Answer to Question #253719 in English for Noxy

Question

Name and define one concept you have studied that is used to explain the arbitrariness in spelling and pronunciation in English

Answer 1

Arbitrary association between the form of a linguistic expression and its meaning. This concept highlights the fact that there is no inherent link between the form of a word or the sounds that constitute a word, and the meaning of that word. In English, the sounds “min” (spelled mean) occurs and has numerous dissimilar meanings across languages. The four-lettered word ‘mean’ can talk about to several meanings in English such as ‘tight-fisted’, ‘cruel’, ‘average’ or ‘signify’. On the other hand, the sound [min] also does not have a fixed meaning across languages.