语音象似性视角下状貌词的意义编码与解码:问题、模型与展望

Semantic Encoding and Decoding of Ideophones from the Perspective of Sound Iconicity:Issues and Prospects

语言中的象似性假设认为语言的形式与其意义之间存在映照关系。以往关于语音象似性的研究较少关注到自然语言中的词汇加工,并且汉语词汇的语音象似性心理加工机制尚不明确。本文回顾以往有关状貌词(典型的语音象似性词汇)加工的文献,从词汇加工、跨模态映射神经机制、客体与事件意义编码三方面梳理前人研究。本文得出结论,语音象似性可以促进语义通达,但该效应受到实验任务和词汇呈现模态影响。在大脑加工语音象似性时,不仅涉及模态一般性的加工中枢(例如颞上沟和上顶叶),也可能基于语音映射的不同模态特征激活模态特异性的相关脑区。本文将这些模态特征分为客体相关(大小、形状、颜色等)和事件相关(动作性、时间性),并发现相对于客体意义,语音象似性对事件意义具有更强的编码能力。综合以往文献,本文提出状貌词解码的认知加工模型,并侧重于汉语的语音象似性现象展望未来研究,以期加深当前对于汉语语音象似性心理加工机制的了解。

The iconicity hypothesis in cognitive linguistics holds that there is a mapping relationship between the form of language and its meaning.Previous studies on sound iconicity placed limited focus on the lexical processing of the natural language.The psychological mechanism of processing sound iconicity in Chinese words remains unclear.The current study reviews former literature on the processing of ideophones(typical sound symbolic words)and summarizes previous research from three aspects:lexical processing,the neural mechanism underlying crossmodal mapping,and the encoding of entity and event meanings.The study concludes that sound iconicity could facilitate semantic access.However,this effect is susceptible to the experimental task and the presentation modality of the words.When the brain processes sound iconicity,it not only involves a modality-general processing hub(e.g.,superior temporal sulcus and superior parietal cortex),but may also activate modality-specific areas based on the features of different modalities mapped from the phonetics.The current study divides these features into entityrelevant ones(size,shape,and color)and event-relevant ones(action and temporal features).The study finds that compared with entity meaning,sound iconicity has a better capability in encoding event meaning.Synthesizing previous literature,this paper proposes a cognitive processing model for the decoding of ideophones.Focusing on the sound iconicity phenomenon in Chinese,the paper looks forward to future research and aims to deepen the current understanding of the psychological processing mechanisms of sound iconicity in Chinese.