Linguistic Synesthesia: A Meta-Analysis (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781009519168)

Linguistic synesthesias combine different senses, as in English smooth melody (touch→sound). For nearly a century, researchers have gathered data that has been interpreted as supporting the notion of a hierarchical ordering of the senses. According to this proposal, expressions map the presumed-to-be 'lower' senses of touch, taste, and smell onto the presumed-to-be 'higher' senses of sound and sight. Here, this proposal is tested in the first-ever meta-analysis of linguistic synesthesias, combining thirty-eight datasets from fourteen different languages. The authors demonstrate that clear patterns emerge from the data, but many such patterns are inconsistent with the notion of a linear hierarchical order or a simple lower/higher divide of the senses. This calls for a shift in what theories are considered to be viable for explaining asymmetries between the senses in linguistic synesthesia.

Author: Bodo Winter, Francesca Strik-Lievers
ISBN-10: 1009519166
ISBN-13: 9781009519168
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 07/03/2025
Pages: 84
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.63lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.25d