语言比你想象的更抽象，或者，为什么语言不更具象似性呢？
Language is more abstract than you think, or, why aren't languages more iconic?
机构信息
Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
出版信息
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2018 Aug 5;373(1752). doi: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0137.
How abstract is language? We show that abstractness pervades every corner of language, going far beyond the usual examples of and In the light of the ubiquity of abstract words, the need to understand where abstract meanings come from becomes ever more acute. We argue that the best source of knowledge about abstract meanings may be language itself. We then consider a seemingly unrelated question: Why isn't language more iconic? Iconicity-a resemblance between the form of words and their meanings-can be immensely useful in language learning and communication. Languages could be much more iconic than they currently are. So why aren't they? We suggest that one reason is that iconicity is inimical to abstraction because iconic forms are too connected to specific contexts and sensory depictions. Form-meaning arbitrariness may allow language to better convey abstract meanings.This article is part of the theme issue 'Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain'.
语言有多抽象？我们表明，抽象性贯穿语言的每一个角落，远远超出了和 的常见例子。鉴于抽象词的普遍性，理解抽象意义从何而来的需求变得更加迫切。我们认为，了解抽象意义的最佳知识来源可能是语言本身。然后，我们考虑一个看似不相关的问题：为什么语言不更具象似性？象似性——词的形式与其意义之间的相似性——在语言学习和交流中非常有用。语言本来可以比现在更具象似性。那么，为什么不呢？我们认为，一个原因是，象似性不利于抽象性，因为象似形式与特定语境和感官描述的联系过于紧密。形式与意义的任意性可能使语言能够更好地传达抽象意义。本文是“大脑中的抽象概念的多样性：发展、使用和表现”主题特刊的一部分。
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