Iconicity in verbal formation

Abstract This chapter investigates the ways in which iconicity plays out in the domain of verbal morphology. The focus is on the most frequently discussed categories that are often morphologically expressed on the verb: valency, aspect, tense, mood, person, and number. It will be shown that these different categories may be expressed iconically not only on the verbs themselves but that their order may mimic reality as well. The upshot of this chapter is that iconicity can be perceived in a wide array of morphological phenomena but that we need to approach the iconicity explanation with some caution because alternative explanations in terms of frequency and economy can often be adduced as well.