Researchers investigated vocalizations and interjections for pain, joy, and disgust across 131 languages.
An international linguistic study identifies consistent vocal expressions of pain across different cultures but finds less uniformity in expressions of joy and disgust.
Linguistic Diversity and Emotional Expression
An estimated 7,000 languages are spoken around the world, each with unique ways of expressing human emotions. But do certain emotions have universal vocal characteristics that span across these languages?
A team of linguists and bioacousticians led by Maïa Ponsonnet, Katarzyna Pisanski, and Christophe Coupé investigated this question. In their study published today (November 12) in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, on behalf of the Acoustical Society of America, they compared expressive interjections (such as “wow!”) with nonlinguistic vocalizations (like screams and cries) from cultures worldwide.
Human Speech Origins and Animal Vocalization Comparison
Pisanski noted that examining vocalizations like cries, screams, and laughter could provide insights into the origins of speech.
“Why did we humans start to speak, and other primates didn’t? We all produce laughter, and hundreds of species produce playlike vocalizations,” said Ponsonnet. “Yet we are the only species that evolved spoken language. Looking at these commonalities across species can help us understand where humans diverged and how.
“Critically, by comparing interjections to vocalizations expressing the same emotions, we can test whether the acoustic patterns we observe in interjections can be traced back to vocalizations.”
Analyzing Vocal Patterns in Different Cultures
The researchers analyzed vowels in interjections from 131 languages, comparing them with nearly 500 vowels from vocalizations produced in joyful, painful, or disgusting contexts.
They predicted that the vocalizations’ acoustic forms reflect their adaptive or social functions. “We believe that many vocal expressions have a function. For example, babies’ cries tend to be loud and harsh, evolving to annoy parents enough to stop the aversive signal. We expect vocal expressions of pain, disgust, and joy to reflect their functions too,” said Pisanski.
Distinct Patterns in Pain, Disgust, and Joy Vocalizations
The researchers found evidence to support this for vocalizations: Each of the three emotions yielded consistent and distinct vowel signatures across cultures. Pain interjections also featured similar open vowels, such as “a,” and wide falling diphthongs, such as “ai” in “Ayyy!” and “aw” in “Ouch!” However, for disgusted and joyful emotions, in contrast to vocalizations, the interjections lacked regularities across cultures. The researchers expressed surprise at this latter finding.
The team aims to expand this research across more cultures and emotions to better understand how widespread vocal expressions arise and where they come from.
Reference: “Vowel signatures in emotional interjections and nonlinguistic vocalizations expressing pain, disgust and joy across languages” by Maïa Ponsonnet, Christophe Coupé, François Pellegrino, Garcia Arasco Aitana, and Katarzyna Pisanski, 12 November 2024, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.
DOI: 10.1121/10.0032454
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2 Comments
“Ouch” and “wow” is basically the entire American vocabulary.
Many years ago I was involved with a native Russian speaking woman. She said “ow” when experiencing “pleasure” – It took me for suprise.