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Multisensory and synaesthetic features in Russian onomatopoeias

ORCiD logo with link | University of Helsinki
ORCiD logo with link | University of Helsinki
Published online: 11 December 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/rcl.00246.kan
Abstract
This study investigates whether Russian onomatopoeias can generate multisensory mental imagery and evoke synaesthetic sensations going beyond sound depiction. The experiment with Russian native speakers identified six word clusters linked to a specific set of sensory associations involved in depicting extralinguistic phenomena: (1) words reflecting delicate body movements with moderate kinetic and subtle visual and auditory sensations; (2) one word referring to flatulence formed its own cluster triggering strong auditory, olfactory and kinetic sensations; (3) words depicting food consumption uniquely activated associations with taste; (4) words linked to movements evoked strong visual and kinetic sensations with no auditory focus; (5) words representing environmental sounds spatially remote from the observer triggered auditory, visual and kinetic sensations; (6) words for human bodily sounds generated auditory, visual and kinetic sensations, with tactile and interoceptive implications. The results indicate that Russian onomatopoeias elicit vivid, multisensory mental imagery, some with synaesthetic properties, akin to ideophones.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Previous research
    • 1.2The present study
  • 2.Methods
    • 2.1Experiment: Sensory modality rating
      • 2.1.1Participants
      • 2.1.2Material
      • 2.1.3Procedure
    • 2.2Analysis
      • 2.2.1Data preparation
      • 2.2.2Statistical analysis
  • 3.Results
  • 4.Discussion
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Declaration of interest statement
  • Data availability statement
  • CRediT authorship contribution statement
  • Appendix 1.
  • References
References (61)
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