Sign Language In Cratylus And The Origin Of Sign Language

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The question of the origin of names has been discussed and debated for centuries as is evident in Cratylus and is made prevalent during the creation of various sign languages around the world. Sign language in the grand scheme of the origins of language is fairly new as it is only about 500 years old, whereas the believed origin of English began somewhere in the 5th century (Brentari 2016). Signing raises the question of whether or not sign language, and language in general, is based on iconicity or arbitrariness. However, sign language is a mixture of iconic and arbitrary signing. Iconic sign language is drawn from the visual world while longer clauses and more abstract ideas must be given arbitrary signs. In accordance with Cratylus, the origin of names is …show more content…

This is to say that when an elephant is named an elephant it is not based on its characteristics or on what another being believes it should be called, but rather the name has simply always belonged to it. Socrates said that, “names ought to be given according to a natural process, and with a proper instrument, and not at our pleasure; in this and no other way shall we name with success (Cratylus 360BCE)” He believes names are linked to the object’s essence and have a certain iconicity. The iconicity in sign language directly supports Socrates’ way of thinking of naturalism. The idea of iconicity is the perceived connection between the form of a sign and the meaning of the sign. Iconicity in language means that the form of the word or sign conveys the meaning of the word or sign. Iconicity is increasingly prevalent in sign language due to the way sign language is conveyed, although it is possible for sign language to lose it’s iconicity as it becomes conventionalized. In the

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