In a fascinating study [no paywall, yay!] on vocal expressions, researchers found that vocalisations for pain have a universal quality across cultures.
After analysing over 600 interjections from 131 languages, the study identified that pain sounds consistently feature open vowels, such as /ɑː/ or /aɪ/ which link to primal cries rather than cultural variation.
Key Insights:
- Universal Patterns in Pain: Open vowels commonly appear in pain expressions, suggesting they might have evolved to capture attention quickly. This is thought to facilitate survival by signalling distress loudly & urgently.
- Contrast with Joy & Disgust: Unlike pain, expressions of joy & disgust show wide cultural variance. Researchers suggest that unlike pain, these emotions aren’t universally pressing for social response & so are more open to linguistic diversity.
- “Iconicity” – Sound Imitates Meaning: The study adds to evidence on iconicity in language, where sounds mimic meanings. A recent paper by linguist Mark Dingemanse, for instance, highlights iconicity’s role in sensory language like “woof” or “buzz,” suggesting it helps convey meaning even in unfamiliar languages.
[I know what you’re thinking- this sounds like onomatopoeia. Well, briefly, onomatopoeia is a specific type of iconic sign that phonetically imitates, resembles or suggests the sound that it describes. Zigzag, for example, is iconic, but it isn’t onomatopoeic.]
Background & Broader Implications
Pain expressions may be rooted in evolution, as iconic vocalisations give them immediacy & cross-cultural recognition.
This is an interesting echo of earlier research by cross-cultural psychologists such as James A. Russell, who looked at universal facial expressions of emotion. Russell’s model of emotions [often discussed as the Circumplex Model of Affect] posits that emotions are universally recognisable to some extent, particularly primary emotions like happiness, anger, sadness & pain, based on shared facial expressions across cultures. Now with this new research, vocal patterns seem to follow the same path.
A closer look at formant frequencies (acoustic properties tied to vocal tract shape) reveals that pain expressions in language mirror non-linguistic cries, supporting the idea that sounds in language can carry universal biological cues.
The universal nature of pain vocalizations uncovered in this study highlights the deep biological & evolutionary roots of how we express our most fundamental emotions through language.
Teacher Takeaways?
- Discuss Cultural & Biological Language Elements: Encourage students to consider which expressions are cultural & which might be biologically influenced.
- Use Iconic & Onomatopoeic Sounds for Vocabulary Building: Iconic words like “zoom” or “buzz” link directly to meaning & are just fun!
- Expressive Role-Plays: Play around with interjections (ouch, yay, ugh) in role-play to help students practice emotional expression, supporting fluency in real-life interactions.
Have differences in onomatopoeia between L1s & L2 led to any interesting discussions in your classroom?
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