Iconicity in Language and Speech

Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit dem großen Oberthema der Ikonizität und ihrer Verbreitung auf verschiedenen linguistischen Ebenen. Ikonizität bezeichnet die Ähnlichkeit zwischen der sprachlichen Form und ihrer Bedeutung (vgl. Perniss und Vigliocco, 2014). So wie eine Skulptur einem Objekt oder einer Person ähnelt, kann auch der Klang oder die Form von Wörtern der Sache ähneln, auf die sie verweisen. Frühere theoretische Ansätze betonen, dass die Arbitrarität von sprachlichen Zeichen und deren Bedeutung ein Hauptmerkmal menschlicher Sprache ist und Ikonizität für die Sprachevolution eine Rolle gespielt haben mag, jedoch in der heutigen Sprache zu vernachlässigen ist. Im Gegensatz dazu ist das Hauptanliegen dieser Arbeit, das Potenzial und die Bedeutung von Ikonizität in der heutigen Sprache zu untersuchen. Die einzelnen Kapitel der Dissertation können als separate Teile betrachtet werden, die in ihrer Gesamtheit das umfassende Spektrum der Ikonizität sichtbar machen. Von der sprachevolutionären Debatte ausgehend wird in den einzelnen Kapiteln auf die unterschiedlichen Ebenen der Ikonizität eingegangen. Es werden experimentelle Untersuchungen zur Lautsymbolik, am Beispiel der deutschen Pokémon-Namen, zur ikonischen Prosodie und zu ikonischen Wörtern, den sogenannten Ideophonen, vorgestellt. Die Ergebnisse der einzelnen Untersuchungen deuten auf die weite Verbreitung der Ikonizität im heutigen Deutsch hin. Darüber hinaus entschlüsselt diese Dissertation das kommunikative Potenzial der Ikonizität als eine Kraft, die nicht nur die Entstehung der Sprache ermöglichte, sondern auch nach Jahrtausenden bestehen bleibt, sich immer wieder neu entfaltet und uns tagtäglich in mündlicher, schriftlicher Form und in Gesten begegnet.This dissertation is concerned with the major theme of iconicity and its prevalence on different linguistic levels. Iconicity refers to a resemblance between the linguistic form and the meaning of a referent (cf. Perniss and Vigliocco, 2014). Just like a sculpture resembles an object or a model, so can the sound or shape of words resemble the thing they refer to. Previous theoretical approaches emphasize that arbitrariness of the linguistic sign is one of the main features of human language; iconicity, however, may have played a role for language evolution, but is negligible in contemporary language. In contrast, the main point of this thesis is to explore the potential and the importance of iconicity in the language nowadays. The individual chapters of the dissertation can be viewed as separate parts that, taken together, reveal the comprehensive spectrum of iconicity. Starting from the language evolutionary debate, the individual chapters address iconicity on different linguistic levels. I present experimental evidence on sound symbolism, using the example of German Pokémon names, on iconic prosody, and on iconic words, the so-called ideophones. The results of the individual investigations point to the widespread use of iconicity in contemporary German. Moreover, this dissertation deciphers the communicative potential of iconicity as a force that not only enabled the emergence of language, but also persists after millennia, unfolding again and again and encountering us every day in speech, writing, and gestures

The Acoustic Realization of Prosodic Prominence in Polish: Word-level Stress and Phrase-level Accent

Cwiek A, Wagner P. The Acoustic Realization of Prosodic Prominence in Polish: Word-level Stress and Phrase-level Accent. In: Proceedings of Speech Prosody 2018. Poznan, Poland; 2018: 922-926.The current study addresses the question of how word-level (“stress”) and phrase- or sentence-level prominence (“accent”) is realized in Polish. For this purpose, a production experiment eliciting semi-spontaneous utterances was conducted, closely following the methodological approach introduced in [1]. Our acoustic analyses are based on identical target syllables which are embedded in sentences under conditions that allow to disentangle word-level and phrase-level prominence. The acoustic realizations of these target syllables are then subject to linear mixed-effect models fitted for various acoustic parameters: duration, fundamental frequency maximum, intensity, and spectral balance. The models indicate that prominence marking in Polish is realized acoustically in a stable fashion on phrase-level only. Word stress marking occurs only in cases where a lexically stressed syllable simultaneously realizes a phrase-level accent

Acoustics and Discourse Function of Two Types of Breathing Signals

Cwiek A, Wlodarczak M, Heldner M, Wagner P. Acoustics and Discourse Function of Two Types of Breathing Signals. In: Nordic Prosody 2016. 2016

Beat It! Gesture-based Prominence Annotation as a Window to Individual Prosody Processing Strategies

Wagner P, Cwiek A, Samlowski B. Beat It! Gesture-based Prominence Annotation as a Window to Individual Prosody Processing Strategies. In: Draxler C, Kleber F, eds. Tagungsband der 12. Tagung Phonetik und Phonologie im deutschsprachigen Raum. München, Deutschland: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; 2016: 211-214

Investigating the communicative function of breathing and non-breathing "silent" pauses

Cwiek A, Neueder S, Wagner P. Investigating the communicative function of breathing and non-breathing "silent" pauses. In: Draxler C, Kleber F, eds. Tagungsband der 12. Tagung Phonetik und Phonologie im deutschsprachigen Raum. München, Deutschland: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; 2016: 27-29

Beat It! Gesture-based Prominence Annotation as a Window to Individual Prosody Processing Strategies

Wagner P, Cwiek A, Samlowski B. Beat It! Gesture-based Prominence Annotation as a Window to Individual Prosody Processing Strategies. In: Draxler C, Kleber F, eds. Tagungsband der 12. Tagung Phonetik und Phonologie im deutschsprachigen Raum. München, Deutschland: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; 2016: 211-214

Premature differentiation of nephron progenitor cell and dysregulation of gene pathways critical to kidney development in a model of preterm birth

Preterm birth is a leading cause of neonatal morbidity. Survivors have a greater risk for kidney dysfunction and hypertension. Little is known about the molecular changes that occur in the kidney of individuals born preterm. Here, we demonstrate that mice delivered two days prior to full term gestation undergo premature cessation of nephrogenesis, resulting in a lower glomerular density. Kidneys from preterm and term groups exhibited differences in gene expression profiles at 20- and 27-days post-conception, including significant differences in the expression of fat-soluble vitamin-related genes. Kidneys of the preterm mice exhibited decreased proportions of endothelial cells and a lower expression of genes promoting angiogenesis compared to the term group. Kidneys from the preterm mice also had altered nephron progenitor subpopulations, early Six2 depletion, and altered Jag1 expression in the nephrogenic zone, consistent with premature differentiation of nephron progenitor cells. In conclusion, preterm birth alone was sufficient to shorten the duration of nephrogenesis and cause premature differentiation of nephron progenitor cells. These candidate genes and pathways may provide targets to improve kidney health in preterm infants

Acoustics and discourse function of two types of breathing signals

Cwiek A, Wlodarczak M, Heldner M, Wagner P. Acoustics and discourse function of two types of breathing signals. In: Abrahamsen JE, Koreman J, van Dommelen WA, eds. Nordic Prosody: Proceedings of the XIIth Conference, Trondheim 2016. Frankfurt a.M.: Peter Lang Publishing Group; 2017: 83-91.Breathing is fundamental for living and speech, and it has been a subject of linguistic research for years. Recently, there has been a renewed interest in tackling the question of possible communicative functions of breathing (e.g. Rochet-Capellan & Fuchs, 2014; Aare, Włodarczak & Heldner, 2014; Włodarczak & Heldner, 2015; Włodarczak, Heldner, & Edlund, 2015). The present study set out to determine acoustic markedness and communicative functions of pauses accompanied and non-accompanied by breathing. We hypothesised that an articulatory reset occurring in breathing pauses and an articulatory freeze in non-breathing pauses differentiates between the two types. A production experiment was conducted and some evidence in favour of such a phenomenon was found. Namely, in case of non-breathing pauses, we observed more coarticulation evidenced by a more frequent omission of plosive releases. Our findings thus give some evidence in favour of the communicative function of breathing

The bouba/kiki effect is robust across cultures and writing systems

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)'.Peer reviewe

Hållfasthet och krympning utifrån olika modelleringsvätskor till porslin

SyfteFöreliggande studie syftar till att närmare undersöka böjhållfastheten och krympningen på två olika porsliner blandade med respektive vätska av samma fabrikat, destillerat vatten eller universalvätskor.HypotesVätskan med lägst densitet kommer resultera i högre hållfasthetsvärden, minst krympning och porositet på grund av vätskans innehåll som bidrar till högre vätning av porslinet och därmed ger bättre tätpackning.Metod Två olika dentala porsliner blandades med fyra olika modelleringsvätskor, fabrikantens vätska, två universella vätskor och destillerat vatten. 10 provkroppar framställdes per respektive grupp, vilket gav totalt 80 provkroppar fördelade i 8 grupper. Alla provkroppar mättes, genomgick ett 4-punkts böjhållfasthetstest och en provkropp per grupp blev slumpmässigt vald till inspektion av porositet med ett mikroskop. Slutligen fördes det en statistisk jämförelse av böjhållfastheten och krympningen mellan grupperna, samt dokumentation av mikrostrukturen av de utvalda provkropparna.Resultat Provkropparna blandade med destillerat vatten visar signifikant högre böjhållfashetsvärden jämfört med en provgrupp blandad med universell modelleringsvätska. Provkropparna blandade med destillerat vatten visade även signifikant högre krympning, medan provkropparna med tillverkarens vätska visade minsta krympning.Slutsats I föreliggande studie visade destillerat vatten att vara mest pålitligt val vad det gäller hög böjhållfasthet. Fabrikantens vätska (GC Initial MC) fick minst signifikant krympning. Däremot finns det otillräcklig evidens som bifaller kopplingen mellan modelleringsvätskans densitet och dess påverkan på böjhållfashetsvärden samt krympningPurpose The present study aims to investigate the flexural strength and shrinkage of two types of porcelain mixed with the manufacturer's modelling liquid as well as distilled water and universal liquids.Hypothesis The liquid with lowest density will result in higher strength values, lower shrinkage and porosity due to the liquids content that contributes to higher wetting of the powder, thus providing better sealing.Method Two different porcelain were mixed with four different liquids, the manufacturer’s liquid, two universal liquids and distilled water. Ten specimens were prepared per respective group, giving a total of 80. All specimens underwent measuring, flexural strength test and one specimen per group was selected for surface analysis with a microscope inspection. Finally, there was a statistical comparison of the flexural strength between the groups, as well as documentation with photographs of the microstructure of the selected specimens.Results The specimens mixed with distilled water show significantly higher flexural strength values compared to one specimen group mixed with universal modelling liquid. Specimen mixed with distilled water showed significant higher shrinkage, whereas the specimens with the manufacturer's liquid showed least shrinkage.Conclusion Distillated water showed to be most reliable in terms of high flexural strength. The manufacturer’s liquid (GC Initial MC) showed least significant shrinkage. On the other hand, there is insufficient evidence that proves the connection between the density in modeling liquid and its influence on flexural strength values as well as shrinkag