Arbitrariness of Signs Revisited

Recent publications in China have over-emphasized iconicity of linguistic signs while depreciating Saussurean arbitrariness.Arbitrariness,which can actually be very well integrated with findings of contemporary cognitive linguistic research,is here argued to be an elementary feature of signs,theoretically significant within semiotics.The arbitrariness of linguistic signs is part of the evidence of semiotic arbitrariness.Basic linguistic signs are arbitrary,while language motivation dwells in the rule system.The signified,or concept,varies with the cognitive pattern,and the signifier,i.e.linguistic sign,shows even greater variation.Iconicity is a good supplement to,instead of replacement of,the arbitrariness theory.