Gakuji Kumagai
Biographic Data
| ID | 8963784 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gakuji Kumagai |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gakuji |
| FAMILY NAME | Kumagai |
| SIGNATURE | KUMAGAI G |
| AFFILIATIONS | Kansai University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6104-4072 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Sound symbolism can count three segments (whereas phonological constraints presumably cannot)
Some researchers have recently argued that sound-symbolic requirements can cause phonological alternations, suggesting that sound-symbolic patterns and phonological patterns may be governed by similar – or perhaps the same – mechanisms. Against this theoretical development, this article further addresses the question of how similar phonological systems and sound-symbolic systems are, by focusing on their counting capability. It has been establish…
Phonotactic conditions of geminates can influence sound symbolic effects
This study explores the sound symbolic effects of geminate consonants. I propose three working hypotheses: (1) geminates convey a particular meaning more strongly than singletons, (2) geminates convey it to the same extent as singletons, and (3) geminates convey it less strongly than singletons. To evaluate the most plausible hypothesis, I conducted experiments in which Japanese speakers judged the cuteness and the evilness of nonce words using a…
Japanese speakers can infer specific sub-lexicons using phonotactic cues
Phonotactic restrictions do not usually hold uniformly across the entire lexicon of a particular language, and thus the lexicon of a natural language is often assumed to consist of different sub-lexicons. A question that arises is how specific these sub-lexicons can be. A classic, conservative approach is to posit only broad distinctions, such as the distinction between native words versus borrowed words. An alternative approach is to posit more …
Rendaku is not blocked by two nasal consonants
Rendaku is a morphophonological process in Japanese, in which the first consonant of the second element of compounds becomes voiced (e.g. /ao-sora/ → [ao-zora] ‘blue sky’). In a recent paper, Kim (2022) argues that the presence of two nasals—but not one nasal— in the second element reduces the probability of Rendaku application (e.g. /umi-kamome/ → [umi-kamome], *[umi-gamome] ‘seagull’). This claim has an important consequence for grammatical the…
Express [p] in expressive phonology
Recent studies have shown that sound-symbolic patterns can be modelled using phonological theory. The purpose of the current study is to describe a new Japanese nicknaming pattern, pime-yobi , wherein [h] alternates with [p] to express cuteness, and to model it using Maximum Entropy Harmonic Grammar. The current study, building on the analysis of Alderete & Kochetov (2017), proposes a sound-symbolic constraint, Express [p], which requires output …
How Russian speakers express evolution in Pokémon names
Sound symbolism, systematic and iconic relationships between sounds and meanings, is now a topic that is very actively explored by linguists, psychologists and cognitive scientists. As a new research strategy to study the nature of sound symbolic connections across different languages, a number of scholars have started using Pokémon names, a research paradigm that is now dubbed “Pokémonastics.” The previous Pokémonastics studies have experimental…
What voiced obstruents symbolically represent in Japanese
Kawahara, Noto, and Kumagai (2018b) found that within the corpus of existing Pokémon names, the number of voiced obstruents in the characters’ names correlates positively with their weight, height, evolution levels and attack values. While later experimental studies to some extent confirmed the productivity of these sound symbolic relationships (e.g. Kawahara and Kumagai 2019a), they are limited, due to the fact that the visual images presented t…
Analysing spells in the Harry Potter series
The current study is the first to attempt to perform a sound-symbolic analysis of the spells featured in the Harry Potter series. The present research analysed 171 spells in terms of syllable lengths and the number of voiced obstruents and stressed low vowels. The results showed that the Killing Curse, Avada Kedavra , which is known as one of the most powerful and sinister spells, has the most voiced obstruents and stressed low vowels. The study …
The pluripotentiality of bilabial consonants
The current study experimentally examined whether labial consonants were sound-symbolically associated with the images of softness and cuteness in Japanese and English. The results showed that all the bilabial consonants [p, b, m, ɸ, w] used in Japanese convey such images. In English, the consonants evoking the image of softness were bilabials but not labiodentals, and those linked to the image of cuteness were unaspirated, low-frequency bilabial…
Do Sibilants Fly? Evidence from a Sound Symbolic Pattern in Pokémon Names
Ancient writers, including Socrates and the Upanishads, argued that sibilants are associated with the notions of wind, air and sky. From modern perspectives, these statements can be understood as an assertion about sound symbolism, i.e., systematic connections between sounds and meanings. Inspired by these writers, this article reports on an experiment that tests a sound symbolic value of sibilants. The experiment is a case study situated within …
Accounting for the stochastic nature of sound symbolism using Maximum Entropy model
Sound symbolism refers to stochastic and systematic associations between sounds and meanings. Sound symbolism has not received much serious attention in the generative phonology literature, perhaps because most if not all sound symbolic patterns are probabilistic. Building on the recent proposal to analyze sound symbolic patterns within a formal phonological framework (Alderete and Kochetov 2017), this paper shows that MaxEnt grammars allow us to…
Resolving the Issue of the Target of Vowel Copy in Fijian Loanwords
English loanwords into Fijian undergo vowel epenthesis, as Fijian disallows coda consonants and consonant clusters. Vowel copy is an option for determining epenthetic vowel quality in loanword adaptation (Kumagai 2016a; Schütz 1978, 2004). The target of copy epenthesis seems to be either the preceding or following vowel of the epenthetic site. However, the choice of target vowel is indeterminate, as there is no vowel copy in Fijian native phonolo…
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Resolving the Issue of the Target of Vowel Copy in Fijian Loanwords
English loanwords into Fijian undergo vowel epenthesis, as Fijian disallows coda consonants and consonant clusters. Vowel copy is an option for determining epenthetic vowel quality in loanword adaptation (Kumagai 2016a; Schütz 1978, 2004). The target of copy epenthesis seems to be either the preceding or following vowel of the epenthetic site. However, the choice of target vowel is indeterminate, as there is no vowel copy in Fijian native phonolo…
Accounting for the stochastic nature of sound symbolism using Maximum Entropy model
Sound symbolism refers to stochastic and systematic associations between sounds and meanings. Sound symbolism has not received much serious attention in the generative phonology literature, perhaps because most if not all sound symbolic patterns are probabilistic. Building on the recent proposal to analyze sound symbolic patterns within a formal phonological framework (Alderete and Kochetov 2017), this paper shows that MaxEnt grammars allow us to…
The pluripotentiality of bilabial consonants
The current study experimentally examined whether labial consonants were sound-symbolically associated with the images of softness and cuteness in Japanese and English. The results showed that all the bilabial consonants [p, b, m, ɸ, w] used in Japanese convey such images. In English, the consonants evoking the image of softness were bilabials but not labiodentals, and those linked to the image of cuteness were unaspirated, low-frequency bilabial…
Do Sibilants Fly? Evidence from a Sound Symbolic Pattern in Pokémon Names
Ancient writers, including Socrates and the Upanishads, argued that sibilants are associated with the notions of wind, air and sky. From modern perspectives, these statements can be understood as an assertion about sound symbolism, i.e., systematic connections between sounds and meanings. Inspired by these writers, this article reports on an experiment that tests a sound symbolic value of sibilants. The experiment is a case study situated within …
What voiced obstruents symbolically represent in Japanese
Kawahara, Noto, and Kumagai (2018b) found that within the corpus of existing Pokémon names, the number of voiced obstruents in the characters’ names correlates positively with their weight, height, evolution levels and attack values. While later experimental studies to some extent confirmed the productivity of these sound symbolic relationships (e.g. Kawahara and Kumagai 2019a), they are limited, due to the fact that the visual images presented t…
Analysing spells in the Harry Potter series
The current study is the first to attempt to perform a sound-symbolic analysis of the spells featured in the Harry Potter series. The present research analysed 171 spells in terms of syllable lengths and the number of voiced obstruents and stressed low vowels. The results showed that the Killing Curse, Avada Kedavra , which is known as one of the most powerful and sinister spells, has the most voiced obstruents and stressed low vowels. The study …
How Russian speakers express evolution in Pokémon names
Sound symbolism, systematic and iconic relationships between sounds and meanings, is now a topic that is very actively explored by linguists, psychologists and cognitive scientists. As a new research strategy to study the nature of sound symbolic connections across different languages, a number of scholars have started using Pokémon names, a research paradigm that is now dubbed “Pokémonastics.” The previous Pokémonastics studies have experimental…
Rendaku is not blocked by two nasal consonants
Rendaku is a morphophonological process in Japanese, in which the first consonant of the second element of compounds becomes voiced (e.g. /ao-sora/ → [ao-zora] ‘blue sky’). In a recent paper, Kim (2022) argues that the presence of two nasals—but not one nasal— in the second element reduces the probability of Rendaku application (e.g. /umi-kamome/ → [umi-kamome], *[umi-gamome] ‘seagull’). This claim has an important consequence for grammatical the…
Express [p] in expressive phonology
Recent studies have shown that sound-symbolic patterns can be modelled using phonological theory. The purpose of the current study is to describe a new Japanese nicknaming pattern, pime-yobi , wherein [h] alternates with [p] to express cuteness, and to model it using Maximum Entropy Harmonic Grammar. The current study, building on the analysis of Alderete & Kochetov (2017), proposes a sound-symbolic constraint, Express [p], which requires output …
Japanese speakers can infer specific sub-lexicons using phonotactic cues
Phonotactic restrictions do not usually hold uniformly across the entire lexicon of a particular language, and thus the lexicon of a natural language is often assumed to consist of different sub-lexicons. A question that arises is how specific these sub-lexicons can be. A classic, conservative approach is to posit only broad distinctions, such as the distinction between native words versus borrowed words. An alternative approach is to posit more …
Sound symbolism can count three segments (whereas phonological constraints presumably cannot)
Some researchers have recently argued that sound-symbolic requirements can cause phonological alternations, suggesting that sound-symbolic patterns and phonological patterns may be governed by similar – or perhaps the same – mechanisms. Against this theoretical development, this article further addresses the question of how similar phonological systems and sound-symbolic systems are, by focusing on their counting capability. It has been establish…
Phonotactic conditions of geminates can influence sound symbolic effects
This study explores the sound symbolic effects of geminate consonants. I propose three working hypotheses: (1) geminates convey a particular meaning more strongly than singletons, (2) geminates convey it to the same extent as singletons, and (3) geminates convey it less strongly than singletons. To evaluate the most plausible hypothesis, I conducted experiments in which Japanese speakers judged the cuteness and the evilness of nonce words using a…
Linguistics (10 works) · Philosophy (9 works) · Multisensory perception and integration (7 works) · Phonetics and Phonology Research (7 works) · Psychology (7 works) · Computer Science (6 works) · Phonology (6 works) · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition (5 works) · Linguistic Variation and Morphology (5 works) · Categorization, perception, and language (4 works)