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Which Is "Bouba", and Which Is "Kiki"?

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  • Опубликовано: 23 авг 2020
  • Sooner or later, I was going to get around to this: it's one of the most famous experiments in linguistics. •
    Written with Molly Ruhl and Gretchen McCulloch. Gretchen's podcast has an episode all about this: lingthusiasm.c...
    Gretchen's book BECAUSE INTERNET, all about the evolution of internet language, is available:
    🇺🇸 US: amzn.to/30tLpjT
    🇨🇦 CA: amzn.to/2JsTYWH
    🇬🇧 UK: amzn.to/31K8eRD
    (Those are affiliate links that give a commission to me or Gretchen, depending on country!)
    Graphics by William Marler: wmad.co.uk
    Audio mix by Graham Haerther: haerther.net
    REFERENCES:
    Köhler, W. (1929). Gestalt Psychology. New York: Liveright.
    Ramachandran, V. S., Hubbard, E. M. (2001) Synaesthesia-A window into perception, thought and language. Journal of Consciousness Studies 8: 3-34.
    Berlin, B. (1994). Evidence for pervasive synesthetic sound symbolism in ethnozoological nomenclature. In L. Hinton, J. Nichols & J. Ohala (Eds.), Sound symbolism (pp. 76 - 93). New York: Cambridge University Press.
    Davis, R. (1961). The fitness of names to drawings. a cross-cultural study in Tanganyika. Br. J. Psychol. 52, 259-268. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1961.tb00788.x,
    Ramachandran, V. S., and Hubbard, E. M. (2001). Synaesthesia-a window into perception, thought and language. J. Conscious. Stud. 8, 3-34.,
    Koriat, A., & Levy, I. (1979). Figural symbolism in Chinese ideographs. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 8 (4), 353 - 365.
    Maurer, D., Pathman, T., Mondloch, C.J. (2006). The shape of boubas: sound-shape correspondences in toddlers and adults. Developmental science, Vol.9 (3), p.316-322,
    Nielsen, A., and Rendall, D. (2011). The sound of round: evaluating the sound-symbolic role of consonants in the classic Takete-Maluma phenomenon. Can. J. Exp. Psychol. 65, 115-124. doi: 10.1037/a0022268,
    Bremner, A. J., Caparos, S., Davidoff, J., de Fockert, J., Linnell, K. J., and Spence, C. (2013). “Bouba” and “Kiki” in Namibia? A remote culture make similar shape-sound matches, but different shape-taste matches to Westerners. Cognition 126, 165-172. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2012.09.007
    De Saussure, F. (2011, republished from 1916). Course in general linguistics. Columbia University Press.
    Styles, S.J., & Gawne, L. (2017). When Does Maluma/Takete Fail? Two Key Failures and a Meta-Analysis Suggest That Phonology and Phonotactics Matter. I-Perception, 8(4), 2041669517724807.
    🟥 MORE FROM TOM: www.tomscott.com/
    (you can find contact details and social links there too)
    📰 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER with good stuff from the rest of the internet: www.tomscott.c...
    ❓ LATERAL, free weekly podcast: lateralcast.com/ / lateralcast
    ➕ TOM SCOTT PLUS: / tomscottplus
    👥 THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: / techdif

Комментарии • 5 тыс.

  • @TomScottGo
    @TomScottGo  4 года назад +8356

    Thanks to all the team who work with me on these! This is very much a collective effort these days, despite me being the face of it. Please do pull down the description to see everyone involved, and all the references!

  • @WhackyCast
    @WhackyCast 4 года назад +28192

    Bulbasaur and Pikachu makes more sense now.

    • @elina1421
      @elina1421 3 года назад +686

      oh my god... yes

    • @Dimentio36
      @Dimentio36 3 года назад +1220

      Pikachu's name actually comes from Japanese onomatopoeia: "pika" for electrical sparks, and "chu" for a mouse squeaking, since Pikachu is literally an electric mouse

    • @elina1421
      @elina1421 3 года назад +796

      xanadu the point still stands. “pika” being a word for electrical sparks actually proves it

    • @gracidea9845
      @gracidea9845 3 года назад +223

      Bulbasaur's original Japanese name is Fushigidane. Though Pikachu's name does still stay the same in both Japanese and English, and still has sharp, short sounds in it, Bulbasaur's name changes a lot.

    • @ViktorKronvall
      @ViktorKronvall 3 года назад +130

      Gracidea also, Fushigidane (フシギダネ) is likely a pun for 不思議だね “meaning that’s strange” and 種 (tane) meaning “seed”. So while “Bulbasaur” is definitely round the Japanese name seems to come from a “sharp” word with the plosive “t”. Thus, that’s actually a contradictory example.

  • @R2Cv1
    @R2Cv1 4 года назад +8863

    What's interesting is that the letters "Bouba" are as round as the shape while "Kiki" has the pointy bits down.

    • @marctang3802
      @marctang3802 4 года назад +267

      Romit Roy Chowdhury That’s what l thought!

    • @Ratchet4647
      @Ratchet4647 4 года назад +758

      It may be that the letters acquired their current shape in part due to the influence of this effect, rounder sounds became rounder letters, sharper sounds became sharper letters.

    • @burrytellam
      @burrytellam 4 года назад +107

      I thought that was the point [sic] of this presentation.

    • @th3_tea412
      @th3_tea412 4 года назад +47

      That was what I thought the video would be about when i clicked on it.

    • @alxkeda
      @alxkeda 4 года назад +2

      CloudGamer36 sure.

  • @LetsbeHonestOfficial
    @LetsbeHonestOfficial 3 года назад +6370

    How about the shape of the letters themselves? kiki = sharp and straight letters, bouba = all the letters are rounded.

    • @wqiz1818
      @wqiz1818 2 года назад +436

      but wouldn't that only apply for languages that use the latin alphabet? plenty of languages will have completely different characters

    • @ohhowdythere8199
      @ohhowdythere8199 2 года назад +118

      A correlation between the shapes of letters and the two shapes, or between shapes of letters and their pronunciations? Both maybe?

    • @JohnJohnson-yi6jg
      @JohnJohnson-yi6jg 2 года назад +196

      A lot of the "rounder" sounding letters have rounded symbols: b, d, g, j, m, n, o, r. And some "sharper" sounding letters have pointier symbols: i, k, t, x. But not everything matches up, for example v, c, q, w, l. It does seem there could be an association here

    • @RockinEnabled
      @RockinEnabled 2 года назад +26

      @@JohnJohnson-yi6jg I wouldn't call "d" "round-sounding" at all either.

    • @TheSFMCreators
      @TheSFMCreators 2 года назад +30

      @@wqiz1818 키키 / 부바

  • @lusciouslocks8790
    @lusciouslocks8790 3 года назад +5181

    This still doesn’t tell me why Twitch chat is obsessed with the blue one

    • @SpuddyPotato
      @SpuddyPotato 3 года назад +13

      carbonasadu

    • @lusciouslocks8790
      @lusciouslocks8790 3 года назад +103

      I thought I was being unique but I see now that I have been beaten by many others in this race 😔

    • @SpuddyPotato
      @SpuddyPotato 3 года назад +5

      @@lusciouslocks8790 ablanaba is uslaese

    • @maremike2691
      @maremike2691 2 года назад +11

      @@lusciouslocks8790 I will not try to scan your qr-code. It's most likely a rickroll.

    • @primehunt715
      @primehunt715 2 года назад +38

      @@scottowens398 it was a mango

  • @YasahiroD
    @YasahiroD 3 года назад +10315

    I don't know if you realised this yourself, Tom, but when at the very start of the video when you say "one of these shapes is called Bouba, the other is called Kiki", your hand gestures were also indicative of this tendency to name shapes with certain sounds. When you said "Bouba" your hand was open and rounded, but when you said "Kiki" you pointed.

    • @jrdnk5715
      @jrdnk5715 3 года назад +96

      @@jennhoff03 Same

    • @richardf.6430
      @richardf.6430 3 года назад +56

      Wow thats great!

    • @thecianinator
      @thecianinator 3 года назад +63

      That was probably on purpose

    • @thomasramsay8212
      @thomasramsay8212 3 года назад +91

      @@jennhoff03 Believe it or not, I actually though Kiki was the blue, curved one.

    • @niusav
      @niusav 3 года назад +100

      Judging by the thumbnail, I initially thought it would be a play on the sound of shapes vs the sound of color. I felt the sharp shape was more of a kiki and the round one bouba, but the colours on their own wouldve been the other way around. Bouba is a much stronger, confident name/word to describe the powerful red, where as a cool light blue was more like the sharp, neat and swift name kiki. Turns out it was just about the shapes :(

  • @xanderfavazza9674
    @xanderfavazza9674 4 года назад +9401

    Fun fact Tom actually recorded every single video in one day which is why his shirt never changes

    • @mukrifachri
      @mukrifachri 4 года назад +219

      One thing sure is that his videos are normally recorded much earlier than the release dates.

    • @valentinoleppala
      @valentinoleppala 4 года назад +82

      @@mukrifachri i thought that his videos are live

    • @gogreen2496
      @gogreen2496 4 года назад +219

      Have you seen his update video where he's packing like a dozen identical shirts? It's hilarious.

    • @Satrynx
      @Satrynx 4 года назад +464

      @@mukrifachri actually that's a common misconception. Tom actually records these videos after they're released

    • @transcendentalanarchy
      @transcendentalanarchy 4 года назад +28

      Don't expose him

  • @darthadipose1920
    @darthadipose1920 3 года назад +15009

    Well of course people are gonna associate "Bouba" with soft and round.

  • @the-person
    @the-person 2 года назад +891

    'Bouba' and 'Kiki' remind me of objects/characters from the puzzle game 'Baba is You' called 'Baba' and 'Keke'

    • @hyper_lynx
      @hyper_lynx 2 года назад +64

      I wonder if this is where the names came from?

    • @PermianExtinction
      @PermianExtinction 2 года назад +154

      @@hyper_lynx It absolutely is, the developer has confirmed it!

    • @hyper_lynx
      @hyper_lynx 2 года назад +19

      @@PermianExtinction Neat!

    • @jordy_de-zee
      @jordy_de-zee 2 года назад +6

      for me too

    • @AlfurAldric2211
      @AlfurAldric2211 2 года назад +37

      SENSE IS MAKE.

  • @joyakaia2606
    @joyakaia2606 3 года назад +3434

    'R' is among the most menacing of sounds. That's why they call it 'murder' and not 'mukdek'.
    - Dwight Schrute, 2009

    • @georgiykireev9678
      @georgiykireev9678 3 года назад +90

      Doesn't work with the modern English r tho

    • @TheRenegade...
      @TheRenegade... 3 года назад +67

      @@georgiykireev9678 The modern english r has, to my knowledge, always sounded roughly the same

    • @georgiykireev9678
      @georgiykireev9678 3 года назад +138

      @@TheRenegade... Medieval English had a hard r, like every other Germanic language

    • @skeletonwar4445
      @skeletonwar4445 3 года назад +88

      @@georgiykireev9678 True, saying "murder" sounds like you're just slurring along, especially compared to things like "Mord" or "Mort" in german or french

    • @jonbudihna6001
      @jonbudihna6001 3 года назад +11

      AAARRRRRRRRGHH!!!!

  • @carlybishop6160
    @carlybishop6160 3 года назад +2627

    As a native English speaker I did it based off the words "blob" and "spikey" and always felt that those two words were almost like an anomatopia

    • @Svonko
      @Svonko 3 года назад +96

      Onomatopeoia?

    • @theabirde
      @theabirde 3 года назад +50

      @@Svonko idk. I’m getting something like ‘they don’t know the word, but since it’s *like* onomatopoeia (word directly represents sense of something in the real world) , they use it instead of whatever word might or might not exist

    • @vibaj16
      @vibaj16 3 года назад +68

      Bubble, blob, blimp, bloom, bump...
      Peak, spikey, tick...

    • @brazenh2836
      @brazenh2836 3 года назад +14

      @@Svonko I thought it was a legit word like where onomatopoeia represents the sound of something anomatopia/eia would represent the shape of something (anatomy - - ano-...)

    • @5ucur
      @5ucur Год назад +1

      @@Svonko Close. Onomatopoeia. But I'll guess it was a simple typo, as you just permuted two letters!

  • @qi5vy
    @qi5vy Год назад +153

    I'm a native korean and I would definitely associate kiki with the pointy one and bouba with the other one even if those were written in korean alphabets. very interesting topic. and the thing that people actually succeeded in guessing chinese characters was mind blowing. I mean how is that even possible???

    • @breechoi5489
      @breechoi5489 Год назад +1

      same here

    • @equilibrum999
      @equilibrum999 Год назад +1

      people understand hanzi, just like people understand emoji and emoticons

    • @sakesaurus
      @sakesaurus Год назад

      isn't Hangul building blocks written in the shape of articulation, e.g. ㄴ for n (ideogram for the position of the tongue), ㅅ for s, etc... I mean, i gotta wonder if the same thing happened in Phoenician/Latin at some point. They took hieroglyphs and decided on their sound somehow.

  • @TylerYoshi
    @TylerYoshi 2 года назад +286

    The word "kiki" also just *feels* sharper on my tongue than "bouba."

  • @emmablackery
    @emmablackery 4 года назад +5565

    This video makes me wish I’d followed my initial dream of getting my PhD in linguistics. It has also, however, satiated my need for new linguistics facts temporarily, so thanks.

    • @tfr
      @tfr 4 года назад +5

      Cool

    • @myleslos9658
      @myleslos9658 3 года назад +6

      Swag I love your music

    • @pigammon7843
      @pigammon7843 3 года назад +20

      It's never too late.

    • @briankelly1240
      @briankelly1240 3 года назад +7

      Go for it still!

    • @magical_spirit_wolf
      @magical_spirit_wolf 3 года назад +35

      go get that degree. do what you love. your time is limited on earth, make the best of it. don't spend a second doing something you don't love unless you have to.

  • @vladschiopu2885
    @vladschiopu2885 4 года назад +881

    Fun fact: In Romania "buba" means injury, which i am thinking at when i look at the red shape

    • @Akhimed
      @Akhimed 3 года назад +54

      @@whatsallthebrouhaha Probably if you change the colors around there will be different results

    • @wojciechmuras553
      @wojciechmuras553 3 года назад +35

      @@Akhimed I mean, it's hard to injure yourself with a red balloon. But a blue spike? While I certainly do agree that colors subconsciously convey meaning, I don't think it'd do much in this particular case.

    • @Denali-2
      @Denali-2 3 года назад +8

      Yea I was thinking “bomb” and it kinda had the shape of an explosion

    • @NortelGeek
      @NortelGeek 3 года назад +12

      In America, when little kids get cuts, scrapes or bruises, we sometimes say "You got a boo-boo". I wonder if there's a relation to Romanian...

    • @1grapefruit
      @1grapefruit 3 года назад

      Da si eu lmao

  • @whivvy
    @whivvy 3 года назад +162

    for the bird and fish test, i think it would be interesting to have a group in which they ask for reasoning, prompting them to likely think about associations, and a group where they just take their initial reactions and compare results. that way, you could maybe test whether our instinct is to compare associations (there’s a lot of variables for this but it still might be neat)

  • @TheEepyMagi
    @TheEepyMagi 3 года назад +631

    Thank you to Persona 5 for teaching me about this. That game was weirdly educational

    • @CyanKnight96
      @CyanKnight96 2 года назад +12

      My thoughts exactly lmao

    • @TheGreenYoutuber
      @TheGreenYoutuber 2 года назад +117

      Persona fans explaining how Persona 5 invented everything

    • @TheEepyMagi
      @TheEepyMagi 2 года назад +52

      @@TheGreenRUclipsr never said it invented it. Just saying I enjoyed how the game taught you about interesting stuff from time to time.

    • @gmestanley2214
      @gmestanley2214 2 года назад +10

      Wait, P5 talks about this?? Today I learned.

    • @nabeelnitro6447
      @nabeelnitro6447 2 года назад +9

      @@gmestanley2214 a question in the classroom. Forgot which day though

  • @ahumanthatexists1468
    @ahumanthatexists1468 4 года назад +2168

    This entire video is basically this:
    Warm water tastes round and cold water tastes pointy.

    • @nosferathu258
      @nosferathu258 4 года назад +187

      Why is this true

    • @Amonimus
      @Amonimus 4 года назад +18

      @@nosferathu258 Ice vs steam bubbles?

    •  4 года назад +1

      🤔

    • @ahumanthatexists1468
      @ahumanthatexists1468 4 года назад +8

      Jesus, this comment blew up

    • @thesage1096
      @thesage1096 4 года назад +8

      ur a fuckin genius or something ? that one comment blew my mind more than that entire video

  • @WizDaPenguin
    @WizDaPenguin 3 года назад +2341

    The original words were “Baluba” and “Kitiki”

    • @ostsarahb7466
      @ostsarahb7466 3 года назад +446

      I feel like the original words look more like the shapes

    • @stiinkysocks6354
      @stiinkysocks6354 3 года назад +127

      those are really fun to say

    • @harperreese264
      @harperreese264 3 года назад +142

      In one example, it was “maluma” and “takete”

    • @lolkayleen2757
      @lolkayleen2757 3 года назад +6

      @@harperreese264 thats how i heard it

    • @PodcArne
      @PodcArne 3 года назад +22

      @@harperreese264 maluma is a latino singer actually

  • @cmykat7839
    @cmykat7839 3 года назад +397

    Having color-grapheme synesthesia, this was very interesting and validating to watch. I've brought this up with other people before and they always look at me funny. I can read in colored dots.

    • @lucyhawkins2114
      @lucyhawkins2114 2 года назад +11

      that's so cool! sorry ppl are weird about it, my friend has something similar and they've literally had like brain scans that show certain parts of her brain are activated differently than others :0

    • @treesap2566
      @treesap2566 2 года назад +17

      If you don't mind, could you tell me a bit more about this? I've never heard of it before and it seems really interesting!

    • @c0ronariu5
      @c0ronariu5 2 года назад +7

      Haha which is funny because I perceive the letters b o u and a as different shades of brown/red/orange, and my i is a baby blue, ie the exact opposite of the colours of Bouba and Kiki. But yes, having an innate sense of which is which is rather validating.

    • @gregwolfe8693
      @gregwolfe8693 2 года назад +26

      Even other people with the same condition will look at you funny, because they'll associate colors differently. I had someone argue me about the color of a chord on piano, and I had to explain that synthesthesia isn't definitive and everyone has their own experience with associations.

    • @jannikheidemann3805
      @jannikheidemann3805 2 года назад +4

      Do you have a sort of pencil with which you can write colored dots quickly? I know there are multicolored pencils, but they may have too few different colors for all the letters, I'd assume.
      Also, wow; it would be very easy to use this ability to make cheat sheets in plain sight by just having a colorfull wristband or something of the likes. Assuming of course, that the teacher isn't in the know about your synesthesia.

  • @strawberrana
    @strawberrana 3 года назад +7056

    booba hehe

    • @xboydubose7254
      @xboydubose7254 3 года назад +348

      🅱️🅾️🅾️🅱️🅰️

    • @Ezzy1331_
      @Ezzy1331_ 3 года назад +81

      @@xboydubose7254 🅱️ruh

    • @nicoleliang2363
      @nicoleliang2363 3 года назад +64

      pepelaugh

    • @sxvic_
      @sxvic_ 3 года назад +7

      @@xboydubose7254 XD

    • @thatoneguy9582
      @thatoneguy9582 3 года назад +39

      glad everyone’s in agreement

  • @gaberottet8448
    @gaberottet8448 4 года назад +1233

    The moment you displayed bouba and Kiki, I immediately said to myself "I know what's going on." I then I matched bouba with the blob image and Kiki with the spikey. image

    • @lindseywolthuis9535
      @lindseywolthuis9535 4 года назад +95

      Gabe___R same, it was like I already knew exactly which was bouba and which was kiki. It’s kinda scary how that works out

    • @louiseb7161
      @louiseb7161 4 года назад +1

      Same

    • @TrollTrollski
      @TrollTrollski 4 года назад +27

      Kiki and bouba is what I call my balls.

    • @LucasImpulse
      @LucasImpulse 4 года назад +52

      @@TrollTrollski sounds like you need to visit the doctors.

    • @TrollTrollski
      @TrollTrollski 4 года назад +18

      @@LucasImpulse I did, and they told me I have ŋoba and tlet...

  • @L0LWTF1337
    @L0LWTF1337 4 года назад +4810

    I only know that Bouba Is You and Kiki Is Move.

    • @bulbasaur153
      @bulbasaur153 4 года назад +354

      Comment Is Funny. Bouba Has Laugh.

    • @deovolente5867
      @deovolente5867 4 года назад +255

      Nice one. But it's Baba.
      Edit: Dudes, I know it's Bouba and Kiki instead of Baba and Keke. I got it now. Im slow and sleepy today. I got cocky and I thought original commenter got it wrong. But I'm the one who's wrong. Please don't be mean to me.

    • @bernardsuits
      @bernardsuits 4 года назад +177

      @@deovolente5867 It's called a play on words

    • @nizarneezR
      @nizarneezR 4 года назад +4

      Hahaha

    • @TheAechBomb
      @TheAechBomb 4 года назад +42

      @@deovolente5867 somebody doesn't appreciate situational humor

  • @JustDeeevin
    @JustDeeevin 3 года назад +4898

    hehe
    booba

    • @xboydubose7254
      @xboydubose7254 3 года назад +91

      🅱️🅾️🅾️🅱️🅰️

    • @daanielrebonen6353
      @daanielrebonen6353 3 года назад +48

      🅱️🅾️🅾️🅱️🅰️

    • @xboydubose7254
      @xboydubose7254 3 года назад +28

      🅰️🅱️🅾️🅾️🅱️🅰️ℹ️©️

    • @gv2807
      @gv2807 3 года назад +32

      🅱️🅾️🅾️🅱️🅰️

    • @FinnerBases
      @FinnerBases 3 года назад +25

      🅿️🅾️🅾️🅿️🅰️

  • @empprium
    @empprium 3 года назад +30

    2:42 booba

  • @sea_mew
    @sea_mew 4 года назад +1995

    In russia, 1910 we had even futuristic poets, studying these questions it some sort of way - they wrote their poems in not-existing language - only sounds and phonems. Their point was to actualy create something able to be understood by anyone without translation, but with sound - emotions, feelings. You can google some and listen! It will be interesting to hear what do you think about them c;

    • @the_ALchannel
      @the_ALchannel 4 года назад +60

      а что конкретно гуглить то?

    • @kingfu7996
      @kingfu7996 4 года назад +137

      @LED Lemons Its called the Zaum language

    • @fritzstammen4535
      @fritzstammen4535 4 года назад +8

      Спасибо

    • @Camaleonte9087
      @Camaleonte9087 3 года назад +27

      Didn't the dadaist and futurist poets do the same?

    • @felixroux
      @felixroux 3 года назад +60

      The word you're looking for is music.

  • @WillyTheComposerOfficial
    @WillyTheComposerOfficial 4 года назад +1993

    This reminds me of the Monty python sketch about “tinny” and “woody” words.

    • @snowpunk6190
      @snowpunk6190 4 года назад +31

      I was about to say that! And all the British bad words are deep and rounded...except for "tit"

    • @brandonchan5387
      @brandonchan5387 4 года назад +64

      @@snowpunk6190 and a Tit is a type of bird, which (like Tom said) has many sharp claws and points, hence the sharp sound.
      ... And I think I just realised something else.

    • @thomasstokes288
      @thomasstokes288 4 года назад +19

      Goooooooorn.

    • @TyphusAndronicus
      @TyphusAndronicus 4 года назад +10

      *OOOORGASM*

    • @quintendhaenens6207
      @quintendhaenens6207 4 года назад +23

      𝙀𝙍𝙊𝙂𝙀𝙉𝙊𝙐𝙎 𝙕𝙊𝙉𝙀

  • @ash2697
    @ash2697 2 года назад +78

    The main association I made was that all the letters in Bouba are rounded and all the letters in Kiki are sharp. Was that part of the reason they chose those words, or maybe the shape of the letters themselves reflects the kind of sound it makes?

    • @FoxyFemBoi
      @FoxyFemBoi Год назад +1

      I'll bet the shape of the letters reflect it! Because especially if the chinese words/characters weren't said outloud for participants, they're associating them mostly based on shape.

  • @fraac
    @fraac 2 года назад +31

    this is just onomatopoeia. make these objects physical and move them around and the spiky one will sound sharper than the blubbery one

  • @hymers2000
    @hymers2000 4 года назад +2580

    don’t ask who wears the pants in a relationship, ask whos bouba and whos kiki

    • @thesage1096
      @thesage1096 4 года назад +32

      and to translate the kiki wud be the pants wearer. ...i think ?

    • @thesage1096
      @thesage1096 4 года назад +207

      actually scratch that, the bouba would be the "ok fine we will do it your way then, its ok" and the kiki would be the "WHY WOULD YOU PUT A SPOON IN THE FORK COMPARTMENT !? "

    • @LaEve
      @LaEve 4 года назад +41

      My personality is definitely mostly "Bouba" with a couple of "Kiki" traits.

    • @Odima16
      @Odima16 4 года назад +84

      @@thesage1096 If a kiki wore pants would they wear them like this or like this?

    • @thesage1096
      @thesage1096 4 года назад +11

      @@Odima16 like how or how?

  • @abeehafarakh768
    @abeehafarakh768 Год назад +2

    It honestly could be because of the shapes of the letters.
    Kiki- has kind of sharp corners in the letters
    Bouba- a round shape in the letters .

  • @foozywolf
    @foozywolf Год назад +11

    as a kid i also sorted 1-20 to which one looks more mascule and which looks more feminine, i recently talked about this with my friends and they didnt understand how "one" looks more mascule and 2 rather elegant and femine. i tried to explain it to them but failed XD

    • @4thalt
      @4thalt 6 месяцев назад +1

      1: feminine
      2: masculine
      3: feminine
      4: M
      5: F
      6: F
      7: M
      8: M
      9: M
      10: F
      11: M
      12: F
      13: M
      14: M
      15: F
      16: F
      17: M
      18: M
      19: F
      20: M

  • @WorldNews92
    @WorldNews92 4 года назад +1589

    " 'Bouba'? Very WOODY sort of word, wouldn't you say?"
    "Oh, yes dear. But 'kiki', oh, no, more a sort of TINNY kind word."

    • @emmajacobs5575
      @emmajacobs5575 4 года назад +19

      WorldNews92 caribouba gorn!

    • @CraftyTeo
      @CraftyTeo 4 года назад +20

      frightful words

    • @daev3000
      @daev3000 4 года назад +13

      @@CraftyTeo perfectly dreadful.

    • @georgepownceby9053
      @georgepownceby9053 4 года назад +23

      I also know the monty python but don't know any jokes to make

    • @skellious
      @skellious 4 года назад +9

      Oh, dear, don't say `tin' to Rebecca, you know how it upsets her.

  • @Kokurorokuko
    @Kokurorokuko 4 года назад +398

    For me it is the shape of letters like "K" which are actually pointy and "B" which are smooth.

    • @eightbb9918
      @eightbb9918 4 года назад +2

      That’s wha t I thought too

    • @maz.s
      @maz.s 4 года назад +46

      But maybe we wrote the letters that way originally because we associated the "K" sound with sharp things and the "B" sound with softer things? Just a hypothesis

    • @maga6403
      @maga6403 4 года назад +11

      This was also tested in languages that don't use the latin alphabet.
      Also the leters were created after the sounds,

    • @jcskyknight2222
      @jcskyknight2222 4 года назад

      What if the shape of the letters came from the sounds?

    • @boesvig2258
      @boesvig2258 4 года назад +9

      What if "Bouba" was called "Mouma" instead? I think "M" is (visually) as pointy as "K", but the sound is round.

  • @sandjgaez257
    @sandjgaez257 3 года назад +181

    I got the “Bouba” and “Kiki” one wrong because “Bouba” sounded similar to “Boom” and chose the sharper one for it because it was more like an explosion.

    • @sandmountainsam9287
      @sandmountainsam9287 2 года назад +50

      There is no wrong answer

    • @aami7305
      @aami7305 Год назад +6

      Me too... I chose kiki as round blob and bouba as spikey... 🤔
      I guess why though?

  • @anaqitubetv9033
    @anaqitubetv9033 3 года назад +24

    what they think we think: the word that sounds like the sharpest shape is kiki because of vowels and...
    what we really think: k letter is sharp yes

  • @Mic_Glow
    @Mic_Glow 4 года назад +1891

    I'd rather be hit by a "noba" rather than a "tlet".. sounds less pointy.

    • @DokterKaj
      @DokterKaj 4 года назад +49

      ng is a nasal, and t is a plosive...

    • @EDoyl
      @EDoyl 4 года назад +233

      Ngoba does poison damage.

    • @prithvirajb1953
      @prithvirajb1953 4 года назад +156

      @@EDoyl yes and tlet is Armor piercing

    • @mryeeguy
      @mryeeguy 4 года назад +3

      I once created a character called noba for a comic book

    • @AndorianBlues
      @AndorianBlues 4 года назад +51

      ŋoba, not noba

  • @phithegamer5787
    @phithegamer5787 3 года назад +13000

    Booba round, my only reason...

  • @Elle-og6yp
    @Elle-og6yp 2 года назад +12

    0:17 the bouba hand gesture looks sus.

    • @alpyne4897
      @alpyne4897 2 года назад +4

      u mad sus for thinking it looked sus

  • @TheRisky9
    @TheRisky9 3 года назад +6

    It's also when you're making names for fantasy novels. While I do use "real names" in my novels, I'm always looking for a certain sounds that I feel matches the character's personality. Softer sounding names for softer characters.

  • @LastNickNameOnEarth
    @LastNickNameOnEarth 4 года назад +1479

    "Researchers often don't publish negative results."
    Maybe more fair to say "Negative results are less likely to be published."

    • @LastNickNameOnEarth
      @LastNickNameOnEarth 4 года назад +118

      Stephen Hill well this could be a six of one / half dozen of another problem.
      Tom's phrasing makes a claim about researchers generally, which may even be technically true. But implies an intention, I don't think is rampant. (Researchers : I'm not going to publish this because...)
      Mine points to the file drawer problem, which I'm to understand is more of a systemic problem with how modern science is done. (There exists a suite of factors which result in research with negative findings not being published)

    • @anchpop
      @anchpop 4 года назад +64

      part of the issue is that typically no one will care about negative results - they're much less likely to get read or cited. publishing a paper is a ton of work and it's not very motivating to do all that to say "well we tried this and found nothing surprising"

    • @emastapleton1702
      @emastapleton1702 4 года назад +8

      @Stephen Hill I mean, isn't that the whole point here?

    • @zaxonite2991
      @zaxonite2991 4 года назад

      Cool

    • @NortheastGamer
      @NortheastGamer 3 года назад +9

      Is it that researchers avoid publishing negative results, or do they refactor their papers so that the result is a positive? For example: "This bird is not found in the desert" can be rephrased to "This bird is often found in the jungle". Publishing a positive fact can be seen as more constructive than a negative, and you often find the positive after digging around after discovering a negative. Following the bird example: "The bird isn't in the desert, well where is it? Ah, it's in the jungle...Okay I'll publish that"

  • @DarthBiomech
    @DarthBiomech 4 года назад +532

    Conlangers: "write it down, write it down!"

    • @KalonOrdona2
      @KalonOrdona2 4 года назад +20

      Oh believe me, we figure this kind of stuff out on our own, though it's nice to see confirmations everywhere.

    • @Ryanisthere
      @Ryanisthere 3 года назад +8

      one of the fun things about conlanging is the constant ability to find new, fun linguistics features

    • @realprotonn
      @realprotonn 3 года назад +4

      @Mekal Covic YOU MONSTER

    • @root073
      @root073 3 года назад +3

      haha yep i love trying to work sound symbolism into my language

    • @5up3rp3rs0n
      @5up3rp3rs0n 3 года назад +1

      Well there's aUI which takes this phenomenon to the extreme, mapping each phoneme with an associating semantic element, then building the whole language from these phonologically "intuitive" letters.

  • @wevegottrouble5891
    @wevegottrouble5891 3 года назад +66

    Gonna guess in advance:
    Bouba is the blue one because the blue one looks bouncy and bubbly, which comes off the tongue as such as well.
    Kiki on the contrary has a way sharper and rougher sound to itself, fitting the pointy ends.

    • @erikapavedtheway
      @erikapavedtheway 2 года назад +3

      @@a-ha4940 no they aren't

    • @erikapavedtheway
      @erikapavedtheway 2 года назад +3

      @@a-ha4940 did you watch the video?

    • @shizune_
      @shizune_ 2 года назад

      @@a-ha4940 You didn't watch the whole video, did you?

  • @numberphile1383
    @numberphile1383 3 года назад +13

    Watching this at 2 AM with headphones, the Cave soundeffect nearly gave me a hear tattack holy moly

  • @Mizukitron
    @Mizukitron 4 года назад +844

    "The Bouba Kiki Distinction" is a home run of a band name btw

    • @wolframstahl1263
      @wolframstahl1263 4 года назад +22

      Preferrably a capella.

    • @keda1981
      @keda1981 4 года назад +27

      I was thinking more Big Bang Theory episode.

    • @nate_storm
      @nate_storm 4 года назад +10

      keda1981 why not both?

    • @keda1981
      @keda1981 4 года назад +5

      @@nate_storm Fair.

    • @alex0589
      @alex0589 4 года назад +12

      Could be a for-children band or a math-metal-melt your face off- heavy band.
      Or both

  • @mgcharoudin
    @mgcharoudin 4 года назад +2549

    Enter the German language

    • @BambooTime
      @BambooTime 3 года назад +92

      why

    • @jaquino6786
      @jaquino6786 3 года назад +439

      @@BambooTime just enter it

    • @BambooTime
      @BambooTime 3 года назад +153

      @@jaquino6786 alright

    • @Rexvivor
      @Rexvivor 3 года назад +269

      You are going into the German Language

    • @BambooTime
      @BambooTime 3 года назад +148

      @@Rexvivor i'm trying

  • @lordsiomai
    @lordsiomai 2 года назад

    This channel keeps answering questions I never had nor ever will, and I love it.

  • @Funnyguy127
    @Funnyguy127 3 года назад +24

    BOOBA

  • @Zichqec
    @Zichqec 4 года назад +425

    "That is a lot of citations"
    *cries because there's no more citation needed

    • @jjjoel27
      @jjjoel27 4 года назад +1

      John Giorgetta what does this mean

  • @alexmcd378
    @alexmcd378 4 года назад +255

    Is this a reupload? Or am I having the strongest deja vu of my life?
    Edit: Looks like I inserted Tom into the SciShow video on this topic in my memory

    • @snowhusk
      @snowhusk 4 года назад +14

      try not to look too deep into how the effects like this "memory insertion" manifest themselves, or you'll risk breaking the concepts of time, memory and experience all at once through this "pointy
      ound" {.prism}

    • @icecheetah2
      @icecheetah2 4 года назад +10

      You're not the only one.

    • @hierismail
      @hierismail 4 года назад +6

      It was part of an episode from the Lingtusiasm podcast. The 2017 research mentioned was done by Lauren Gawne and this video was directed (?) by Gretchen, hosts of that podcast. Maybe you remember that?

    • @ShirinRose
      @ShirinRose 4 года назад +7

      Ah yes, SciShow Psych did a video on bouba and kiki a month ago. I knew I'd seen a video on this recently, but couldn't remember which channel it was from, though I knew it wasn't Tom 😛

    • @emmafoster1670
      @emmafoster1670 4 года назад +23

      Thankyou. I swear he's done this video already. Feel like I'm going crazy, was searching the comments for everyone saying the same

  • @melody5296
    @melody5296 Год назад +1

    1:24 Being able to understand everything the instant I see it... just feels quite interesting.

  • @FroZenMemes
    @FroZenMemes 4 года назад +1440

    One's a splat, the other is a bang. Problem solved

    • @bigt7706
      @bigt7706 4 года назад +3

      Nice

    • @ikejime77
      @ikejime77 4 года назад +7

      Thanks now i dont have to watch the vid

    • @FroZenMemes
      @FroZenMemes 4 года назад +3

      @@ikejime77 anytime bro

    • @cadekachelmeier7251
      @cadekachelmeier7251 4 года назад +1

      I'd like to give you a grant for your research.

    • @FroZenMemes
      @FroZenMemes 4 года назад +5

      @@joshmbrown42 bro you're onto something here

  • @Verlisify
    @Verlisify 3 года назад +2280

    pika = zappy = spike
    math checks out

  • @clottedscream
    @clottedscream Год назад +1

    it might be an interesting follow-up linguistic study to this to take speakers who haven’t been exposed to a language and have them match up the words for animal sound onomatopoetics

  • @TheGr3g0r30
    @TheGr3g0r30 2 года назад +1

    This video won't stop being recommended to me and I say don't reccomend this video and this video just won't go away

  • @Scribblersys
    @Scribblersys 4 года назад +168

    Possible correlation: things that make high-frequency noises (like "i") also tend to start and stop suddenly (like unvoiced plosives "k", "t"), while things that make low-frequency noises (like "oo") tend to be longer and more drawn out (like vowels blending into voiced plosives "b", "d" and nasals "m", "n").

    • @Arcessitor
      @Arcessitor 4 года назад +5

      That's not true in either German or Dutch though, our sound 'ie' (which is equivalent to your 'ee' - in pee, not in beer) is heavily drawn out in words, however, it does get accompanied by k and t, like in kier and niet. There is the word niemand though, which does sound kind of longer?

    • @dawsonschreiber8664
      @dawsonschreiber8664 4 года назад +8

      @@Arcessitor native English speaker here, the "ee" in pee and beer are pronounced the same btw

    • @LittleLivre
      @LittleLivre 4 года назад +1

      Dawson Schreiber, in the way I speak, the “ee” in beer sound slightly higher (for lack of a better term).

    • @Scribblersys
      @Scribblersys 4 года назад

      @@Arcessitor I don't mean words, I'm talking about sounds you'd hear in nature, like insects, animals, water, that sort of thing.

    • @SobrietyandSolace
      @SobrietyandSolace 4 года назад

      @@dawsonschreiber8664 Nah, 'pee' is marginally 'sharper'. Like I could accept an alternative spelling of 'pee' with one or 2 i's but not beer. It is more flat sounding, drawn out and many even add an 'er' at the end.

  • @glowstonelovepad9294
    @glowstonelovepad9294 3 года назад +289

    Now we need a movie called Bouba's Delivery Service.

  • @arctic_angel7408
    @arctic_angel7408 2 года назад +4

    Oh so I'm not insane. My friends were confused when I said I can categorize words as open, soft, hard, sharp, crisp, round, narrow, etc

  • @charleshaines9715
    @charleshaines9715 3 года назад +2

    I think the bird association isn't because of their sharp beaks, but because of the sounds birds make. Chirps and squeaks and peeps are sharp sounds. Fish are kinda silent and we might associate it with just the sounds water makes instead. Either way, the are very different sounds. Even though bird and fish are the same length in English, bird is short and sharp. Fish is just a bit longer on the end of the pronunciation and is a softer ending as well.

  • @elina1421
    @elina1421 3 года назад +91

    this makes sense for russian speakers too. i asked my friends about “Буба” and “Кики” and the results are what you’d expect

  • @mariothingy
    @mariothingy 3 года назад +164

    To me it sounds like “spiky” and “bulbous.”

    • @CGFillertext
      @CGFillertext 3 года назад +4

      Or bouba sounds like “boba”, like boba pearls

    • @buggy-boy
      @buggy-boy 3 года назад +2

      bouba reminded me of "blob"

    • @AnimateTronix
      @AnimateTronix 2 года назад

      haha nice

  • @dirrdevil
    @dirrdevil 2 года назад +8

    Looks like someone passed the exams in Persona 5.

  • @peepoteep365
    @peepoteep365 2 года назад

    The pronunciation is what really helped me match the words to the image

  • @simon_li
    @simon_li 4 года назад +75

    oh god i just finished my thesis paper on this effect and behold, 10 hours later tom scott makes a video about it explaining everything far better than i would ever comprehend :')

    • @iriscandy6377
      @iriscandy6377 4 года назад +2

      Karma

    • @SobrietyandSolace
      @SobrietyandSolace 4 года назад +12

      I'm not sure if that's satisfying, validating or downright frustrating.

  • @JovanKo314
    @JovanKo314 4 года назад +387

    Something interesting about your jello analogy: There is a slang term in Taiwanese Mandarin to describe the texture of soft, bouncy foods that English doesn't have, or at least, English speakers don't tend to use "bouncy" to describe foods. Bouncy foods like jello, tapioca pearls, udon noodles, etc are described as "QQ", like, literally pronouncing the letter 'Q', which doesn't fit the Bouba or Kiki theory. Like Tom said, there's a lot of exceptions, I just wanted to share an example that I have a personal connection to
    Edit: Actually, thinking about it more, this may be because Chinese is a logographic language, and the letter 'Q' is very round and "bouncy", hence the association

    • @wiseSYW
      @wiseSYW 4 года назад +26

      well 'kyun kyun' is the sound that bouncy t**ies make

    • @tricksor6589
      @tricksor6589 4 года назад +6

      maybe they should rename poop to teep so i dont keep eating it

    • @DerpDerp3001
      @DerpDerp3001 4 года назад +6

      Ahh yes, this jello tastes bouncy.

    • @JohnyG29
      @JohnyG29 4 года назад +3

      What is "jello"? Is it similar to jelly?

    • @elif6908
      @elif6908 4 года назад +2

      Thanks for sharing this! It’s really interesting how writing systems change our perspectives.

  • @thedevourerofgods1686
    @thedevourerofgods1686 3 года назад +10

    Could we make a universal language using this tendency or am i just tired cause it's 5:10 AM here?

    • @alexrusset8614
      @alexrusset8614 3 года назад +2

      Maybe? If course there needs to be a lot more than this phenomenon to constitute a universal language.

    • @thedevourerofgods1686
      @thedevourerofgods1686 3 года назад +2

      @@alexrusset8614 yea it does seem like a good place to start but i was tired it was like 5 am so i honestly don't place any serious value in stuff i say at 5 am

  • @RageSondrayy
    @RageSondrayy 4 года назад +144

    Didn't I watch this 1 or 2 years ago ??? Feel like I'm going crazy

    • @41-Haiku
      @41-Haiku 4 года назад +20

      @@Jtzkb It was absolutely not braincraft. It was a Tom Scott video, and the shapes were exactly the same. This might be a redux, but to my memory it's basically the same video.

    • @infinitydash
      @infinitydash 4 года назад +14

      This is the strongest déjà vu I've ever felt. It wasn't any of the other videos people have mentioned so far. Not SciShow, QI, or Braincraft. The colors of the shapes and Tom's voice are super clear in my memory. It's possible I could just be going crazy along with everyone else.

    • @topsyturvy1097
      @topsyturvy1097 4 года назад +4

      @@Jtzkb it was a Tom scott video

    • @Mica_T
      @Mica_T 4 года назад +2

      I remembered watching this years back. I just can't remember where

    • @s.gabriela
      @s.gabriela 3 года назад +2

      It's possible you remember it from the show Brain Games since there was an episode about this

  • @columbus8myhw
    @columbus8myhw 4 года назад +34

    In LaTeX (a "computer language" for typesetting math), the code for a matrix with parentheses () around it is \matrixp, and the code for a matrix with brackets [] around it is \matrixb. I always mix them up, and I blame my subconscious association of b with round things and p with sharp things.

    • @endertobias1908
      @endertobias1908 4 года назад

      Just think brackets start with b

    • @muche6321
      @muche6321 4 года назад +1

      @@endertobias1908 That moves the association to the round parentheses and sharp brackets. And I'm not sure it solves it.

    • @ZazLWheel
      @ZazLWheel 4 года назад

      I can relate to this so much ... Thanks for pointing it out!

    • @seriousmike90
      @seriousmike90 4 года назад +2

      While reading it I already mixed it up...

    • @patrickwigmore3462
      @patrickwigmore3462 4 года назад +1

      ​@@endertobias1908 Unless you speak British English, in which case you need to remember it's p for brackets and b for square brackets.

  • @naveenmaurya8802
    @naveenmaurya8802 3 года назад +3

    Also, it happens to be that in multiple linguistic families, "bouba" is used for a similar purpose as in the English language. You might or might not know that if you are bilingual. When one claims that people would refer to rounded things as "bouba" because of its implementation in one's language, it is quite likely the other way round and "bouba" is implemented after being round.

  • @LilyTheMuggle
    @LilyTheMuggle 3 года назад +3

    Fun fact: NDs don’t always correlate the names and shapes. I always liked the blue one as Kiki and the red one as Bouba.

  • @fishum6483
    @fishum6483 4 года назад +144

    I have synesthesia and everything is like that, a word can be sharp and a colour and have a personality. For example the number 6 is orange and is the kind of person you never have any quarrels with

    • @bibliophilecb
      @bibliophilecb 4 года назад +14

      The letter K is angry.

    • @kevinkevin6445
      @kevinkevin6445 4 года назад +5

      Crazyperson.exe has opened

    • @roldea54
      @roldea54 4 года назад +2

      I'm the same way only with numbers, but for me 6 is a magenta and a bit of a troublemaker

    • @khangtruong98
      @khangtruong98 4 года назад +3

      Do you not have quarrels with six because it's very easy-going and agreeable, or because it's rather large and will beat you up?

    • @masonhunter2748
      @masonhunter2748 4 года назад

      What word is the type of guy to be annoying

  • @AubriGryphon
    @AubriGryphon 3 года назад +86

    The bird/fish thing is probably more down to high, sharp sounds being imitative of chirping.

    • @jorgepeterbarton
      @jorgepeterbarton 3 года назад

      Yes if you pitch down they arent, sounds more like drunk people whistling and dinosaurs

    • @CiRdy34
      @CiRdy34 Год назад

      That’s what I thought aswell

  • @Friendly_Neighborhood_Dozer
    @Friendly_Neighborhood_Dozer Год назад

    I think we invented the letters based on the sound (I don’t know how to say it)
    But: What do K, I, X, have in common in example? They’re “sharp” letters, only consisting of straight lines.
    What do B, O, U have in common? They’re “Round” letters. Both spoken and written. “Round” itself only consists of round letters with only few straight lines

  • @tacobellabeanburrito
    @tacobellabeanburrito 3 года назад +3

    Happy that I found this video, it reminds me of this thing I do with colors. I always associate different colors with things. I always associate colors with things. Like I associate certain colors with certain friends and school subjects.

  • @Newidhan
    @Newidhan 4 года назад +240

    I only know about this because of the Persona 5 test questions

    • @numuhukumakiakiaialunamor5174
      @numuhukumakiakiaialunamor5174 4 года назад +2

      I was about to comment this, too

    • @trocer2235
      @trocer2235 4 года назад +5

      BROTHER

    • @JiroTheFro
      @JiroTheFro 4 года назад +6

      Same but with the 4 color map theory instead

    • @66Kusmu
      @66Kusmu 4 года назад +8

      I knew it before that and actually forgot it even was in P5 before I saw this comment

    • @LaEve
      @LaEve 4 года назад +8

      OMG! NOW I KNOW WHY THIS SEEMED FAMILIAR! Thanks mate.

  • @Boredman567
    @Boredman567 4 года назад +88

    I think it's mainly the repeated association theory. In practice, we find that round, bulbous things are more likely to sound like "bouba" and sharp, thin things are more likely to sound like "kiki". Even the noises from our own mouths physically feel like those shapes. "Bouba" involves puffing your mouth round, and "Kiki" involves sharp consonants and tight vowels.

  • @csgaiao33
    @csgaiao33 2 года назад +1

    I'm Portuguese and this still checks out. I'm convinced.

  • @glowstonelovepad9294
    @glowstonelovepad9294 3 года назад +2

    Bouba and Kiki are both names of songs from the country Cameroon in Africa. Bouba is by Dady Mimbo and Kiki is by Blick Bassy.

  • @nitehawk86
    @nitehawk86 4 года назад +112

    Why does the end card for the "Tom's Language Files" playlist seem to depict Tom screaming?

  • @RedS0n
    @RedS0n 4 года назад +281

    I've always felt that Glockenspiel and Xylophone have the wrong names.
    Glockenspiel sounds more woody, where as Xylophone is more metallic.

    • @djsilversun
      @djsilversun 4 года назад +40

      Glockenspiel is called Glockenspiel because you’re playing (spielen) something that sounds like Glocken (Bells)

    • @RedS0n
      @RedS0n 4 года назад +42

      @@djsilversun yes, I know.
      That's not what any of this is about.

    • @williamtoner8674
      @williamtoner8674 4 года назад +5

      I totally agree with this

    • @prithvirajb1953
      @prithvirajb1953 4 года назад +35

      @@RedS0n Glockenspiel doesn't really sound woody for me but xylophone does sound metallic

    • @TheGreatAtario
      @TheGreatAtario 4 года назад +25

      One might even say, woody vs. tinny

  • @NoobUserOMG
    @NoobUserOMG Год назад +2

    Bouba is B, B is curved. The one that's blue is curved. Kiki is K, K is sharp. The one that's red is sharp.

  • @connordonovan5151
    @connordonovan5151 2 года назад +1

    I definitely agree on how different colors and shapes feel a bit diffrent yet I have never been able to explain it

  • @kayo6689
    @kayo6689 3 года назад +316

    Being able to read 2 of the characters at 1:29 and know they were wrong gave me more joy than it should've

  • @Slenderquil
    @Slenderquil 4 года назад +79

    Never was i expecting to see the inspiration for the names Baba and Keke

    • @revimfadli4666
      @revimfadli4666 4 года назад +6

      But if Baba is You, then who's Keke...?

    • @Justin-kz9nh
      @Justin-kz9nh 4 года назад +4

      *look behind you*

    • @squorsh
      @squorsh 4 года назад +4

      @@revimfadli4666 move?

    • @Cheasle2
      @Cheasle2 4 года назад +1

      Keke is still round though

    • @jamess.7811
      @jamess.7811 4 года назад

      Didn't know anyone else ayed that

  • @arandombard1197
    @arandombard1197 Год назад +1

    There are two hypotheses that we can draw. Either there is absolutely no biases or there are at least some biases. It seems more logical that our brain has built-in biases that connect certain data sets together.

  • @jackbeavis
    @jackbeavis 7 месяцев назад +2

    Wait aren't those the main characters in Baba is you? Nice!

  • @jbess04
    @jbess04 4 года назад +510

    Am I losing it, or does anyone else have a memory of Tom Scott making this exact video like, 6 years ago?
    (Edit: Definitely wasn't SciShow for me, I don't watch that channel)

    • @TheGreyfoo
      @TheGreyfoo 4 года назад +71

      Put me in a straightjacket too, I had the very same thought!

    • @axm601
      @axm601 4 года назад +16

      I thought I was the only one thinking about that 🙄

    • @Triumph263
      @Triumph263 4 года назад +37

      Well throw me in a padded cell and throw away the key; I also think I've seen this video before.

    • @laraf-b
      @laraf-b 4 года назад +18

      Yes im literally so sure ive seen this like a year ago

    • @jjaska
      @jjaska 4 года назад +17

      Same here. I'm sure I've seen the beginning before in another Tom video.

  • @Beansahol
    @Beansahol 4 года назад +76

    "That is a lot of citations"
    Maybe for a youtube video

    • @jean-lucwalker3690
      @jean-lucwalker3690 4 года назад +8

      Tbh all the citations throughout the video would be a decent amount of references for such a short work, even if it was a paper.

    • @michaelhope8899
      @michaelhope8899 4 года назад +6

      As someone who wrote their thesis last year, I approve this comment

  • @chanabeni
    @chanabeni 3 года назад +8

    booba

  • @TooToo246
    @TooToo246 3 года назад +1

    I think it goes beyond the physical in some sense. If you pay close attention when sitting and breathing calmly with ur eyes closed, you can tell there's a difference in the shapes and their symmetries that appear in ur mind's eye when you say different words. Harsh sounding words or words with negative connotations, usually generate much more chaotic, less symmetrical, and less pleasing shapes than soft and pleasant sounding words....and so on!

  • @sackixfilms8950
    @sackixfilms8950 4 года назад +39

    This spent a full day in my recommended because I thought it was an old video I had already seen

  • @0xCAFEF00D
    @0xCAFEF00D 4 года назад +154

    I swear you've already done this one.

    • @jubbetje4278
      @jubbetje4278 4 года назад +9

      SciShow Psych covered this 3 weeks ago.

    • @DarthLlama226
      @DarthLlama226 4 года назад +67

      Right? I swear I saw this, like, *years* ago, by Tom.

    • @mbrondum2321
      @mbrondum2321 4 года назад +9

      @@jubbetje4278 That's where I saw it! It was driving me crazy during the whole video!

    • @halgerson
      @halgerson 4 года назад +13

      I clicked on it thinking the same and that maybe it was a reupload. Guess I've just seen it other places (I know QI did it). Still a good video.

    • @the.rest.is.confetti
      @the.rest.is.confetti 4 года назад +7

      Same!! It's driving me crazy lmao

  • @poohbear4821
    @poohbear4821 3 года назад

    Because the sharp sound goes with the sharp shape and the round/bubbly shape goes with that sound

  • @TheScrappingJeahaha
    @TheScrappingJeahaha 2 года назад +8

    Tom, it might sound stupid, but couldn't it be that the two studies you mentioned be hardly affected by swarm intelligence? Swarm intelligence could also be a good video topic for you.

  • @nkjmstprn
    @nkjmstprn 4 года назад +43

    Very interesting! This sort of reminds me of how Japanese uses onomatopoeia, specifically 擬態語 (gitaigo) and 擬情語(gijyougo), both of which are categories of words that describe more abstract states or means. Pikapika and kirakira describe sparkling or glistening, sorosoro and noronoro describe slowness and sluggishness, similar to how you describe the “universal” linguistic patterns.

    • @glowstonelovepad9294
      @glowstonelovepad9294 3 года назад +2

      Also, "Pikapika" is what Ash's Pikachu says in the Pokemon anime.

    • @GedMaybury23
      @GedMaybury23 3 года назад +3

      @@glowstonelovepad9294 "Pika" is quite exactly is the word for a flash of light - as in that of lightning. Hence 'pikapika!"
      You seem to know some Japanese. (More than me!! But I try.) if so: すみません私の日本語!

    • @m.s.5370
      @m.s.5370 3 года назад +3

      @@glowstonelovepad9294 actually, Pikachu's name is a combination of two Japanese Onomatopoeia:
      Pikapika (electric spark sounds)
      Chuchu (mouse sounds)
      Hence ピカチゥ (If I had to translate it, I would choose 'electric mouse' or something vaguely in that direction)

    • @Victorsandergamer
      @Victorsandergamer 3 года назад

      PIKI PIKI PIIMAN

    • @blokvader8283
      @blokvader8283 Год назад +1

      I hate to admit I recognize this too because of One Piece with the Glint-Glint Fruit (Pika Pika no mi) and the Slow-Slow Fruit (Noro Noro no mi)
      Also, "PIKA PIKA PIKARARARARA!!"

  • @enimo9241
    @enimo9241 4 года назад +425

    "Bouba" kind of sounds like "bubble" so maybe that's another reason they chose it for the round, blue shape

    • @Rhymers
      @Rhymers 3 года назад +17

      And kiki has sounds similar to cactus, which has pointy spikes. I might be stretching it a bit far here though

    • @SeraphsWitness
      @SeraphsWitness 3 года назад +58

      You missed the point, this works across languages. Not just english.

    • @Liggliluff
      @Liggliluff 3 года назад +16

      @@rhubarbeque Maybe there's a reason why "b" "u" "a" "o" are round letters while "k" "t" "i" are sharp pointy letters.

    • @Emerald29
      @Emerald29 3 года назад +14

      nah bouba means.....
      nevermind

    • @pinkiepiefan02
      @pinkiepiefan02 3 года назад +1

      I just think that bouba sounds round and kiki sounds pointy

  • @a.persona
    @a.persona Год назад +2

    this reminds me of "baba is you", which has the two characters "baba" and "keke"

  • @thefudgems
    @thefudgems 2 года назад

    Had my headphones in rather loud and 2:23 scared the daylight out of me. Thanks.

  • @Outside998
    @Outside998 4 года назад +288

    Persona 5 players: "Ha, I knew that, of course."

    • @uwu-
      @uwu- 4 года назад +18

      I knew I saw it before

    • @zolika1351
      @zolika1351 4 года назад +30

      +1 Knowledge

    • @VexedVII
      @VexedVII 4 года назад +15

      I was looking for this comment.

    • @renamamiya5997
      @renamamiya5997 4 года назад +11

      HEY! Listen Up!

    • @Outside998
      @Outside998 4 года назад +4

      @@renamamiya5997 Oh, hey there, my dude. We were talking about your game.

  • @essay2111
    @essay2111 3 года назад +333

    main takeaway: all cavemen were round.