Homo sapiens is an animal endowed with a very peculiar characteristic: language.

Among the many aspects of language, one that is undoubtedly significant concerns the creation of names, i.e. the process by which words and things are associated. New names are constantly being produced and entering linguistic communication.

How does this naming process take place? A classic assumption is that the relationship between words and things is entirely arbitrary. However, recent research allows us to re-examine this assumption, emphasising instead that the relationship between the two levels of linguistic meaning is pervasively non-arbitrary but rather “motivated”.

Lecture by Professor Andrea Valle