Jagged little trill: study suggests sounds have shape and texture

A rolled R is a sound that many may struggle to produce, but research suggests it evokes the same curious response in people the world over: an association with a jagged line. While onomatopoeia describes words that sound like the noise they describe - such as "bang" - sound symbolism is a broader concept, in which sounds map on to a wider range of meanings, such as shape, texture or size.

- Nicola Davis

One of the best known examples is the boubalkiki effect, whereby people typically match the nonsense word "bouba" to a blobby shape and "kiki" to a spiky one.

Now researchers say they have found an association that appears even more widespread, revealing a rolled - or trilled - R sound is consistently matched with a jagged line.

"It's the strongest case of sound symbolism [to date]. So your speech sounds, which are supposed to be arbitrary, have meaning," said Dr Marcus Perlman from the University of Birmingham, a co-author of the study.