Iconicity as a universal feature of language
- V. 20, N. 2 (2021)
- Submitted: Jul 19, 2021
- Published: Sep 24, 2021
- DOI 10.25189/rabralin.v20i2.1867
Abstract
Dr. Bodo Winter’s presentation discussed linguistic iconicity. First, he showed that iconicity can perform different functions in language and that it is present in different linguistic domains among which is the lexicon. As evidence of that, he presents research that shows the occurrence of iconicity in English vocabulary related to size, shape and roughness. At the end of his presentation and in light of the works on which it was based, Dr. Winter defines iconicity as a selective process (since only some aspects of meaning, not its entirety, can be depictively represented), that manifests a sense of resemblance (thus, interpretive), and that depends on the context in which it occurs to be recognized as such. He also claims that iconicity be considered one of the design features of languages and not, like Saussure (1916) and Hockett (1960), arbitrariness, which he considers to be epiphenomenal
Full-text of the article is available for this locale: Português (Brasil).
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