Sound Symbolism In Linguistic Signs

Since Saussure proposed the first principle of arbitrariness of linguistic signs, it has become a doctrine in linguistics, and the role of sound symbolism is considered marginal in linguistics. However, it also aroused disagreement among researchers both abroad and at home. A very common objection to arbitrariness is that there is correspondence between sound and meaning. Whether linguistic signs are arbitrary or not has been an ever-discussed and controversial issue in the linguistic circle. In my opinion, the meaning of every word in every language is somewhat inherent in its form, and there is a continuum from iconicity to arbitrariness in the language system.In this thesis, my intention has been to shed light on that controversy by providing adequate examples of sound symbolic phenomena, which quantify the extent of the correspondence between sound and meaning in words. Furthermore, it is shown that linguistic iconism reflects a natural law—dialectics, which is the method of reasoning that aims to understand things concretely in all their movement, change and interconnection, with their opposite and contradictory sides in unity. In my paper, I have applied this general law to solving the following controversial issues concerning the nature of language: (1) whether language is arbitrary or iconic; (2) whether sound symbolism is universal or language specific; and (3) the reason why there exists universality of sound symbolism.What I'm going to do is to prove that in the totality of language system, it is the case that arbitrariness and iconicity are fundamental elements, both opposed and complementary to each other and there is a continuum in sound symbolism from arbitrariness to iconicity. In a given condition, they possess identity, consequently coexist in a single entity and can transform themselves into each other. Based on the above concept, I further claim that sound symbolism is both universal and specific, and the key to language universality lies in both innateness and experience.