When you accidentally stub your toe, you might shout “ouch” or “ow” depending on the language you speak. A recent study published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America found that pain interjections in various languages often contain the vowel sound “ah” ([a] in the IPA) or vowel combinations like “ow” and “ai.” This commonality across languages suggests a shared origin for expressions of pain.
The study, conducted by researchers at France’s National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), analyzed interjections for pain, joy, and disgust in 131 languages from different regions around the world. They found that pain interjections shared more similarities across languages than interjections for joy or disgust. The prevalence of [a]-like vowels in pain interjections indicates that these sounds may have evolved from primal vocalizations associated with pain and distress.
Interestingly, when participants from English, Japanese, Spanish, Turkish, and Mandarin were asked to produce sounds expressing pain, joy, or disgust, researchers found that [a] was the most common vowel sound associated with pain. This further supports the idea that the sounds we use to express pain may have deep biological roots.
In contrast, vocalizations for joy and disgust varied more across languages, possibly due to cultural influences on these emotions. Pain, being a universal biological experience, seems to have a more consistent vocal expression across different linguistic and cultural contexts.
This study adds to the growing body of research on sound iconicity in language, where the form of a word is connected to its meaning. While traditional linguistic theory views language as arbitrary, examples of sound symbolism, onomatopoeia, and iconicity challenge this notion. The study of interjections for pain reveals how our shared biology influences language, highlighting the commonalities that unite us as humans.
By exploring the origins of painful expressions across languages, researchers shed light on the fundamental nature of human communication. The similarities in pain interjections hint at a shared evolutionary heritage that transcends cultural and linguistic diversity. This research underscores the importance of studying language to better understand the universal aspects of human experience and expression.
