The goal of this study is to challenge the monopoly of arbitrariness, which has possibly affected many models of linguistic description and analysis.

Part I. Iconicity in Language: 1. Isomorphism; 2. Motivation; Part II. Economy and the Erosion of Iconicity: 3. Economic motivation; 4. Iconicity vs. economy: the case of clause incorporation; 5. The case of lexical elaboration; 6. Limitations of the medium: competing motivations; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.