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Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
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How arbitrary is language?

Padraic Monaghan1, Richard C Shillcock2, Morten H Christiansen3

  • 1Centre for Research in Human Development and Learning, Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YF, UK p.monaghan@lancaster.ac.uk.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The sound of words is not always arbitrary. Systematic sound-meaning connections aid early language acquisition, becoming less common as vocabulary grows.

Keywords:
arbitrariness of the signlanguage acquisitionlanguage evolutionvocabulary

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Area of Science:

  • Linguistics
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • The conventional view posits an arbitrary relationship between word sounds and meanings.
  • However, systematic sound-meaning mappings (iconicity) are observed in language.
  • This systematicity is hypothesized to be crucial for early language acquisition.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prevalence and developmental trajectory of sound-meaning systematicity in English.
  • To determine if sound-meaning mappings are more pronounced in early vocabulary.
  • To propose a model for vocabulary structure that balances systematicity and arbitrariness.

Main Methods:

  • Large-scale corpus analysis of the English language.
  • Statistical examination of sound-meaning mappings across vocabulary.
  • Comparison of systematicity in early versus later acquired words.

Main Results:

  • Sound-meaning mappings in English are significantly more systematic than predicted by chance.
  • This systematicity is markedly higher for words acquired during early language development.
  • The degree of systematicity decreases as vocabulary acquisition progresses into later stages.

Conclusions:

  • The English lexicon is structured to facilitate early language learning through systematic sound-meaning relationships.
  • Arbitrariness increases in later vocabulary to enhance communicative expressivity and efficiency.
  • This dual structure supports both initial acquisition and mature language use.