Home General Interest Chapter 8. Iconicity principles from an evolutionary perspective
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Chapter 8. Iconicity principles from an evolutionary perspective

  • Livio Gaeta
View more publications by John Benjamins Publishing Company
To Publisher Page
Historical Linguistics 2019
This chapter is in the book Historical Linguistics 2019

Abstract

Much discussion has been devoted to the role of iconic coding, especially with regards to its relevance for explaining morphological change over other synchronic factors such as economy, frequency, and the like. In this chapter, I will reverse the perspective and focus on diachrony as a source of the rise of iconic coding. This is not meant to deny the relevance of the synchronic perspective, but the stress on diachrony may help us understand that a number of phenomena can be structurally accounted for, i.e., these phenomena are the way they are, because of their origin from earlier structural environments.

Abstract

Much discussion has been devoted to the role of iconic coding, especially with regards to its relevance for explaining morphological change over other synchronic factors such as economy, frequency, and the like. In this chapter, I will reverse the perspective and focus on diachrony as a source of the rise of iconic coding. This is not meant to deny the relevance of the synchronic perspective, but the stress on diachrony may help us understand that a number of phenomena can be structurally accounted for, i.e., these phenomena are the way they are, because of their origin from earlier structural environments.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Editors’ introduction 1
  4. Chapter 1. Signs of prehistoric language shifts involving Unangam Tunuu (Aleut) 8
  5. Chapter 2. Early compound accent in Japanese Tōkyō -type dialects 36
  6. Chapter 3. Phylogenetic signal in the lexicon 59
  7. Chapter 4. Solving Galton’s problem 74
  8. Chapter 5. Re-examining initial geminates 109
  9. Chapter 6. Recurrent change in pronouns 146
  10. Chapter 7. The role of geography and migration in the branching and spread of the Japonic language family 172
  11. Chapter 8. Iconicity principles from an evolutionary perspective 194
  12. Chapter 9. Modality across semantic spaces 216
  13. Chapter 10. Something out of nothing 240
  14. Chapter 11. The diachronic development of postverbal dé 得 in Chinese 260
  15. Chapter 12. Food, contact phenomena and reconstruction in Oriental Berber 283
  16. Chapter 13. A cognitive-typological perspective on the origins of causative‑applicative polysemy 330
  17. Index 367
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.367.08gae

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Editors’ introduction 1
  4. Chapter 1. Signs of prehistoric language shifts involving Unangam Tunuu (Aleut) 8
  5. Chapter 2. Early compound accent in Japanese Tōkyō -type dialects 36
  6. Chapter 3. Phylogenetic signal in the lexicon 59
  7. Chapter 4. Solving Galton’s problem 74
  8. Chapter 5. Re-examining initial geminates 109
  9. Chapter 6. Recurrent change in pronouns 146
  10. Chapter 7. The role of geography and migration in the branching and spread of the Japonic language family 172
  11. Chapter 8. Iconicity principles from an evolutionary perspective 194
  12. Chapter 9. Modality across semantic spaces 216
  13. Chapter 10. Something out of nothing 240
  14. Chapter 11. The diachronic development of postverbal dé 得 in Chinese 260
  15. Chapter 12. Food, contact phenomena and reconstruction in Oriental Berber 283
  16. Chapter 13. A cognitive-typological perspective on the origins of causative‑applicative polysemy 330
  17. Index 367
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 29.12.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1075/cilt.367.08gae/html
Scroll to top button