The first part of the article provides a general working definition of linguistic naturalism and briefly describes the forms it took in pre-modern theories of language, pointing out those aspects that are still present in the modern-day debate (Section 1). It then shows that two different notions of the a priori are at the root of two competing forms of modern linguistic naturalism (Section 2). These are discussed in the next paragraphs, in which Chomsky’s internalist naturalism is contrasted with Quine’s externalist naturalism (Section 3), and with more recent research programs that can be subsumed under the rubric of ‘developmental’ naturalism. These focus on the formation of the a priori structures of subjectivity, and on the interaction of those structures and social practices from a phylogenetic (Section 4) and ontogenetic perspective (Section 5). A last paragraph (Section 6) draws a few conclusions.
Too often the word “iconicity” is used simply as a scientifically sounding term for similarity. In order to develop a real theory of iconicity, it is not enough, but perhaps a good start, to return to Peirce. In this paper, I use the reconstruction of the notion of iconicity inspired by my work in pictorial semiotics to throw some light on iconicity in language and in gesture. I suggest that there are several possible iconic relationships within the sign, and that these relations may involve properties, proper parts, or perspectives. In particular, I criticize the idea of iconicity being a question of degrees. The article looks at parallels between Lessing’s classic distinction between the resources of language and pictures and contemporary studies of “dual coding” in thinking. It also considers the segmentation of movement in different languages and gesture systems, in particular in relation to Satellite-framed and Verb-framed languages.
The paper examines the semiotic foundations of Natural Linguistics with special reference to diagrammatic iconicity. In accordance with C. S. Peirce’s semiotics, naturalness in language is described as a substratum of iconic, indexical, and symbolic signs. Diagrammatic iconicity in language is more than form-meaning isomorphism; it is a structure inherent in the verbal form itself irrespective of whether the diagram is used to represent anything at all. The rules of word formation, syntax, and the structures of discourse constitute verbal diagrams. The system of language is a diagrammatic rhematic legisign. A pure diagram is a relational form without reference to anything else. Diagrams that represent in connection with indexical reference are diagrammatic hypoicons. This is the kind of diagram which has been studied in Natural Linguistics so far. Diagrams in language are both cognitively necessary and rhetorically efficient since icons are superior to other signs when clearness of representation and coherence of argumentation is concerned.
The following comparison of Naturalness theory and Markedness theory contrasts naturalness scales and markedness relations and the distinct notions of value in the two theories in order to focus on recent advances in the identification of rules of naturalness syntax and markedness syntax. It is shown that whereas naturalness theory offers little basis for accounts of variation and change, key notions in markedness theory play a central role both in accounts of synchronic variation and in explanations of the initiation and actualization of change. In a concluding comparison of the two theories it is argued that Markedness theory in essential respects subsumes Naturalness theory. This explains why many linguists find the two theories kindred, and it suggests that the future will see their unification.
Natural sound patterns are those grounded in physical properties of speech, while unnatural sound patterns arguably have no such physical basis. This study provides a brief history of the study of natural and unnatural sound patterns from antiquity forward. Definitions of natural and unnatural sound patterns are examined in a range of frameworks, and as applied to both synchronic and diachronic phonology. Examples of natural and unnatural sound patterns are provided, with attempts to move beyond linguistic intuitions by providing documentation from phonetic research, psycholinguistics, and laboratory phonology of the types of sound patterns grounded in physical properties of speech. A final issue discussed is the logic and empirical basis for encoding naturalness in synchronic grammars. Many common and recurrent sound patterns can be explained in terms of the way humans articulate and perceive speech, but phonetic explanation should be properly segregated from grammatical description and analysis.
Over the past few years, full inversion constructions in which the subject follows the entire verb phrase in a declarative clause have been the subject of extensive research (cf. Bresnan and Kanerva 1992a and 1992b, Schachter 1992, Birner 1996, Dorgeloh 1997, Chen 2003, Kreyer 2006), the focus of each individual study varying according to the nature and goals of the specific theoretical framework adopted. This paper offers a contrastive corpus-based analysis of a particular type of full inversion, namely prepositional phrase inversion (for example, “On the table beside him sat his crown, his sword and his dagger”), in English fictional and non-fictional texts. It is argued that in fictional prose prepositional phrase inversion can be considered a marker of spatial experiential iconicity through which the process of physical perception is reflected in the syntax, whereas in non-fiction prepositional phrase inversion is used merely as a text-structuring device.
This paper is a contribution to research on iconicity and diagrammatic transparency in the lexicon. The focus lies on the potential contribution of polysemy to iconicity that is generally neglected by iconicity researchers. The three Peircean icon types of images, diagrams and metaphors are scrutinised with respect to their relationship to polysemy. It is shown that polysemy is diagrammatic and also closely connected to Peircean metaphor, since the icon types of metaphor and diagrams considerably overlap. Consequently, polysemy also plays a role in diagrammatic transparency and therefore must be considered as a distinct degree on scales of diagrammatic transparency. Existing scales of diagrammatic transparency should be revised. The most important problem with them is that they concentrate on the formal part of word transparency and neglect the semantic part of transparency issues. Evidence from questionnaire studies on lexical motivation suggests that diagrammatic transparency is not only a formal issue, but strongly depends on the semantic relation connecting a stimulus and its motivational base. Stimuli that are related by metaphorical similarity to a potential motivational partner are perceived more easily as motivated than stimuli that are potentially motivated by contiguity.
Sign languages are visual-gestural communication systems with a great potential for iconic structures and indeed, in sign languages iconicity is pervasive, both on the lexical and the grammical levels. However, in early sign language research the role of iconicity was downplayed in order to stress the similarities in structure between sign languages and spoken languages. For some authors, on the other hand, iconicity has been a reason for claiming that sign languages are organised in a fundamentally different way from spoken languages. Looking at sign languages from a phonological perspective, important questions remain unanswered in both these approaches. In this paper we try to provide answers to two questions. First, does iconicity play a part in the linguistic structure of sign languages and are sign language users aware of it? Second, what is the status of the sublexical elements in sign languages, and more specifically, should they be considered as phonemes or as morphemes? In the first section of the paper we shall explore the various forms of iconicity in sign languages, using the framework of Taub’s Analogue Building Model (2001). In the second and third sections we shall confront two approaches of sign language phonology, Cuxac’s sign language differential view with a focus on iconicity as the fundamental organising principle (1996, 2000) and the more spoken language compatible concepts of phonetic and semantic implementation by Van der Kooij (2002). These two accounts are the point of departure for the fourth section in which we shall put forward a proposal of an iconic superstructure which addresses iconicity in both the spoken and signed modalities and which offers an answer to both above-mentioned questions.
This usage-based study tests the explanatory power of an iconically motivated theory of lexical class. The principle that basic level grammatical categories are motivated by our direct perceptual experience is an integral part of Cognitive Grammar (Langacker 1987, Talmy 2000). However, recent research on English, Dutch, and German (Glynn 2006, 2007) has revealed mixed results in the application of this theory, suggesting that its descriptive power may be restricted to a very abstract level of semantic structure. This investigation focuses on the above question, looking at the class-lexeme productivity of a range of relational classes, such as adverbs and adjectives, in a morphologically rich language. The lexical field is that of ‘rain’-‘snow’ for the West Slavic language Polish. This perceptually based concept should offer a best-case scenario for examining the class-lexeme compositionality with an iconically motivated grammatical category. Despite this, the results show no particular evidence for iconic motivation, throwing weight behind the position that iconic motivation in grammar is at best an abstract tendency with little semantic impact.
The first part of the article provides a general working definition of linguistic naturalism and briefly describes the forms it took in pre-modern theories of language, pointing out those aspects that are still present in the modern-day debate (Section 1). It then shows that two different notions of the a priori are at the root of two competing forms of modern linguistic naturalism (Section 2). These are discussed in the next paragraphs, in which Chomsky’s internalist naturalism is contrasted with Quine’s externalist naturalism (Section 3), and with more recent research programs that can be subsumed under the rubric of ‘developmental’ naturalism. These focus on the formation of the a priori structures of subjectivity, and on the interaction of those structures and social practices from a phylogenetic (Section 4) and ontogenetic perspective (Section 5). A last paragraph (Section 6) draws a few conclusions.
Too often the word “iconicity” is used simply as a scientifically sounding term for similarity. In order to develop a real theory of iconicity, it is not enough, but perhaps a good start, to return to Peirce. In this paper, I use the reconstruction of the notion of iconicity inspired by my work in pictorial semiotics to throw some light on iconicity in language and in gesture. I suggest that there are several possible iconic relationships within the sign, and that these relations may involve properties, proper parts, or perspectives. In particular, I criticize the idea of iconicity being a question of degrees. The article looks at parallels between Lessing’s classic distinction between the resources of language and pictures and contemporary studies of “dual coding” in thinking. It also considers the segmentation of movement in different languages and gesture systems, in particular in relation to Satellite-framed and Verb-framed languages.
The paper examines the semiotic foundations of Natural Linguistics with special reference to diagrammatic iconicity. In accordance with C. S. Peirce’s semiotics, naturalness in language is described as a substratum of iconic, indexical, and symbolic signs. Diagrammatic iconicity in language is more than form-meaning isomorphism; it is a structure inherent in the verbal form itself irrespective of whether the diagram is used to represent anything at all. The rules of word formation, syntax, and the structures of discourse constitute verbal diagrams. The system of language is a diagrammatic rhematic legisign. A pure diagram is a relational form without reference to anything else. Diagrams that represent in connection with indexical reference are diagrammatic hypoicons. This is the kind of diagram which has been studied in Natural Linguistics so far. Diagrams in language are both cognitively necessary and rhetorically efficient since icons are superior to other signs when clearness of representation and coherence of argumentation is concerned.
The following comparison of Naturalness theory and Markedness theory contrasts naturalness scales and markedness relations and the distinct notions of value in the two theories in order to focus on recent advances in the identification of rules of naturalness syntax and markedness syntax. It is shown that whereas naturalness theory offers little basis for accounts of variation and change, key notions in markedness theory play a central role both in accounts of synchronic variation and in explanations of the initiation and actualization of change. In a concluding comparison of the two theories it is argued that Markedness theory in essential respects subsumes Naturalness theory. This explains why many linguists find the two theories kindred, and it suggests that the future will see their unification.
Natural sound patterns are those grounded in physical properties of speech, while unnatural sound patterns arguably have no such physical basis. This study provides a brief history of the study of natural and unnatural sound patterns from antiquity forward. Definitions of natural and unnatural sound patterns are examined in a range of frameworks, and as applied to both synchronic and diachronic phonology. Examples of natural and unnatural sound patterns are provided, with attempts to move beyond linguistic intuitions by providing documentation from phonetic research, psycholinguistics, and laboratory phonology of the types of sound patterns grounded in physical properties of speech. A final issue discussed is the logic and empirical basis for encoding naturalness in synchronic grammars. Many common and recurrent sound patterns can be explained in terms of the way humans articulate and perceive speech, but phonetic explanation should be properly segregated from grammatical description and analysis.
Over the past few years, full inversion constructions in which the subject follows the entire verb phrase in a declarative clause have been the subject of extensive research (cf. Bresnan and Kanerva 1992a and 1992b, Schachter 1992, Birner 1996, Dorgeloh 1997, Chen 2003, Kreyer 2006), the focus of each individual study varying according to the nature and goals of the specific theoretical framework adopted. This paper offers a contrastive corpus-based analysis of a particular type of full inversion, namely prepositional phrase inversion (for example, “On the table beside him sat his crown, his sword and his dagger”), in English fictional and non-fictional texts. It is argued that in fictional prose prepositional phrase inversion can be considered a marker of spatial experiential iconicity through which the process of physical perception is reflected in the syntax, whereas in non-fiction prepositional phrase inversion is used merely as a text-structuring device.
This paper is a contribution to research on iconicity and diagrammatic transparency in the lexicon. The focus lies on the potential contribution of polysemy to iconicity that is generally neglected by iconicity researchers. The three Peircean icon types of images, diagrams and metaphors are scrutinised with respect to their relationship to polysemy. It is shown that polysemy is diagrammatic and also closely connected to Peircean metaphor, since the icon types of metaphor and diagrams considerably overlap. Consequently, polysemy also plays a role in diagrammatic transparency and therefore must be considered as a distinct degree on scales of diagrammatic transparency. Existing scales of diagrammatic transparency should be revised. The most important problem with them is that they concentrate on the formal part of word transparency and neglect the semantic part of transparency issues. Evidence from questionnaire studies on lexical motivation suggests that diagrammatic transparency is not only a formal issue, but strongly depends on the semantic relation connecting a stimulus and its motivational base. Stimuli that are related by metaphorical similarity to a potential motivational partner are perceived more easily as motivated than stimuli that are potentially motivated by contiguity.
Sign languages are visual-gestural communication systems with a great potential for iconic structures and indeed, in sign languages iconicity is pervasive, both on the lexical and the grammical levels. However, in early sign language research the role of iconicity was downplayed in order to stress the similarities in structure between sign languages and spoken languages. For some authors, on the other hand, iconicity has been a reason for claiming that sign languages are organised in a fundamentally different way from spoken languages. Looking at sign languages from a phonological perspective, important questions remain unanswered in both these approaches. In this paper we try to provide answers to two questions. First, does iconicity play a part in the linguistic structure of sign languages and are sign language users aware of it? Second, what is the status of the sublexical elements in sign languages, and more specifically, should they be considered as phonemes or as morphemes? In the first section of the paper we shall explore the various forms of iconicity in sign languages, using the framework of Taub’s Analogue Building Model (2001). In the second and third sections we shall confront two approaches of sign language phonology, Cuxac’s sign language differential view with a focus on iconicity as the fundamental organising principle (1996, 2000) and the more spoken language compatible concepts of phonetic and semantic implementation by Van der Kooij (2002). These two accounts are the point of departure for the fourth section in which we shall put forward a proposal of an iconic superstructure which addresses iconicity in both the spoken and signed modalities and which offers an answer to both above-mentioned questions.
This usage-based study tests the explanatory power of an iconically motivated theory of lexical class. The principle that basic level grammatical categories are motivated by our direct perceptual experience is an integral part of Cognitive Grammar (Langacker 1987, Talmy 2000). However, recent research on English, Dutch, and German (Glynn 2006, 2007) has revealed mixed results in the application of this theory, suggesting that its descriptive power may be restricted to a very abstract level of semantic structure. This investigation focuses on the above question, looking at the class-lexeme productivity of a range of relational classes, such as adverbs and adjectives, in a morphologically rich language. The lexical field is that of ‘rain’-‘snow’ for the West Slavic language Polish. This perceptually based concept should offer a best-case scenario for examining the class-lexeme compositionality with an iconically motivated grammatical category. Despite this, the results show no particular evidence for iconic motivation, throwing weight behind the position that iconic motivation in grammar is at best an abstract tendency with little semantic impact.