Motivation Does Not Mean Non-arbitrariness

Arbitrariness as the fundamental nature of the linguistic sign means that there is no natural bond between the signifier and the signified while motivation refers to the analyzability and self-explanatoriness of the sign within the system.The existence of motivation does not deny arbitrariness as they are categories of different levels.However,motivatedness is sometimes misinterpreted as non-arbitrariness,and arbitrariness is thus denied.This paper analyzes and compares the two concepts,aiming to clarify the misinterpretation.