Sponsor
Portland State University. Department of Applied Linguistics
First Advisor
Tucker Childs
Date of Publication
Spring 5-20-2015
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (M.A.) in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Department
Applied Linguistics
Language
English
Subjects
Sound symbolism -- Age differences, Sound symbolism -- Sex differences, Iconicity (Linguistics), Branding (Marketing)
DOI
10.15760/etd.2301
Physical Description
1 online resource (vii, 101 pages)
Abstract
This mixed-method study investigated the correlation of sound symbolic associations with age and gender by analyzing data from a national survey of 292 American English speakers. Subjects used 10 semantic differential scales to rate six artificial brand names that targeted five phonemes. Subjects also described the potential products they imagined these artificial brand names to represent. Quantitative analysis alone provided insufficient evidence to conclude that age or gender affect sound symbolism in American English. While 26 out of 60 scales showed a monotonic shift among the means of the three age groups, only three were statistically significant. The evidence of differences between genders was similarly weak; only five scales out of 60 showed a statistically significant difference when comparing genders. Analysis of the qualitative data, however, suggested both monotonic generational shifts as well as generational blips in sound-symbolic associations. Of particular interest is the possible influence of pop culture, fashions, and fads, and society's shifting focus from broadcast to narrowcast media. The implications of this research are relevant for both theory (empirical evidence for iconicity in language) and application (e.g., devising brand names that communicate particular attributes to specific demographics).
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/15470
Recommended Citation
Krause, Timothy Allen, "Sound Effects: Age, Gender, and Sound Symbolism in American English" (2015). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 2304.
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.2301