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Languages are said to be arbitrary because there is no necessary or natural relationship between the words of a given language and the concepts that they represent. For example, there is nothing in the word "tree" that connects it to the concept of a tree; which is why Spanish can use a totally different sign for the same concept: "árbol"; and so on with other languages.
Also, languages are arbitrary because the rules for the combination of signs in order to produce complete thoughts are different from one language to the other, and no set of rules can claim to be the "right" one. For example, in English you say "I like beer", whereas in Spanish you would say "Me gusta la cerveza". The translation/transliteration of the latter would be something like: "Beer is agreeable to me", or [is agreeable to me the beer], which sounds strange in English. And neither of these formulations has a better claim to accuracy, correctness or truth than the other.
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∙ 8y ago
Anonymous
Language is considered arbitrary because there is no inherent connection between the sounds or symbols used in a language and the meanings they convey. This means that the relationship between words and their meanings is based on social agreement rather than any intrinsic logic. Different languages have different ways of representing the same concepts, showing the arbitrariness of language.
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Why is language for the most part arbitrary?
Language is mostly arbitrary because there is no inherent connection between the sounds or symbols used in language and their meanings. These associations are formed through social consensus and convention over time, making them arbitrary. Additionally, different languages can have diverse systems for representing the same concepts, emphasizing the arbitrary nature of linguistic symbols.
Is morphology one sector of grammar that is completely arbitrary?
No, morphology is not completely arbitrary in grammar. It involves the structure and formation of words, which often follow rules and patterns in a language. These rules dictate how words are created, and while there may be exceptions, there is still systematicity in how morphological rules apply.
Is sign language arbitrary?
Sign languages are not arbitrary; they have grammatical structures and rules just like spoken languages. They use gestures, hand movements, and facial expressions to convey meaning. Each sign in sign language has a specific meaning and is not randomly assigned.
What is bloch's ande targer's definition of language?
Bloch and Trager define language as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols that are used for human communication. They view language as a rule-governed system with a finite set of elements that can be combined to produce an infinite array of meaningful utterances.
What is the first characteristic of language?
The first characteristic of language is arbitrariness, which means that the relationship between a word and its meaning is arbitrary and varies across languages.
Why is language for the most part arbitrary?
Language is mostly arbitrary because there is no inherent connection between the sounds or symbols used in language and their meanings. These associations are formed through social consensus and convention over time, making them arbitrary. Additionally, different languages can have diverse systems for representing the same concepts, emphasizing the arbitrary nature of linguistic symbols.
How language is arbitrary?
it is constantly evolving
How is language abituary?
Language is not arbitrary. It is learned culture, and is constrained by cultural norms even as it evolves along with them.
What is language and how do artists manipulate it creatively?
Language is the vocal arbitrary and conventional symbols accepted to be used in human communication.
List and explain the characteristics of language?
language is a social tool is a way of communication language is arbitrary it is a combination of rules it is symbolic language is productive and creative language is dynamic is a learned behaviour it is not instinctive it is systmatic.
Why is language defined as an arbitrary system of vocal symbols?
Human languages are arbitrary by nature: There is no reason why a furry domestic animal that purrs should be called cat, and not blop or fleechtafly.The fact that different languages use different words to describe the same thing is, in itself, a proof of arbitrariness.Grammatical structures are just as arbitrary; for instance, the English language uses mainly a subject-verb-object structure while the German language puts verbs at the end of the sentence, etc.
Is morphology one sector of grammar that is completely arbitrary?
No, morphology is not completely arbitrary in grammar. It involves the structure and formation of words, which often follow rules and patterns in a language. These rules dictate how words are created, and while there may be exceptions, there is still systematicity in how morphological rules apply.
Is sign language arbitrary?
Sign languages are not arbitrary; they have grammatical structures and rules just like spoken languages. They use gestures, hand movements, and facial expressions to convey meaning. Each sign in sign language has a specific meaning and is not randomly assigned.
What is bloch's ande targer's definition of language?
Bloch and Trager define language as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols that are used for human communication. They view language as a rule-governed system with a finite set of elements that can be combined to produce an infinite array of meaningful utterances.
What is the first characteristic of language?
The first characteristic of language is arbitrariness, which means that the relationship between a word and its meaning is arbitrary and varies across languages.
Why can not be a language fully arbitrary?
Because it would be incomprehensible. Take all the sounds that people are capable of making, make sound bites out of them and randomly associate them. What do you have? Meaningless noise. It is because we learn which sounds not to make, which combinations of sounds do not make words, and which combinations of words do not make coherent sentences, and to discard the meaningless sounds, words, and sentences that we are able to use language at all. For example, your question does not use proper grammar, but an English speaker automatically corrects it to say "Why can a language not be fully arbitrary?" It's wrong but not arbitrary, because it is close to the correct sentence. Had you written "Language not be a fully arbitrary can why?" it is so wrong that nobody would understand it.
What is language according to 'bloch and trager'?
a system of arbitrary vocal symbol by means a social group operates
