The Problem of 'l'arbitraire du signe
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2880830 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Thomas V Gamkrelidze (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1974 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 102 |
| Publication date | 1974-03-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Language (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0097-8507 • E-ISSN: 1535-0665 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/412013 |
| OpenAlex | W2324377112 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 7 |
The nature of the verbal sign, as of the sign in any semiotic system, must be specified through the relationship between the signans and signatum, as well as through the relations of the given sign to the other signs of the system, both at the level of the signata and at that of the corresponding signantia. In defining a sign of a semiotic system, then, we must consider not only the ‘vertical’ relationship between the two components of a sign taken in isolation, but also the twofold ‘horizontal’ relations existing between the respective components of the interrelated signs. The Saussurean thesis of the arbitrariness of the sign is partial and incomplete in that it specifies only the ‘vertical’ relations, disregarding the nature of the ‘horizontal’ ones. On the other hand, the opposite views on the motivated, iconic nature of the bond between the signans and signatum, as maintained by the adversaries of the Saussurean thesis, involve exclusively the sphere of the ‘horizontal’ relations and cannot refer to the ‘vertical’ relationship, which is characterized in principle by arbitrariness and conventionality. If the verbal sign is conceived of as a unity of the ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ relations, the opposed propositions concerning the nature of the relations between the signans and signatum present themselves not as contradictory, but as complementary to each other (in Niels Bohr's sense of the term), specifying with necessary completeness the essence of the verbal sign
Arbitrariness · Completeness (order theory) · Epistemology · Geometry · Horizontal and vertical · Linguistics · Mathematical analysis · Semiotics · Sign (mathematics) · Sign system · Historical Linguistics and Language Studies · Linguistics and Discourse Analysis · Mathematics · Philosophy · Semiotics and Representation Studies
The Iconicity of Grammar
Iconicity as the motivation for morphophonological metathesis and truncation in Nigerian Pidgin
A fool for rhythm
The seasons of the year in Old English
Arbitraire ou motivation des structures linguistiques? Le tournant de 1980
Language Systems and Principles of Reconstruction in Linguistics
Sound symbolism in Gooniyandi, a language of Western Australia
| Citations per year | 0.15 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1980 - 2026 (47) |
| Highly cited | No |