Universal Grammar and Iconicity

Universal Grammar and Iconicity PDF

Author: Yafei Li

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2022-02-03

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 1108840434

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Explores the relationship between two widely discussed topics in linguistics - universal grammar and iconicity.

Natural Syntax

Natural Syntax PDF

Author: John Haiman

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1984-03-15

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 9780521319812

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The view that language is in some way 'arbitrary', that there is no formal relationship between a linguistic message and the thought it is meant to convey, is long established and pervasive. The goal of John Haiman's study is to challenge the monopoly of arbitrariness, which he believes has affected in significant ways many models of linguistic description and analysis, notably those proposed by Saussure and more recently by Chomsky and his associates. Linguistic structures, Dr Hainian claims, may be compared to (non-linguistic) diagrams of our thoughts, and deviate from iconicity in many of the same ways and for much the same reasons as do diagrams in general. Arbitrariness develops as a result of the relatively familiar principles of economy, generalization and association. In relation to this thesis, Dr Haiman considers a wide variety of constructions, including conditionals and interrogatives, gapping, causative structures, auxiliaries and reflexives, and provides a wealth of exemplification from different languages that also points to typological differences in respect of iconicity.

Iconicity in Language

Iconicity in Language PDF

Author: Juan Carlos Moreno Cabrera

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2020-03-26

Total Pages: 478

ISBN-13: 1527548864

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In linguistics, as in semiotics, iconicity is the conceived similarity between the form of a linguistic sign and its meaning. This book covers all aspects of linguistic iconicity in both spoken and signed languages, including definitions of all the relevant concepts and explanations of significant iconic words and expressions, and brief summaries of the contents and main proposals of 30 significant works in the history of iconicity research. It also provides definitions and exemplifications of the principles governing linguistic iconicity and brief overviews of iconic words and expressions in 11 language families and in more than 50 spoken and signed languages all over the world. The book contains 678 entries and more than 8,500 examples drawn from 400 languages, and will appeal to scholars and students interested in general linguistics, the history of linguistics, language typology, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and semiotics.

Iconicity in Language

Iconicity in Language PDF

Author: Raffaele Simone

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 1995-02-10

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 9027285705

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Several current linguistic approaches converge in rejecting the wide-spread idea that language is an autonomous system, i.e. that it is structured independently from the outside world and the natural equipment of language users. Around the world, semiotically biased linguistics (functionalism, naturalism, etc.) takes this position, which differentiates it very clearly from generative linguistics. One of the basic assumptions of such approaches is that language structure includes some non-arbitrary aspects, from the phonological through the textual level, and a great amount of research has occurred in the last decade regarding the “iconic aspects” of language(s). This volume focuses on generally neglected dimensions of language and semiotic activity, featuring contributions by philosophers, linguists, semioticians, and psychologists. After tracing the tradition of iconicity in the history of linguistic thought, the central section is devoted to specific analyses emphasizing the role of non-arbitrary phenomena in language foundation and linguistic structure. Specifically discussed are numeration systems, the gestural systems of communication among deaf people, the genesis of writing in children, and inter-ethnic communication.

A Theory of Syntax

A Theory of Syntax PDF

Author: Norbert Hornstein

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 205

ISBN-13: 0521449707

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Discusses a topical set of issues in syntactic theory, including a number of original proposals at the cutting edge of research in this area. The book provides a theory of the basic grammatical operations and suggests that there is only one that is distinctive to language.

A Grammar of Iconism

A Grammar of Iconism PDF

Author: Earl R. Anderson

Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 9780838637647

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Literary criticism often includes ad hoc comments about onomatopoeia, synaesthesia, or other forms of iconism. In A Grammar of Iconism, Earl Anderson discusses these phenomena systematically. According to Anderson, modern post-Saussurian linguistics has as its central tenet the arbitrariness of linguistic signs. Thus, linguistic elements that bear some relationship to their referent have been seen as marginal to the system of language, or at best similar in their arbitrariness to other linguistic signs. As an example of the latter, while most languages have an onomatopoeic element, different languages imitate sounds differently. Anderson argues against the standard view, provides a detailed critique of the negative arguments against iconism, and offers a positive typology that demonstrates the extensiveness and complexity of iconism in language.

Form Miming Meaning

Form Miming Meaning PDF

Author: Max Nänny

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 488

ISBN-13: 9789027221797

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Annotation Presents selected papers from a March 1997 symposium held in Zurich, in sections on general topics, sound and rhythm, typography and graphic design, word-formation, and syntax and discourse. Studies explore iconicity from two different angles. A first group of scholars is especially interested in how far the primary code, the code of grammar, is influenced by iconic motivation and how originally iconic models have become conventionalized. A second group of contributors is more interested in the presence of iconicity as part of the secondary code. Specific subjects include imagination by ideophones, the visual poetry of e. e. cummings, and iconic use of syntax in fiction. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

Universal Grammar in Second-Language Acquisition

Universal Grammar in Second-Language Acquisition PDF

Author: Margaret Thomas

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2004-07-31

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1134388543

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This book discusses how scholars in the west have conceived that human languages share important properties, and how westerners have understood the nature of second or foreign language learning.

Meaning and Universal Grammar

Meaning and Universal Grammar PDF

Author: Cliff Goddard

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2002-01-01

Total Pages: 355

ISBN-13: 9027230633

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Volume one of a set of studies that is founded on the idea that universal grammar is based on - indeed, inseparable from - meaning. The theoretical framework is the natural semantic metalanguage (NSM) approach originated by Anna Wierzbicka and developed in collaboration with Cliff Goddard.

The Oxford Handbook of Universal Grammar

The Oxford Handbook of Universal Grammar PDF

Author: Ian G. Roberts

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 673

ISBN-13: 0199573778

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''This handbook provides a critical guide to the most central proposition in modern linguistics: the notion, generally known as universal grammar, that a universal set of structural principles underlies the grammatical diversity of the world's languages. It will be a vital reference for linguists, philosophers, and cognitive scientists.''--