3. ArticulationThe interplay between spatial and temporal relations is evident in language, which rides the mind like a surfboard riding a wave. Symbolic structure is supported by two poles; a phonological pole, represented by the act of surfing, and a semantic pole, represented by the breaking wave. Characterising the phonological pole, the penetration and release phases in surfing are analogous to obstruents and sonorants. Obstruents are produced by obstructing the airflow against a range of articulation points within the vocal tract. By contrast, sonorants are produced without obstructing airflow through the vocal tract. Since obstruents and sonorants alternate like the penetration and release phases of surfing, the different combinations of obstruents and sonorants are analogous to the surfer’s repertoire of manoeuvres; whereby sequences of rotational axes direct flow across the wetted surface of the surfboard, such that each angle of flow corresponds to a phoneme. Characterising the semantic pole, the curvature in the surface of the wave is analogous to the access afforded by language to the contents of the mind. The hollower the wave, the deeper the access. Between the contents of the mind and the phonemes we use to explore it, there is a yin-yang sort of struggle influencing what we ‘make’ of reality (both in terms of speech perception and speech production). Numerous sounds remind us of shapes. This is classically demonstrated by the Kiki and Bouba experiment. In this experiment, a drawing of two aliens is presented (see fig.1). The subject is asked to identify which alien is Kiki and which is Bouba.
Figure 1. Kiki & Bouba. The vast majority of respondents identify Kiki as the pointy shaped alien and Bouba as the rounded one, indicating that our perception of sound and shape overlaps. This form of cross modal perception is analogous to the surfboard designer’s ability to associate the shape of a surfboard with its response during surfing manoeuvres. The sound of the word “kiki” is more closely associated with sudden changes in direction, as depicted by the drawing of a spiky figure. By contrast, the sound of the word “bouba” is more closely associated with long, drawn out turns, as depicted by the drawing of a curvaceous figure. Previous : Next |
