Reflection On Arbitrariness And Motivation Of Linguistic Signs

As for the discussion of the essence of language,there has been a debate on the issue of "rectification of names" going back as far as ancient Greece.The question of rectification the name" is: Does the name of objects come from the "essence" of objects,or from "the using habits of human"? Actually,this is a discussion of the relationship between objects and names.In the Spring and Autumn Period of China,Xunzi also elaborated the relationship between "name" and "objects" in Zhengming of Xunzi,and the view-" convention" of Xunzi still has discussion value until now in the field of linguistics.In addition,in the Outline of General Linguistics,Humboldt divided language research into three items: general research,specialized research,and pure historical research.Among them,the "pure investigation" of general research,which takes language itself as the cognition object,is the foundation of the whole cause,and its importance is self-evident.Since the publication of the book A Course in General Linguistics in 1916,the controversy over Saussure’s "arbitrariness principle" has never stopped.At the content level,some scholars agree with Saussure’s "arbitrariness principle" and believe that linguistic signs are incontestable.There is no inherent connection between the linguistic signs and the objects which is purely accidental.However,some other scholars believe that language signs are demonstrable,"motivated",and not "arbitrary." Since the second half of the 20 th century,with the development of functionalism and cognitive science,the academic community has paid more attention to the linguistic motivation,and in particular has paid great attention to the iconicity of natural language.The issue of the verifiability of linguistic signs has also attracted more attention,and iconicity is the main argument used to discuss the motivation of language.The concept of "iconicity" was first proposed by Pierce,the founder of semiotics,and the word “iconicity”originated from the concept of "symbolism".Affected by the study of Iconicity in Europe of the United States,many domestic scholars have also launched more indepth explorations of the iconicity theory,which has made the exploration of the essence of language more extensive in the discussion of arbitrary and motivation issues with greater dept and more varied ways.For example,the motivation component is no longer limited to the natural and internal relationship between the signifier and the signified,but expands into linguistic signs and linguistic signs;names and objects.And on the level,it is no longer limited to the level of the linguistic symbol itself,but extended to the levels of grammar,discourse,conceptual structure,synchronic and diachronic,natural attributes and rational thought.During the course of the debate,several pairs of relationships are often included,including: the signifier and signifier of linguistic signs,the relationship between linguistic signs,and the relationship between linguistic signs and objects etc.Then does the discussion of the "arbitrariness principle" proposed by Saussure cover these three common relationships? Does it also cover the above aspects? Are the levels and components covered of the motivation consistent with the arbitrariness ? Therefore,this article attempts to combine the analysis of conventional linguistic expressions to explore the relationship between arbitrariness and motivation of language by clarifying the relations between signified and the signifier,between linguistic signs,and between linguistic signs and object objects.For this reason,the main issues addressed in this article are:1.During discussing the relationship between arbitrariness and motivation,many scholars use Pierce’s semiotic theory to question the linguistic status of Saussure’s arbitrariness principle,and try to explain that Saussure’s arbitrariness principle is too absolute.So,what is the language sign from the perspective of semiology? Is Saussure’s arbitrariness principle too absolute?2.Are the components of arbitrariness and motivation exactly the same,and are they at the same level? What is the difference between the signified and the signifier? What is the relationship between them?3.What is the relationship between arbitrariness and motivation with the view of convention" in the field of linguistics.In order to solve the above problems,this article attempts to analyze and discuss the relationship between arbitrariness and motivation from the perspective of semiotics,using the theory of symbolic trisection,the principle of arbitrariness and motivation,conventional,ideogram and phonogram.In the process of analysis,this article will use the abovementioned related theories to discuss arbitrary and motivation components,the meaning of component,and the levels of arbitrariness and motivation.In order to carry out a more indepth and systematic study of the essence of language,this article will analyse some frequently discussed issues:the linguistic performance of convention,absolute arbitrariness,and relative arbitrariness,ideogram and phonogram,during Explore the relationship of between arbitrariness and motivation.This article is divided into five chapters.The introductory part aims to explain the research object,the basis of the topic,the literature review,and the research method.The first chapter mainly analyzes the linguistic signs in semiotics through the semiotics of structuralism,Pierce’s semiotic ideas,and Saussure’s thoughts on linguistic signs.The second chapter mainly discusses the signifier and the signified of linguistic signs,including the interpretation of the connotation and relationship of them,and the misinterpretation of the relationship between them.The third chapter,based on the explanation of the signifier and signified in the second chapter,with the combination of the arbitrariness signification of the signified and the signifier in the "appointment" stage in the "convention" and the analysis of absolute arbitrariness and the relative arbitrariness to discuss the relationship between the signifier and the signified.The fourth chapter is based on the previous two chapters’ exploration of the signifier and signifier of linguistic signs.This chapter will analyze the components and levels of arbitrariness and motivation,and further analyze the misunderstanding of arbitrariness and motivation by discussing the linguistic expressions in conventions,Chapter fifth draws the relationship between arbitrariness and motivation by interpreting the content of arbitrariness and motivation,and takes the dialectical relationship of arbitrariness and motivation reflected in conventional linguistic performance as an example.The last part is the summary of the thesis,including the significance of the research,the shortcomings of the article,and subsequent research.