Iconicity, isomorphism and sign language
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15381/lengsoc.v23i1.27431Keywords:
iconicity, arbitrariness, isomorphism, signed languages, language designAbstract
It was assumed in traditional Linguistics that arbitrariness was an essential feature of language, and this position implied a fall of iconicity. Recently, there are studies that advocate for a balance in understanding the nature of language. In fact, iconicity also plays a predominant role in the structure of language, which is why the tenet of arbitrariness must be critically examined. In phylogeny and ontogeny of language, iconicity plays a central role in verbal, oral or signed configurations. It can be postulated that arbitrariness and iconicity must be explained in terms of a deeper principle such isomorphism. One of the conditions of such a principle is the oscillating trajectory that starts from a motivated origin to an arbitrary stage. While arbitrariness guarantees the subtle efficiency of human grammar, iconicity serves to establish the link between language, cognition, and experience. In order to demonstrate that iconicity and arbitrariness are outstanding features of language, it is necessary to account for scientific research on the different signed languages since iconicity is perspicuous in signed languages.
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