Principles of diagrammatic iconicity in language

Abstract Peirce’s notion of diagrammatic iconicity is among the most fertile aspects of his semiotic theory with respect to natural language. After distinguishing between a narrow and a broad definition, this chapter goes on to show that the phenomena currently subsumed under diagrammatic iconicity can coherently be accommodated if three different levels of language are observed, viz. the universal level (congruence), the language-specific level (correctness), and the level of particular discourses and texts (appropriateness). The second part of the chapter provides discussions of five salient subtypes of diagrammaticity in spoken languages: iconicity of sequence (order), iconicity of contiguity (proximity), iconicity of cohesion, iconicity of independence, and iconicity of quantity and complexity.