Abstract

Arbitrariness and motivation are two key concepts in the study of the relationship between meaning and word-form, rooted in Saussure's views on the relationship between the signifier and the signified. By arbitrariness we mean that the relationship between form and meaning is not based on natural or logical necessity, but rather on the collective agreement of speakers. In contrast to this, lexical motivation means that the form of a word relatively reflects its semantic content. Most simple words are arbitrary, but some of them are motivated as a result of semantic extension based on metaphor and metonymy. The motivation of complex words arises from the fact that their meaning can be relatively inferred from the composition of the meanings of their parts. In this research, by adopting an onomasiological approach, a model is presented regarding the relationship between meaning and word form, in which the meaning of words are represented as conceptual components within a three-layered frame. The outer layer indicates the semantic category and the morphological head of that word. The middle layer is the locus of relations, where the relationship between the outermost and innermost layers is established. The innermost layer is semantically the complement of the middle layer. This frame can serve as a basis for word motivation in two ways: (a) diagrammatic iconicity; and (b) the representation of cognitive associations of metaphor and metonymy. Analyzing morphology through the layered semantic frame makes it possible to have a unified account of right-headed, left-headed, and exocentric words.