attributed to vocal bursts while disregarding context and speaker identity discovered 24 acoustic dimensions, or kinds, of vocal expression with distinct emotion-related meanings. The meanings attributed to these complex vocal modulations were 79% preserved across the five countries and three languages. These results reveal the underlying dimensions of human emotional vocalization in remarkable detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey A Brooks
- Research Division, Hume AI, New York, NY, USA. .,University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
| | | | - Alice Baird
- Research Division, Hume AI, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lauren Kim
- Research Division, Hume AI, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Xia Fang
- Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Dacher Keltner
- Research Division, Hume AI, New York, NY, USA.,University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Maria Monroy
- University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Alan S Cowen
- Research Division, Hume AI, New York, NY, USA. .,University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
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3
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Kilpatrick A, Ćwiek A, Lewis E, Kawahara S. A cross-linguistic, sound symbolic relationship between labial consonants, voiced plosives, and Pokémon friendship. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1113143. [PMID: 36910799 PMCID: PMC10000297 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1113143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction This paper presents a cross-linguistic study of sound symbolism, analysing a six-language corpus of all Pokémon names available as of January 2022. It tests the effects of labial consonants and voiced plosives on a Pokémon attribute known as friendship. Friendship is a mechanic in the core series of Pokémon video games that arguably reflects how friendly each Pokémon is. Method Poisson regression is used to examine the relationship between the friendship mechanic and the number of times /p/, /b/, /d/, /m/, /g/, and /w/ occur in the names of English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, German, and French Pokémon. Results Bilabial plosives, /p/ and /b/, typically represent high friendship values in Pokémon names while /m/, /d/, and /g/ typically represent low friendship values. No association is found for /w/ in any language. Discussion Many of the previously known cases of cross-linguistic sound symbolic patterns can be explained by the relationship between how sounds in words are articulated and the physical qualities of the referents. This study, however, builds upon the underexplored relationship between sound symbolism and abstract qualities.
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Watson SK, Filippi P, Gasparri L, Falk N, Tamer N, Widmer P, Manser M, Glock H. Optionality in animal communication: a novel framework for examining the evolution of arbitrariness. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2022; 97:2057-2075. [PMID: 35818133 PMCID: PMC9795909 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
A critical feature of language is that the form of words need not bear any perceptual similarity to their function - these relationships can be 'arbitrary'. The capacity to process these arbitrary form-function associations facilitates the enormous expressive power of language. However, the evolutionary roots of our capacity for arbitrariness, i.e. the extent to which related abilities may be shared with animals, is largely unexamined. We argue this is due to the challenges of applying such an intrinsically linguistic concept to animal communication, and address this by proposing a novel conceptual framework highlighting a key underpinning of linguistic arbitrariness, which is nevertheless applicable to non-human species. Specifically, we focus on the capacity to associate alternative functions with a signal, or alternative signals with a function, a feature we refer to as optionality. We apply this framework to a broad survey of findings from animal communication studies and identify five key dimensions of communicative optionality: signal production, signal adjustment, signal usage, signal combinatoriality and signal perception. We find that optionality is widespread in non-human animals across each of these dimensions, although only humans demonstrate it in all five. Finally, we discuss the relevance of optionality to behavioural and cognitive domains outside of communication. This investigation provides a powerful new conceptual framework for the cross-species investigation of the origins of arbitrariness, and promises to generate original insights into animal communication and language evolution more generally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart K. Watson
- Department of Comparative Language ScienceUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 1908057ZurichSwitzerland
| | - Piera Filippi
- Department of Comparative Language ScienceUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Department of PhilosophyUniversity of ZurichZurichbergstrasse 438044ZürichSwitzerland
| | - Luca Gasparri
- Department of PhilosophyUniversity of ZurichZurichbergstrasse 438044ZürichSwitzerland,Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8163 – STL – Savoirs Textes LangageF‐59000LilleFrance
| | - Nikola Falk
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 1908057ZurichSwitzerland
| | - Nicole Tamer
- Department of Comparative Language ScienceUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland
| | - Paul Widmer
- Department of Comparative Language ScienceUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland
| | - Marta Manser
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 1908057ZurichSwitzerland
| | - Hans‐Johann Glock
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Department of PhilosophyUniversity of ZurichZurichbergstrasse 438044ZürichSwitzerland
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5
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Kumagai G. What’s in a Japanese kawaii ‘cute’ name? A linguistic perspective. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1040415. [DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1040415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
While the concept termed as kawaii is often translated into English as ‘cute’ or ‘pretty’, it has multiple connotations. It is one of the most significant topics of investigation in behavioural science and Kansei/affective engineering. This study aims to explore linguistic (phonetic and phonological) features/units associated with kawaii. Specifically, it examines, through experimental methods, what kinds of phonetic and phonological features are associated with kawaii, in terms of the following three consonantal features: place of articulation, voicing/frequency, and manner of articulation. The results showed that the features associated with kawaii are: [labial], [high frequency], and [sonorant]. The factors associated with kawaii may include the pouting gesture, babyishness, smallness, femininity, and roundness. The study findings have practical implications due to their applicability regarding the naming of anime characters and products characterised by kawaii.
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Fay N, Walker B, Ellison TM, Blundell Z, De Kleine N, Garde M, Lister CJ, Goldin-Meadow S. Gesture is the primary modality for language creation. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220066. [PMID: 35259991 PMCID: PMC8905156 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
How language began is one of the oldest questions in science, but theories remain speculative due to a lack of direct evidence. Here, we report two experiments that generate empirical evidence to inform gesture-first and vocal-first theories of language origin; in each, we tested modern humans' ability to communicate a range of meanings (995 distinct words) using either gesture or non-linguistic vocalization. Experiment 1 is a cross-cultural study, with signal Producers sampled from Australia (n = 30, Mage = 32.63, s.d. = 12.42) and Vanuatu (n = 30, Mage = 32.40, s.d. = 11.76). Experiment 2 is a cross-experiential study in which Producers were either sighted (n = 10, Mage = 39.60, s.d. = 11.18) or severely vision-impaired (n = 10, Mage = 39.40, s.d. = 10.37). A group of undergraduate student Interpreters guessed the meaning of the signals created by the Producers (n = 140). Communication success was substantially higher in the gesture modality than the vocal modality (twice as high overall; 61.17% versus 29.04% success). This was true within cultures, across cultures and even for the signals produced by severely vision-impaired participants. The success of gesture is attributed in part to its greater universality (i.e. similarity in form across different Producers). Our results support the hypothesis that gesture is the primary modality for language creation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Fay
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Bradley Walker
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
| | - T Mark Ellison
- Collaborative Research Centre for Linguistic Prominence, University of Cologne, Cologne, NRW, Germany
| | - Zachary Blundell
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Naomi De Kleine
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Murray Garde
- School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Casey J Lister
- School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
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Pisanski K, Bryant GA, Cornec C, Anikin A, Reby D. Form follows function in human nonverbal vocalisations. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2022.2026482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Pisanski
- ENES Sensory Neuro-Ethology Lab, CRNL, Jean Monnet University of Saint Étienne, UMR 5293, St-Étienne 42023, France
- CNRS French National Centre for Scientific Research, DDL Dynamics of Language Lab, University of Lyon 2, Lyon 69007, France
| | - Gregory A. Bryant
- Department of Communication, Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Clément Cornec
- ENES Sensory Neuro-Ethology Lab, CRNL, Jean Monnet University of Saint Étienne, UMR 5293, St-Étienne 42023, France
| | - Andrey Anikin
- ENES Sensory Neuro-Ethology Lab, CRNL, Jean Monnet University of Saint Étienne, UMR 5293, St-Étienne 42023, France
- Division of Cognitive Science, Lund University, Lund 22100, Sweden
| | - David Reby
- ENES Sensory Neuro-Ethology Lab, CRNL, Jean Monnet University of Saint Étienne, UMR 5293, St-Étienne 42023, France
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Bryant GA. Vocal communication across cultures: theoretical and methodological issues. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200387. [PMID: 34775828 PMCID: PMC8591381 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The study of human vocal communication has been conducted primarily in Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic (WEIRD) societies. Recently, cross-cultural investigations in several domains of voice research have been expanding into more diverse populations. Theoretically, it is important to understand how universals and cultural variations interact in vocal production and perception, but cross-cultural voice research presents many methodological challenges. Experimental methods typically used in WEIRD societies are often not possible to implement in many populations such as rural, small-scale societies. Moreover, theoretical and methodological issues are often unnecessarily intertwined. Here, I focus on three areas of cross-cultural voice modulation research: (i) vocal signalling of formidability and dominance, (ii) vocal emotions, and (iii) production and perception of infant-directed speech. Research in these specific areas illustrates challenges that apply more generally across the human behavioural sciences but also reveals promise as we develop our understanding of the evolution of human communication. This article is part of the theme issue 'Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part II)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory A. Bryant
- Department of Communication, Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture, University of California, Los Angeles, 2225 Rolfe Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA
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9
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Ćwiek A, Fuchs S, Draxler C, Asu EL, Dediu D, Hiovain K, Kawahara S, Koutalidis S, Krifka M, Lippus P, Lupyan G, Oh GE, Paul J, Petrone C, Ridouane R, Reiter S, Schümchen N, Szalontai Á, Ünal-Logacev Ö, Zeller J, Perlman M, Winter B. The bouba/kiki effect is robust across cultures and writing systems. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200390. [PMID: 34775818 PMCID: PMC8591387 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The bouba/kiki effect-the association of the nonce word bouba with a round shape and kiki with a spiky shape-is a type of correspondence between speech sounds and visual properties with potentially deep implications for the evolution of spoken language. However, there is debate over the robustness of the effect across cultures and the influence of orthography. We report an online experiment that tested the bouba/kiki effect across speakers of 25 languages representing nine language families and 10 writing systems. Overall, we found strong evidence for the effect across languages, with bouba eliciting more congruent responses than kiki. Participants who spoke languages with Roman scripts were only marginally more likely to show the effect, and analysis of the orthographic shape of the words in different scripts showed that the effect was no stronger for scripts that use rounder forms for bouba and spikier forms for kiki. These results confirm that the bouba/kiki phenomenon is rooted in crossmodal correspondence between aspects of the voice and visual shape, largely independent of orthography. They provide the strongest demonstration to date that the bouba/kiki effect is robust across cultures and writing systems. This article is part of the theme issue 'Voice modulation: from origin and mechanism to social impact (Part II)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Ćwiek
- Leibniz-Zentrum Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft, 10117 Berlin, Germany
- Institut für deutsche Sprache und Linguistik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
| | - Susanne Fuchs
- Leibniz-Zentrum Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Christoph Draxler
- Institute of Phonetics and Speech Processing, Ludwig Maximilian University, 80799 Munich, Germany
| | - Eva Liina Asu
- Institute of Estonian and General Linguistics, University of Tartu, 50090 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Dan Dediu
- Laboratoire Dynamique Du Langage UMR 5596, Université Lumière Lyon 2, 69363 Lyon, France
| | - Katri Hiovain
- Department of Digital Humanities, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Shigeto Kawahara
- The Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Studies, Keio University, Mita Minatoku, Tokyo 108-8345, Japan
| | - Sofia Koutalidis
- Faculty of Linguistics and Literary Studies, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Manfred Krifka
- Leibniz-Zentrum Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft, 10117 Berlin, Germany
- Institut für deutsche Sprache und Linguistik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
| | - Pärtel Lippus
- Institute of Estonian and General Linguistics, University of Tartu, 50090 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Gary Lupyan
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Grace E. Oh
- Department of English Language and Literature, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, South Korea
| | - Jing Paul
- Asian Studies Program, Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA 30030, USA
| | - Caterina Petrone
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Laboratoire Parole et Langage, UMR 7309, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Rachid Ridouane
- Laboratoire de Phonétique et Phonologie, UMR 7018, CNRS and Sorbonne Nouvelle, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Sabine Reiter
- Depto. de Polonês, Alemão e Letras Clássicas, Universidade Federal do Paraná, 80060-150 Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Nathalie Schümchen
- Department of Language and Communication, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
| | - Ádám Szalontai
- Department of Phonetics, Hungarian Research Centre for Linguistics, Budapest 1068, Hungary
| | - Özlem Ünal-Logacev
- School of Health Sciences, Department of Speech and Language Therapy, Istanbul Medipol University, 34810 Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Jochen Zeller
- School of Arts, Linguistics Discipline, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa
| | - Marcus Perlman
- Department of English Language and Linguistics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Bodo Winter
- Department of English Language and Linguistics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
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Pouw W, Dingemanse M, Motamedi Y, Özyürek A. A Systematic Investigation of Gesture Kinematics in Evolving Manual Languages in the Lab. Cogn Sci 2021; 45:e13014. [PMID: 34288069 PMCID: PMC8365719 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Revised: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Silent gestures consist of complex multi‐articulatory movements but are now primarily studied through categorical coding of the referential gesture content. The relation of categorical linguistic content with continuous kinematics is therefore poorly understood. Here, we reanalyzed the video data from a gestural evolution experiment (Motamedi, Schouwstra, Smith, Culbertson, & Kirby, 2019), which showed increases in the systematicity of gesture content over time. We applied computer vision techniques to quantify the kinematics of the original data. Our kinematic analyses demonstrated that gestures become more efficient and less complex in their kinematics over generations of learners. We further detect the systematicity of gesture form on the level of thegesture kinematic interrelations, which directly scales with the systematicity obtained on semantic coding of the gestures. Thus, from continuous kinematics alone, we can tap into linguistic aspects that were previously only approachable through categorical coding of meaning. Finally, going beyond issues of systematicity, we show how unique gesture kinematic dialects emerged over generations as isolated chains of participants gradually diverged over iterations from other chains. We, thereby, conclude that gestures can come to embody the linguistic system at the level of interrelationships between communicative tokens, which should calibrate our theories about form and linguistic content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wim Pouw
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen.,Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Radboud University Nijmegen
| | - Mark Dingemanse
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen.,Center for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen
| | | | - Aslı Özyürek
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen.,Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Radboud University Nijmegen.,Center for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen
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