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Favorite Words as a Window onto the Aesthetic Function of Language
American Speech ( IF 0.429 ) Pub Date : 2019-08-01 , DOI: 10.1215/00031283-7603218
Karla K. McGregor 1 , Timothy Arbisi-Kelm 2 , Bogi Perelmutter 3 , Jacob Oleson
Affiliation  

This article characterizes the aesthetic properties of English words. One thousand adult speakers of American English reported their favorite words and justified their selections. Each word was coded for phonological characteristics, valence, and frequency of occurrence and compared with words from a corpus of everyday English from Reader’s Digest. The participants’ stated reasons for their selections were categorized as utilitarian (meaning, use) or aesthetic (form). Compared to the word types in the Reader’s Digest corpus, the favorite words were longer and lower in frequency of occurrence. They were less likely to include a sonorant consonant but more likely to include a repeated consonant. Consonant clusters were sparser among the favorite words. The majority of people justified their favorite words on utilitarian grounds, suggesting some difficulty considering form apart from meaning. The best predictors of aesthetic justifications were lower valence, lower frequency, longer length, higher sonority, and a higher density of lax vowels. People value words for the work they do—the meanings they convey. Nevertheless, people can appreciate words as objects, and when they do, novelty and musicality are privileged. This study informs our understanding of the aesthetic function of language and situates that function into a broader consideration of aesthetic appreciation.

中文翻译:

喜欢的词是语言审美功能的窗口

这篇文章描述了英语单词的审美属性。一千名讲美式英语的成人报告了他们最喜欢的单词并证明了他们的选择。每个单词都根据语音特征、效价和出现频率进行编码,并与来自读者文摘的日常英语语料库中的单词进行比较。参与者陈述的选择理由分为功利主义(意义、用途)或审美(形式)。与《读者文摘》语料库中的词类相比,最喜欢的词出现的频率更长,出现频率更低。它们不太可能包括一个响亮的辅音,但更有可能包括一个重复的辅音。在最喜欢的单词中辅音簇比较稀疏。大多数人以功利为由为自己喜欢的词辩护,暗示除了意义之外考虑形式有些困难。审美理由的最佳预测指标是较低的价、较低的频率、较长的长度、较高的响度和较高密度的松元音。人们重视他们所做的工作——他们所传达的意义。然而,人们可以将文字作为对象来欣赏,当他们这样做时,新颖性和音乐性是特权。这项研究为我们提供了对语言审美功能的理解,并将该功能置于对审美欣赏的更广泛考虑中。人们可以将单词作为对象来欣赏,当他们这样做时,新颖性和音乐性就占了上风。这项研究为我们提供了对语言审美功能的理解,并将该功能置于对审美欣赏的更广泛考虑中。人们可以将单词作为对象来欣赏,当他们这样做时,新颖性和音乐性就占了上风。这项研究为我们提供了对语言审美功能的理解,并将该功能置于对审美欣赏的更广泛考虑中。
更新日期:2019-08-01
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