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Iconicity in Cognition and across Semiotic Systems
Edited by Sara Lenninger, Olga Fischer, Christina Ljungberg and Elżbieta Tabakowska
[Iconicity in Language and Literature 18] 2022
► pp. 27–46

The iconicity ring model for sound symbolism

ORCID logo | Nagoya University
ORCID logo | Keio University

The ‘iconicity ring model’ proposed in this chapter depicts a lexicon’s evolutionary path from genuine iconicity (termed ‘primary iconicity’) to arbitrariness to another type of iconicity (termed ‘emergent iconicity’) that emerges from linguistic systematicity. The model captures the universality and language-specificity of sound symbolism and its role in lexical acquisition. Iconicity loss in ideophones illustrates the shift from primary iconicity to arbitrariness, whereas ideophonization exemplifies the shift from arbitrariness to emergent iconicity via systematicity. The two types of iconicity are mixed together in individual lexicons, providing a clue to the symbol grounding problem.

Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Primary iconicity in sound symbolism
    • 2.1Universality
    • 2.2Early acquisition
  • 3.Emergent iconicity in sound symbolism
    • 3.1Language-specificity
    • 3.2Later acquisition
  • 4.Shift from primary to emergent iconicity
    • 4.1From primary iconicity to arbitrariness
    • 4.2From arbitrariness to systematicity to emergent iconicity
  • 5.Implications for the symbol grounding problem
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
Published online: 10 November 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ill.18.02aki
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