Sound-meaning similarities found across thousands of languages

In a study that shatters a cornerstone concept in linguistics, an analysis of nearly two-thirds of the world’s languages shows that humans tend to use the same sounds for common objects and ideas, no matter what language they’re speaking. Published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the research demonstrates a robust statistical relationship between certain basic concepts – from body parts to familial relationships and aspects of the natural world – and the sounds humans around the world use to describe them.
Read more: http://www.psypost.org/2016/09/sound-meaning-similarities-found-across-thousands-languages-44957?source=Snapzu