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Mapping for meaning: the embodied sonification listening model and its implications for the mapping problem in sonic information design

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Abstract

This is a theoretical paper that considers the mapping problem, a foundational issue which arises when designing a sonification, as it applies to sonic information design. We argue that this problem can be addressed by using models from the field of embodied cognitive science, including embodied image schema theory, conceptual metaphor theory and conceptual blends, and from research which treats sound and musical structures using these models, when mapping data to sound. However, there are currently very few theoretical frameworks for applying embodied cognition principles in a sonic information design context. This article describes one such framework, the embodied sonification listening model, which provides a theoretical description of sonification listening in terms of conceptual metaphor theory.

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Acknowledgements

This publication has been funded by an Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (Grant no. 14887). This publication has emanated from research supported in part by a research grant from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and is co- funded under the European Regional Development Fund under Grant No. 13/RC/2077.

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  1. Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland

    Stephen Roddy

  2. School of Arts and Humanities, Ulster University, Magee Campus, Derry/Londonderry, BT48 7JL, Northern Ireland

    Brian Bridges

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  1. Stephen Roddy
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  2. Brian Bridges
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Correspondence to Stephen Roddy.

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Roddy, S., Bridges, B. Mapping for meaning: the embodied sonification listening model and its implications for the mapping problem in sonic information design. J Multimodal User Interfaces 14, 143–151 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12193-020-00318-y

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