> From: markjreed@gmail.com [mailto:markjreed@gmail.com] Mark J.
Reed
> Hm. I've read mentions of such links in pop-sci treatments
(Pinker
> vel sim). I seem to recall that there hadn't been a conclusive
study
> but the consensus based on anecdotal evidence is that it doesn't
go
> very far beyond baby talk - something close to "ma" being
associated
> with mother/milk/breast, etc. I'm afraid it was a while back
and I no
> longer know where I read it, and I could be totally
misremembering.
> How's THAT for helpful? :\
I don't think "mama", "papa/baba", etc. qualify. They seem to be
more a result of an infant's limited speech capabilities than any
semantic relationship to sound.
I did find a document once that actually claimed a certain
tendencies between sound and semantics. For example, a certain
semantic class may have a tendency to being with a labial across
languages, while other meanings may tend toward rhotics, etc...