Feb 24
As for what on Earth makes “bouba” round and “kiki” spiky, we may be able to rule out one long-standing theory: that these associations are inspired by the shape your mouth makes when you say each word. While the “b” sound does require rounding your lips, and the “k” sound calls for an explosive tap to the roof of your mouth, chickens obviously can’t say them at all. Instead the bouba-kiki effect may stem from the physical properties of objects themselves, as some researchers have suggested. When round objects hit the ground or roll, they typically produce more continuous, low-frequency sounds than spiky ones.
From: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/baby-chicks-pass-the-bouba-kiki-test-challenging-a-theory-of-language/
