How labial and alveolar consonants evoke the images of softness and cuteness?: Experiments with Korean speakers

• In sound symbolism, softness does not always imply cuteness. • Degrees of sound-symbolic associations can vary depending on laryngeal features. • In Korean, lenis labials and alveolars were the most strongly associated with softness. • In Korean, tensed and aspirated labials evoke cuteness. • In Korean, among alveolars, tensed ones evoke the most cuteness, while aspirated ones evoke the least. The purpose of this study is to report on an experiment that examined how labial and alveolar consonants evoke images of softness and cuteness depending on their laryngeal features in Korean, and to discuss cross-linguistic similarities and differences in sound-symbolic associations. The main findings of the study were: 1) compared to alveolar consonants, labial consonants were more associated with images of softness and cuteness in Korean, as well as in Japanese and Chinese; 2) among both labial and alveolar consonants, lenis consonants were the most strongly associated with images of softness; 3) aspirated and tensed bilabial consonants evoked images of cuteness; and 4) among alveolar consonants, tensed alveolars are the most likely to evoke images of cuteness, while aspirated alveolars are the least likely to do so. The results suggest that 1) sound-symbolic associations of soft images are not always linked to those of cute images; and 2) the strength of sound-symbolic associations of consonants with the same place of articulation can differ depending on their laryngeal features. This study highlights the role of laryngeal features in sound symbolism and emphasizes the importance of cross-linguistic research in understanding both universal and language-specific aspects of sound symbolism.