Baby chicks can also link shapes to sounds similar to humans, such as “bouba” and “kiki”

Chicks seem to associate sounds with specific shapes

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To humans, some words seem to go well with pointy or round shapes, and the same seems to be true for chicks.

Research has shown that people tend to associate the nonsense word “bouba” with round shapes and “kiki” with sharp shapes. Many studies have found that this phenomenon is nearly universal, and applies to people of all ages, cultures, and languages.

“This effect is an example of sound symbolism, the natural association between sound and shape.”