Developing Associations to the Sounds of a Name
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| Title: | Developing Associations to the Sounds of a Name |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Peggy Liaw (ORCID |
| Source: | Developmental Science. 2026 29(1). |
| Availability: | Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 16 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Children, Learning Modalities, Correlation, Phoneme Grapheme Correspondence, Gender Differences, Language Processing, Cognitive Mapping, Geometric Concepts, Associative Learning, Naming, Semantics, Cues, Sex, Phonology |
| DOI: | 10.1111/desc.70107 |
| ISSN: | 1363-755X 1467-7687 |
| Abstract: | Sound symbolism refers to associations between language sounds and certain perceptual or semantic properties. One well-studied example is the maluma/takete effect, in which individuals tend to associate round-sounding nonwords like maluma with round shapes, and spiky-sounding nonwords like takete with spiky shapes. This phenomenon suggests that certain sounds are perceived as better suited to particular visual shapes, and it provides a means by which language can be non-arbitrary. Research has demonstrated that sound symbolism further extends from nonwords to real first names, a phenomenon known as name sound symbolism. In addition to phonological cues, research on name sound symbolism reveals an association between a name's perceived gender and shape: femaleness is associated with roundness, whereas maleness is associated with spikiness. However, previous studies have focused on adults, leaving open the question of whether children also show these associations. The present study examined the emergence of name sound symbolism in children, considering individual differences such as age and language ability. Results indicated that adults exhibit stronger sensitivity to both name sound symbolism and gender-shape associations than children. Although the gender-shape association is present in 5- to 7-year-olds, name sound symbolism may emerge at a later age. Our results point to the possibility that the presence of semantic meanings or sociolinguistic information like gender may compete with phonological cues when processing real words, thus attenuating the sound symbolic effect. These findings have important implications on how sound symbolism operates in nonwords versus in real words. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Notes: | https://osf.io/bq2jt |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1492103 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: eric DbLabel: ERIC An: EJ1492103 AccessLevel: 3 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Developing Associations to the Sounds of a Name – Name: Language Label: Language Group: Lang Data: English – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Peggy+Liaw%22">Peggy Liaw</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0659-9538">0009-0006-0659-9538</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22David+M%2E+Sidhu%22">David M. Sidhu</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0881-2009">0000-0002-0881-2009</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lorraine+D%2E+Reggin%22">Lorraine D. Reggin</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0525-0135">0000-0002-0525-0135</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Penny+M%2E+Pexman%22">Penny M. Pexman</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7130-0973">0000-0001-7130-0973</externalLink>) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Developmental+Science%22"><i>Developmental Science</i></searchLink>. 2026 29(1). – Name: Avail Label: Availability Group: Avail Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us – Name: PeerReviewed Label: Peer Reviewed Group: SrcInfo Data: Y – Name: Pages Label: Page Count Group: Src Data: 16 – Name: DatePubCY Label: Publication Date Group: Date Data: 2026 – Name: TypeDocument Label: Document Type Group: TypDoc Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research – Name: Subject Label: Descriptors Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Children%22">Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Learning+Modalities%22">Learning Modalities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Correlation%22">Correlation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phoneme+Grapheme+Correspondence%22">Phoneme Grapheme Correspondence</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gender+Differences%22">Gender Differences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Processing%22">Language Processing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+Mapping%22">Cognitive Mapping</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Geometric+Concepts%22">Geometric Concepts</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Associative+Learning%22">Associative Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Naming%22">Naming</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Semantics%22">Semantics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cues%22">Cues</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sex%22">Sex</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phonology%22">Phonology</searchLink> – Name: DOI Label: DOI Group: ID Data: 10.1111/desc.70107 – Name: ISSN Label: ISSN Group: ISSN Data: 1363-755X<br />1467-7687 – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Sound symbolism refers to associations between language sounds and certain perceptual or semantic properties. One well-studied example is the maluma/takete effect, in which individuals tend to associate round-sounding nonwords like maluma with round shapes, and spiky-sounding nonwords like takete with spiky shapes. This phenomenon suggests that certain sounds are perceived as better suited to particular visual shapes, and it provides a means by which language can be non-arbitrary. Research has demonstrated that sound symbolism further extends from nonwords to real first names, a phenomenon known as name sound symbolism. In addition to phonological cues, research on name sound symbolism reveals an association between a name's perceived gender and shape: femaleness is associated with roundness, whereas maleness is associated with spikiness. However, previous studies have focused on adults, leaving open the question of whether children also show these associations. The present study examined the emergence of name sound symbolism in children, considering individual differences such as age and language ability. Results indicated that adults exhibit stronger sensitivity to both name sound symbolism and gender-shape associations than children. Although the gender-shape association is present in 5- to 7-year-olds, name sound symbolism may emerge at a later age. Our results point to the possibility that the presence of semantic meanings or sociolinguistic information like gender may compete with phonological cues when processing real words, thus attenuating the sound symbolic effect. These findings have important implications on how sound symbolism operates in nonwords versus in real words. – Name: AbstractInfo Label: Abstractor Group: Ab Data: As Provided – Name: Note Label: Notes Group: Note Data: https://osf.io/bq2jt – Name: DateEntry Label: Entry Date Group: Date Data: 2026 – Name: AN Label: Accession Number Group: ID Data: EJ1492103 |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1492103 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1111/desc.70107 Languages: – Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 16 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Children Type: general – SubjectFull: Learning Modalities Type: general – SubjectFull: Correlation Type: general – SubjectFull: Phoneme Grapheme Correspondence Type: general – SubjectFull: Gender Differences Type: general – SubjectFull: Language Processing Type: general – SubjectFull: Cognitive Mapping Type: general – SubjectFull: Geometric Concepts Type: general – SubjectFull: Associative Learning Type: general – SubjectFull: Naming Type: general – SubjectFull: Semantics Type: general – SubjectFull: Cues Type: general – SubjectFull: Sex Type: general – SubjectFull: Phonology Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Developing Associations to the Sounds of a Name Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Peggy Liaw – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: David M. Sidhu – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Lorraine D. Reggin – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Penny M. Pexman IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 1363-755X – Type: issn-electronic Value: 1467-7687 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 29 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Developmental Science Type: main |
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