Arbitrariness

We can define arbitrariness as the act of making a decision determined by whim or impulse, and not by reason or necessity.

In semiotics, arbitrariness is the relationship between the signifier and the signified where there is no apparent reason why a specific form or shape should signify a specific meaning. Ferdinand de Saussure stressed that the signifier and signified is arbitrary and conventional.

Motivated: When there is a natural connection between the sound or shape and It’s meaning.

Unmotivated: The opposite of motivated. When there is no natural connection.

He stated that is an unmotivated arbitrariness. For example, the word ‘car’ does not give any iconic clues about what the thing being referred to looks like. Saussure believed that the communities come up with new signs and meanings randomly just to give something a name and that is the link he considered as unmotivated. On the other hand, Pierce believed that not always is arbitrary, because the sign maker selects a signifier for its aptness to the expression of a particular meaning. In motivated signs, the sign maker’s forms are chosen in order to represent an aspect of a particular phenomenon.