On the Arbitrary Nature of Linguistic Sign
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| Title | On the Arbitrary Nature of Linguistic Sign |
| Authors | |
| Abstract | Saussure is universally recognized the “father of modern linguistics”. Saussurean linguistics marks the beginning of modern linguistics and the arbitrary nature of linguistic sign is called by Saussure “the first principle of linguistics”. This paper approaches arbitrariness by (1) clarifying the definition of arbitrariness by Saussure, (2) discussing whether onomatopoeic words and interjections are counter-evidences of arbitrariness, (3) defining the two conditions under which Saussure put forward the principle and (4) finally elaborating on the explanatory power of arbitrariness from three different perspectives. The paper concludes that arbitrariness is the fundamental principle of linguistics, for it underlies many important distinctions (concepts) in modern linguistics and accounts for many linguistic phenomena. |
| Publisher | ACADEMY PUBLISHER |
| Date | 2012-01-01 |
| Source | Theory and Practice in Language Studies Vol 2, No 1 (2012) |
| Rights | Copyright © ACADEMY PUBLISHER - All Rights Reserved.To request permission, please check out URL: http://www.academypublisher.com/copyrightpermission.html. |