It is claimed that the most natural environment for experimental phonosemantic studies
is that of the minimal text in the respondents’ native language with the use of real
(native or foreign) lexis in its sound form. The claim is based on the idea that if
language is viewed as the tool for cognition and communication, then its units,
including iconic ones, realize their functions in all their entirety exclusively in a verbal
(originally oral) context, while iconic non-language vocalizations or pseudowords serve
only as evidence of such psycho-physiological phenomena as synesthesia and
synesthemia. The results of the perceptual experiment with English and Russian
speakers seem to point to the validity of the claim. Key words: phonosemantics,
natural language units, linguistic context.