Łukasz Stolarski Jan Kochanowski University “Size-sound symbolism in the names of cars.”
ABSTRACT
This paper discusses the theory of size-sound symbolism which predicts that certain articulatory and/or acoustic characteristics of speech sounds have the potential to symbolise varying degrees of size of different objects. In particular, it examines the extent to which the assumptions of the theory have been applied in the process of creating car names. A set of 260 names of models of cars produced by various manufactures has been analysed phonetically and the results obtained have been juxtaposed with the volume of the respective vehicles. The conclusions reached in the study confirm that size-sound symbolism is utilised in brand names, but only to a limited extent.