2013•Unpublished venueRequires access
Arbitrariness and motivation in the sign
Paul J. Thibault
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Abstract
The fundamental principle of the arbitrariness of the sign does not prevent one from distinguishing in each language system that which is radically arbitrary, that is, unmotivated, from that which is only relatively so. Only some signs are absolutely arbitrary; in others there are phenomena which allow us to recognize degrees of arbitrariness, without removing the notion of arbitrariness altogether: the sign may be relatively motivated.