对索绪尔语言符号任意性的解读

Reflection on Saussure's Arbitrariness of Linguistic Signs

索绪尔在《普通语言学教程》中精辟地论述了语言符号的任意性,但是,许多学者都曾以文字的、词汇的、语法的、语用的等理据性对任意性提出了挑战,甚至对其否定。本文立足于文本自身对索绪尔的思想理论加以细致分析,从而对任意性加以维护。任意性并非与随意性等值,也不与非任意性构成对立,理据性与任意性虽然相对,但二者又是针对语言的不同层面而得出的对语言不同特征的认识,任意性与理据性、非任意性是并行不悖,相辅相成的。对这一点的正确认识有助于我们批判地继承索绪尔的语言学理论观点,更有助于我们的语言研究实践。

Saussure discussed incisively the arbitrariness of linguistic signs in Course in General Linguistic. However, many scholars doubt the arbitrariness and even deny it from motivations at the levels of writing, vocabulary, grammar, pragmatic and so on. Being established in the text and analyzing the Saussure＇s idea finely, this paper will stick up for the arbitrary nature and think that arbitrariness is not equal to randomness and is not opposed to nonarbitrariness yet. Although motivations and arbitrariness are completely different from each other, the two sides are the understanding on the distinctive features from language＇s different levels. Arbitrariness nonarbitrariness and motivations are not mutually exclusive but supplementary and complementary. The right realization on this point not only helps us critically inheriting Saussure＇s viewpoints of linguistics theory, but our language research practice.