Iconicity

In functional-cognitive linguistics, as well as in semiotics, iconicity is the conceived similarity or analogy between the form of a sign (linguistic or otherwise) and its meaning, as opposed to arbitrariness (which is typically assumed in structuralist, formalist and generative approaches to linguistics). The principle of iconicity is also shared by the approach of linguistic typology.

Iconic principles:

• Quantity principle: conceptual complexity corresponds to formal complexity
• Proximity principle: conceptual distance tends to match with linguistic distance
• Sequential order principle: the sequential order of events described is mirrored in the speech chain