Abstract
This paper tries to show that Persian causative constructions are not only iconic in nature but also employ iconicity of cohesion in their syntactic structures productively. It starts with a description of iconicity and specifically focuses on the notion of conceptual distance as discussed by Haiman (1983). It then briefly reviews the formal typology of causative constructions (i. e., lexical, morphological, and periphrastic) and summarizes the ideas proposed by Comrie (1989), Dixon (2000), Shibatani (1976), and Talmy (2003) to come up with a list of, and a table for, the semantic properties of causative constructions (i. e., directness, coercion, control, manipulation, separability, and clause structure). The paper then presents tangible evidence and examples from Persian to claim that the linguistic distance observed between [Vcause] and [Veffect] in different types of Persian causative constructions mirrors the conceptual distance between them, and concludes that the iconic nature of causative constructions in Persian can be explained on the basis of the principle of iconicity of cohesion. It lends support to the universality of the principles of functional-cognitive linguistics and shows that iconicity theory still has a high potential for explaining form-meaning relations in different syntactic structures.
Highlights
This paper, with its focus on iconicity, is in support of functional-cognitive linguistics
To further support the concept of iconicity, this paper reports on an evaluation of Persian causative constructions from the perspective of iconicity of cohesion
It strives to show that the relationships between meaning and form in different Persian causative constructions are iconic rather than arbitrary, and that these relationships can be adequately explained in the light of the conceptual distance principle
Summary
This paper, with its focus on iconicity, is in support of functional-cognitive linguistics. Naturalness theories themselves fall into three categories: (a) universal markedness theories, (b) theories of typological adequacy, and (c) theories of language-specific system adequacy (cf Dressler 1995) It has been argued within naturalness theories that they are for the most part based on the concept of universal preferences which are, as Dressler (ibd.: 23) argues, "parameterized, in so far as they either are directly expressed on universal, semiotically based parameters or as they follow from them" with iconicity being "the most natural and most popular parameter". It strives to show that the relationships between meaning and form in different Persian causative constructions are iconic rather than arbitrary, and that these relationships can be adequately explained in the light of the conceptual distance principle
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