Iconicity

In functional-cognitive linguistics, as well as in semiotics, iconicity is the conceived similarity or analogy between a form of a sign (linguistic or otherwise) and its meaning, as opposed to arbitrariness.

Iconic principles:
*Quantity principle: formal complexity corresponds to conceptual complexity
*Proximity principle: conceptual distance tends to match with linguistic distance
*Sequential order principle: the sequential order of events described is mirrored in the speech chain

Quantity principle

The use of quantity of phonetic material to iconically mark increased quality or quantity can be noted in the lengthening of words to indicate a greater degree, such as "looong". It is also common to use reduplication to iconically mark increase, as Sapir is often quoted, “The process is generally employed, with self-evident symbolism, to indicate such concepts as distribution, plurality, repetition, customary activity, increase of size, added intensity, continuance” (1921:79). This has been confirmed by the comparative studies of Key (1965) and Moravcsik (1978). This can be seen, for example, in Amharic: "täsäbbärä" 'it was broken' and "täsäbbabärä" 'it was shattered'.

Iconic coding principles may be natural tendencies in language and are also part of our cognitive and biological make-up. The question whether iconicity is indeed a true part of language has always been debated in linguistics. Recently, for instance, Haspelmath has argued against iconicity, claiming that most iconic phenomena can be explained by frequency biases: since simpler meanings tend to be more frequent in the language use they tend to lose phonological material.

Onomatopoeia may be seen as a kind of iconicity, though even onomatopoeic sounds have a large degree of arbitrariness.

Iconicity and gesture

Iconicity is often argued to play a large role in the production and perception of gesture. Proposed ways in which iconicity is achieved is through [http://jeroenarendsen.nl/2007/04/hands-that-act-embody-model-and-draw/ Hands that Act, Embody, Model, and Draw] . In sign languages iconicity was often argued to be largely confined to sign formation. After longer usage the iconicity would no longer play an actual role in perception and production as the sign becomes part of the conventionalized vocabulary (comparable to onomatopeia). More recently, as sign language researchers gain confidence (and the fear of losing linguistic status subsides), iconicity is once again allowed to play a more central role again. Current sign language phonology acknowledges that certain aspects are semantically motivated. An important way in which iconicity plays an active role is in the modulation of signs, where the meaning of a sign is elaborated or altered by changing aspects of it. The ability to work creatively with sign language in this way has been associated with accomplished, or native signers.

Iconicity and religion

According to Ghil'ad Zuckermann, "iconicity might be the reason for refraining from translating "Hallelujah" and "Amen" in so many languages, as if the sounds of such basic religious notions have to do with their referents themselves – as if by losing the sound, one might lose the meaning. Compare this to the cabbalistic power of letters, for example in the case of gematria, the method of interpreting the Hebrew Scriptures by interchanging words whose letters have the same numerical value when added. A simple example of gematric power might be the famous proverb נכנס יין יצא סוד "nikhnas yayin yåSå sōd", lit. ‘entered wine went out secret’, i.e. ‘wine brings out the truth’, "in vino veritas". The gematric value of יין ‘wine’ is 70 (י=10; י=10; ן=50) and this is also the gematric value of סוד ‘secret’ (ס=60; ו=6; ד=4). Thus, this sentence, according to many Jews at the time, had to be true." [See p. 246 of Zuckermann, Ghil‘ad (2006), "'Etymythological Othering' and the Power of 'Lexical Engineering' in Judaism, Islam and Christianity. A Socio-Philo(sopho)logical Perspective", "Explorations in the Sociology of Language and Religion", edited by Tope Omoniyi and Joshua A. Fishman, Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 237-258.]

Iconicity and folk etymology

Iconicity occurs in rejective phono-semantic matching. "Consider Lithuanian Ashkenazic Hebrew רע דם "ra dom" (cf. Yiddish "ra dam"), lit. ‘of bad blood’ (from Hebrew רע דם "ra` dam" ‘of bad blood’). This is a toponymic rejective phono-semantic matching of Polish "Radom", the name of a town in Poland (approximately 100 km south of Warsaw), or of its Yiddish adaptation "ródem" (see Uriel Weinreich 1955: 609, Paul Wexler 1991: 42). Thus, if a pogrom had occurred in Radom, it would surely have been rationalized by "ra dam" ‘of bad blood’. Obviously, providing such an etymythological explanation for the pogrom was regarded by some Jews as a mere play on words. However, others might have conceived of "ra dam" as having deep intrinsic truth, which might have been religiously and homiletically based. One should not forget that at that time it was a common belief that all languages were God-created and that Hebrew was the divine "Ursprache"." [See p. 246 of Zuckermann, Ghil‘ad (2006), "'Etymythological Othering' and the Power of 'Lexical Engineering' in Judaism, Islam and Christianity. A Socio-Philo(sopho)logical Perspective", "Explorations in the Sociology of Language and Religion", edited by Tope Omoniyi and Joshua A. Fishman, Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 237-258.]

References

* Haiman, John. 1980. The Iconicity of Grammar: Isomorphism and Motivation. "Language" 56: 515-540.
* Haiman, John. 1983. Iconic and Economic Motivation. "Language" 59: 781-819.

ee also

* Semeiotic
* Semiotics
* Sign
* Sign relation
* Triadic relation
* Charles Sanders Peirce
* Phono-semantic matching
* Gematria
* Folk etymology