Snacking is some serious business. Dan Jurafsky, a Stanford linguist who blogs on The Language of Food, conducted a sound symbolism test to better understand how meanings are attached to specific sounds. For the study, Jurafsky analyzed 81 ice-cream flavors and 592 cracker brands. He discovered that the ice-cream names tended to use more back vowels, which are formed in the back of our mouths and usually refer to fat and heavy things. As suspected, the cracker names employed more front vowels, which are formed in the front of our mouths and refer to light and airy things.
“Say them out loud: rocky road, chocolate, cookie dough, coconut—heavy on low-frequency o’s. Now listen to Cheese Nips, Cheez-Its, Wheat Thins, Ritz Bits, Triscuit, Cheese Crisps—you can hear all those little bitty e’s and i’s.”
Sound influences our perception of everything, which is why naming is such an important undertaking for a brand. Linguist John Ohala says that we associate lower pitches with aggression and hostility, while higher pitches sound friendlier and more open. Incorporating these kinds of linguistic insights into a product’s naming process reinforces positive associations.
So, is it snack time yet?
(via Language of Food, h/t GOOD)
