The Use of Sound Symbolism

According to Frontiers, "Sound symbolism refers to a non-arbitrary relationship between the sound of a word and its meaning." (D'Anselmo, Prete, et al., 2019). The idea that sound and meaning are non-arbitrarily linked dates back centuries and continues to generate questions and research into the present. Most commonly, sound symbolism finds usage in the context of giving the idea that a word communicates a secondary significance or an enhanced significance through sound. While sound symbolism previously saw use in a marketing capacity, further investigation into sound symbolism could help determine sound symbolism's role as a rhetorical device in a broader communication range. Through my research, I intend to investigate sound symbolism's role in communication through, the history and evolution of sound symbolism, sound symbolism's usage in marketing, and the controversy of sound symbolism as a theory. I also intend to explain the significance of linguistic arbitrariness in the debate regarding sound symbolism's validity as a theory.