The Dispute between Arbitrariness and Iconicity of Linguistic Signs and Its Nature

A broad survey of the disputes in the field of linguistics in China of the past 20 years shows that three theories stand out concerning the nature of i.e. the theory of arbitrariness, the theory of and the dialectic theory. The disputes mainly focus on the different interpretations of and iconicity, whether the two are the two complete opposites, and whether the relationship between sound and meaning is absolutely arbitrary, etc. To a large degree, the nature of the disputes between arbitrariness and of signs is different interpretations of linguistic signs, and iconicity under different philosophical backgrounds.