Characteristics of Human Language

1.2. Arbitrariness

         There is no natural connection between the word or sound (the linguistic form) and the thing it denotes (meaning), which means we cannot tell what the meaning of a word is simply by looking at it. Nothing in the Arabic word 'كلب'  or French word ‘chien’ tells us that it means the same as the English word 'dog' which is a four-legged barking object. The linguistic form has no natural or iconic relationship to its meaning. Exception :  Onomatopoeic words :  are less arbitrary in human language. They are words which imitate sounds and are present in the majority of contemporary languages, e.g., cuckoo, meow, boom, hiss and crash.

         In animal language, there is a connection between the conveyed message and the signal used to convey it. This is because animal system of communication consists of a fixed and limited set of signals, which is only used in specific situations or at particular times (See page 13). The bee dance, for example, has the angle routine which means the angle of the food source from the sun, and the number of repetition implies the distance of the food source (non-arbitrary).