Relativism and Universalism in Linguistics - Fachbereich 10 ...

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Cognitive etymology as a tool for unveiling
the non-arbitrary nature of language
Fernández Sánchez, Eulalio
University of Córdoba, Spain
ff1fesae@uco.es
Cognitivism provides science and scientists with a new paradigm wherein new questions find
their place and are waiting for new answers. In the case of linguistics, cognitive studies have
already pointed out the connection between language and humans’ cognitive system so that it
is widely accepted that language is no longer an autonomous system, but it requires a wider
approach with a clear cognitive perspective. This has led linguists and language philosophers
to rethink the nature of language itself and ancient axiomas cease to be taken for granted. In
this sense, cognitive etymology, that is, the search for the reasons why a given community
chose a particular phonological sequence in order to lexicalize and make reference to a certain
entity, quality or event, provides new findings that will lead us into a reconsideration of some
widely accepted universal features of natural languages, such as, arbitrariness and
conventionality. In cases of recent lexicalization processes such as telephone, television,
computer and so on, the motivation or connection between the entities referred to and the
phonological sequences selected is evident from a synchronic perspective, but in most cases
in the lexicon of a language the connection is not that evident. So far, several cognitive
studies have already stressed the motivated nature of language at the level of syntax,
morphology and semantics, but the lexicon has been considered as an area where language
remains to be arbitrary. However, cognitive etymology may lead us to find the motivation
between the concept that has been lexicalized and the phonological sequence selected for it. In
this way, cognitive etymology will draw a line between the non-arbitrary nature of language
and its conventionality. These two concepts have been traditionally misunderstood and, in this
paper, it is explained how the conventional (coming along with a community) nature of
language has contributed to blur its motivation throughout time. As a result of cognitive
etymology findings, language will prove to be a communication system in which
lexicalization is motivated by humans’ cognitive system and which is limited and designed
according to humans’ physiological features and cognitive capabilities and limitations. This
perspective can be useful to reconsider the nature of language and can provide new insight
into linguistic universals.
Dualschwund als Universale im allgemeinen
und insbesondere im Deutschen
Fritz, Matthias
Freie Universität Berlin
fritzzwo@zedat.fu-berlin.de
Der Dual wird als Numeruskategorie aller flektierten Wortarten für das Ur-Indogermanische
rekonstruiert. Über die Zwischengrundsprachen zu den Einzelsprachen hin finden dann
Abbauprozesse statt, die über den Verlust der Kategorie in einzelnen Wortarten in den
meisten Fällen zum völligen Verschwinden des Duals führen. Innerhalb der Indogermania
gibt es ganz unterschiedliche Dualsysteme: In manchen indogermanischen Sprachen haben
alle flektierten Wortarten einen formal markierten Dual, in manchen nur ein Teil der
flektierten Wortarten und in manchen nur eine flektierte Wortart; in einigen
indogermanischen Sprachen ist der Dual schon vor Einsetzen der Überlieferung
geschwunden. In den meisten indogermanischen Standardsprachen der Gegenwart gibt es
keinen Dual mehr; die einzigen Ausnahmen, die den Dual bis heute bewahrt haben, sind das