User:Jahsonic/The linguistic sign is not arbitrary
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+ | [[Image:Sign and signifier as imagined by de Saussure.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Signified and signifier]] as depicted in ''[[Course in General Linguistics]]'' (1916)]] | ||
+ | [[Image:The-bouba-kiki-effect.png|thumb|right|200px|The [[Bouba/kiki effect]] (1929)]] | ||
+ | [[Image:The linguistic sign is arbitrary (de Saussure).jpg|thumb|right|200px|The passage in ''[[Course_in_General_Linguistics#Arbitrariness|Course in General Linguistics]]'' (1916) in which de Saussure says that "the linguistic sign is arbitrary"]] | ||
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+ | :''status: draft'' | ||
- | The linguistic sign is not arbitrary! | + | At the beginning of the 20th century the Swiss linguist [[Ferdinand de Saussure]] in his canonical ''[[Course_in_General_Linguistics#Arbitrariness|Course in General Linguistics]]'' (1916) stated that: |
- | Is the [[Bouba/kiki effect]] an instance of a [[universal language]]? | + | :The bond between the [[signifier]] and the [[signified]] is [[arbitrary]]. Since I mean by sign the whole that results from the associating of the signifier with the signified, I can simply say: ''the linguistic sign is arbitrary''. [[Course_in_General_Linguistics_%28full_text%29#2._Principle_I:_The_Arbitrary_Nature_of_the_Sign|<sup>tr. Wade Baskin, source]]<sup>[http://archive.org/stream/courseingenerall00saus#page/67/mode/1up]</sup> |
- | I would say yes. | + | This statement implies that in the [[evolution of language]], the [[naming of objects]] has been arbitrary and not dependent on [[sound symbolism]]. De Saussure even denied the significance of sound symbolism in the case of [[onomatopoeia]] and [[interjection]]s. |
- | Not only does 95% of the [[informant]]s assign "kiki" to the [[angular]] shape and "bouba" to the [[curvilinear]] shape, my own research indicates that when informants are asked which of the two shapes is the '[[smart]]' one and which is the '[[dumb]]' one, "kiki" is usually designated as the smart one (remember, [[sharp]] in English also means [[intelligent]]) and "bouba" the dumb one (likewise, [[dull]] means not intelligent). | + | But the [[linguistic sign]] is not [[arbitrary]]. |
- | This means that [[shape]]s can be connected both to [[sound]]s and to [[affect]]s. | + | The proof: the [[Bouba/kiki effect]], an instance a [[universal language]] ruled by sound symbolism. |
- | These findings have implications for the [[evolution of language]], because it suggests that the [[naming of objects]] is not completely arbitrary, as French linguist [[Ferdinand de Saussure|de Saussure]] in his canonical ''[[Course_in_General_Linguistics#Arbitrariness|Course in General Linguistics]]'' (1916) stated. | + | In the "Bouba/kiki" experiment, 95% of the [[informant]]s assigns "kiki" to the [[angular]] shape and "bouba" to the [[curvilinear]] shape. |
+ | |||
+ | Informal research conducted by [[Jan Willem Geerinck|myself]] indicates that when informants are asked which of the two shapes is the '[[smart]]' one and which is the '[[dumb]]' one, "kiki" is usually designated as the smart one (remember, [[sharp]] in English also means [[intelligent]]) and "bouba" the dumb one (likewise, [[dull]] means not intelligent). | ||
+ | |||
+ | This means that [[shape]]s can be connected both to [[sound]]s and to [[affect]]s. | ||
I was surprised not to see the Bouba/kiki effect in ''[[The Search for the Perfect Language (The Making of Europe)]]'' by Umberto Eco. | I was surprised not to see the Bouba/kiki effect in ''[[The Search for the Perfect Language (The Making of Europe)]]'' by Umberto Eco. | ||
+ | ==See also== | ||
+ | *[[Sign_%28linguistics%29#The_Concept_of_Arbitrariness]] | ||
+ | *[[Course_in_General_Linguistics#Arbitrariness]] | ||
+ | *[[Course_in_General_Linguistics_%28full_text%29#2._Principle_I:_The_Arbitrary_Nature_of_the_Sign]] | ||
+ | *[[Sound symbolism]] | ||
+ | *''[[The Sign is Not Arbitrary]]'' (1949) by [[Dwight Bolinger]] of [[Harvard University]]. | ||
+ | *[[Superseded scientific theories]] | ||
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At the beginning of the 20th century the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure in his canonical Course in General Linguistics (1916) stated that:
- The bond between the signifier and the signified is arbitrary. Since I mean by sign the whole that results from the associating of the signifier with the signified, I can simply say: the linguistic sign is arbitrary. tr. Wade Baskin, source[1]
This statement implies that in the evolution of language, the naming of objects has been arbitrary and not dependent on sound symbolism. De Saussure even denied the significance of sound symbolism in the case of onomatopoeia and interjections.
But the linguistic sign is not arbitrary.
The proof: the Bouba/kiki effect, an instance a universal language ruled by sound symbolism.
In the "Bouba/kiki" experiment, 95% of the informants assigns "kiki" to the angular shape and "bouba" to the curvilinear shape.
Informal research conducted by myself indicates that when informants are asked which of the two shapes is the 'smart' one and which is the 'dumb' one, "kiki" is usually designated as the smart one (remember, sharp in English also means intelligent) and "bouba" the dumb one (likewise, dull means not intelligent).
This means that shapes can be connected both to sounds and to affects.
I was surprised not to see the Bouba/kiki effect in The Search for the Perfect Language (The Making of Europe) by Umberto Eco.
See also
- Sign_(linguistics)#The_Concept_of_Arbitrariness
- Course_in_General_Linguistics#Arbitrariness
- Course_in_General_Linguistics_(full_text)#2._Principle_I:_The_Arbitrary_Nature_of_the_Sign
- Sound symbolism
- The Sign is Not Arbitrary (1949) by Dwight Bolinger of Harvard University.
- Superseded scientific theories