Long vowel sounds induce expectations of sweet tastes

Abstract

A growing body of research has demonstrated the existence of cross modal correspondences that involve tastes and sounds. For example, front vowels (e.g., /i/) and voiceless consonants (e.g., /f/) are more matched with sweetness than back vowels (e.g., /u/) and voiced consonants (e.g., /b/). However, research on taste-sound correspondences so far has focused mainly on the vowel position (e.g., front vs. back) and/or consonant types (i.e., voiced vs. voiceless). The literature on onomatopoeia and phonaesthetics suggests that vowel length (e.g. /e/ in sweeeet vs sweet) can be used to convey pleasure or euphony (e.g. sweetness) and displeasure (e.g., bitterness). This paper explores the linkages between vowel length and taste attributes. Specifically, this paper investigated the link between long (vs. short) vowel sounds and sweetness. In three studies, we demonstrate that people expect words containing long vowels (e.g., Monef [Məʊni:f]) to connote sweeter tastes than words containing short vowels (e.g., Monef [Mɒnef]). Our findings reveal the importance of vowel length in taste-sound associations, and show its linkage with the taste continuum.

Constructing healthy food names: On the sound symbolism of healthy food

“…Sound symbolism refers to the non-arbitrary mappings that exist between phonetic sounds and their meanings (Knoeferle et al, 2017;Sidhu & Pexman, 2018) and has been shown to be an important factor behind the creation of many of the world's most successful brand names (Abel & Glinert, 2008;Gallace et al, 2011;Klink, 2000Klink, , 2001Klink, , 2003Klink & Athaide, 2012;Klink & Wu, 2014;Spence, 2012Spence, , 2014Velasco et al, 2014). Sound symbolism has also been shown to be effective in altering the consumer perception across various food products (e.g., ice cream, beer), medications (e.g., medicine effectiveness), and even taste attributes (e.g., sweetness, bitterness, creaminess) (e.g., Abel & Glinert, 2008;Klink, 2000;Lowrey & Shrum, 2007;Motoki et al, 2020;Park et al, 2020;Pathak, Calvert, & Motoki, 2020;Yorkston & Menon, 2004). Despite the rich literature published in this field, research linking those sounds contained within a brand name with the perception of healthy food is relatively sparse, and this paper is an attempt to bridge this gap.…”

Vowel Length Expands Perceptual and Emotional Evaluations in Written Japanese Sound-Symbolic Words

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Smelling speech sounds: Association of odors with texture‐related ideophones

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