Bouba/Kiki Effect

Bouba/kiki is most likely a specific instance of the more general notion of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_symbolism. Another well-known cross-linguistic association is the one between front vowels and small objects on one hand, and back vowels and large objects on the other.

Re: Bouba/Kiki Effect

#5

Post by beebmam » Mon, Jul 19, 2021, 7:24 PM UTC

I first learned about this effect from Hempuli, the developer of the game "Baba Is You".

It turns out that "Baba" and "Keke", two named objects that the player can control, were named after this effect! Hempuli talked about this during one of their twitch streams many months back.

(I can't say enough wonderful things about this game)

Re: Bouba/Kiki Effect

#6

Post by Exuma » Mon, Jul 19, 2021, 7:26 PM UTC

Wow!!! I've thought my whole life about this at random moments....... when I was a very little kid, maybe 5-10 I used to say certain words and I would get a very intense visualization that would go along with it. The visualization was never of the actual object, but some bizarre shape or pattern, and it would always be the same when I would say that word.

For example the world "girl" would visualize a head of hair with these brown slender shapes that would surround the head and move upwards.

It's really crazy it actually has a name. I noticed as I get older it no longer happens, but I remember it used to happen incredibly intensely when I was young.

Re: Bouba/Kiki Effect

#7

Post by jvanderbot » Mon, Jul 19, 2021, 7:28 PM UTC

This is how I remember numbers, spelling, and names sometimes. A sequence of numbers has a nice plot / wave to it. I can't say my mapping from these categories to shapes generalizes for anyone else and it hasn't made me particularly good at memory competitions. It's just how it works.

Also, memorizing a couple of credit card's information has saved me so much time -- highly recommended.

Re: Bouba/Kiki Effect

#8

Post by wyager » Mon, Jul 19, 2021, 7:31 PM UTC

Bouba/Kiki are onomatopoeia for the sounds objects of those shapes are liable to make if you drop them or otherwise physically interact with them. Bouba is probably soft/flexible and Kiki is probably hard/rigid.

Re: Bouba/Kiki Effect

#9

Post by codezero » Mon, Jul 19, 2021, 7:40 PM UTC

jvanderbot wrote: post #7

This is how I remember numbers, spelling, and names sometimes. A sequence of numbers has a nice plot / wave to it. I can't say my mapping from these categories to shapes generalizes for anyone else and it hasn't made me particularly good at memory competitions. It's just how it works. Also, memorizing a couple of credit card's information has saved me so much time -- highly recommended.

This is intriguing, can you describe in more detail how you map a series of numbers to a shape/sound?

like is 1234 a slope /

?

Re: Bouba/Kiki Effect

#10

Post by armoredkitten » Mon, Jul 19, 2021, 7:40 PM UTC

Exuma wrote: post #6

Wow!!! I've thought my whole life about this at random moments....... when I was a very little kid, maybe 5-10 I used to say certain words and I would get a very intense visualization that would go along with it. The visualization was never of the actual object, but some bizarre shape or pattern, and it would always be the same when I would say that word. For example the world "girl" would visualize a head of hair wi…

I have no idea if there's research directly linking the two areas together, but what you're describing sounds more like a form of synesthesia than this more general effect. When I think of "bouba" and "kiki" I don't have any mental visualization...it's just that if I see these shapes and have to name them, one pairing feels a little more "right" than the other. Having mental visualizations associated with particular words, letters, musical notes, etc. is synesthesia. It's also very, very cool. And I guess the article does note near the bottom that there may be some relationship. But the bouba/kiki effect is definitely more widespread than synesthesia.