Baby chicks pass the bouba-kiki test, challenging a theory of language evolution
5 days ago
- #linguistics
- #animal cognition
- #evolution
- The bouba-kiki effect links certain sounds to shapes, a phenomenon observed globally for over a century.
- A new study shows baby chickens also exhibit the bouba-kiki effect, challenging theories about human language origins.
- Researchers tested chicks with round and spiky shapes paired with 'bouba' and 'kiki' sounds, showing innate preferences.
- The effect may stem from evolutionary perceptual biases, not learned behavior, dating back 300 million years.
- Previous studies found the bouba-kiki effect in human infants and diverse cultures but not in great apes.
- The effect might relate to sensory connections aiding survival, like locating food or avoiding predators.
- The bouba-kiki effect's origins may lie in physical object properties rather than mouth shapes when speaking.