Rat! Love…

Picture the sound of a rolled R: “Rr-Rr-Rr-Rr…” Now, an L: “El”. Chances are the former conjures a jagged line; the latter a smooth line. As research reported in the Guardian shows, words have sounds and those sounds have shape and texture which in turn, fuel meaning. Rat! Love…

Researchers analysed data from 903 online participants and 127 in-person participants. Participants spoke 28 different languages including Zulu, Palikúr, English, Farsi, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and Mandarin Chinese. They matched a rolled R with a jagged line and an L sound with a smooth line in 88% of the online trials and 98% of in-person trials.

So when you’re wondering which words to choose, take a moment to consider the character of their sounds. It’ll help you enrich the meaning and melody of your communication.