Saussure and iconicity

Abstract Contrary to a widespread caricature of his views as excluding any possibility of iconicity, it figures significantly, in a number of forms, in work he published during his life and in the posthumous Cours de linguistique générale (Saussure 1916, henceforth CLG). This chapter examines the role played by iconicity in Saussure’s work and why that role is only partially understood. It focuses on three aspects: “relative motivation” as laid out in the CLG; “synesthesia,” which he experienced in language and described in detail; and “form–meaning parallelism,” as explored in his late work (Saussure 1912). Also considered is how the reception of Saussure’s views on iconicity and arbitrariness fits into the broader scope of the history of linguistic thought.