Chicks seem to associate sounds with certain shapes Pazargic Liviu/Shutterstock
To humans, some words seem to fit better with sharp shapes or round shapes – and the same seems to be true for baby chicks.
Research has shown that people tend to associate the nonsense word “bouba” with round shapes and “kiki” with spiky shapes. Many studies have found that the phenomenon is near-universal, applying in people across ages, cultures and languages.
“The effect is one example of sound symbolism, this spontaneous association between sounds and shapes,”…
