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As opposite to the more established concept of linguistic arbitrariness, reflections on the natural relationship between sound and sense may risk ofbeing confused with the Ancient Greek etymological speculations known as phýsei. The present essay centers on thedevelopment of the Danish linguist Otto Jespersen’s concept of sound symbolism and attempts to reveal its close ties to the other relevant disciplines and its positive influence onthe phonological studies, especially on Roman Jakobson’s description of the sound shapeof language. The author explores both linguistic and non-linguistic texts published on this topic in German, French, English as well asin certain non-international languages. As this essay reveals the positive role of sound symbolism in the history of phonology, it is intended to serve as a typical case in the study of linguistic historiography, in which a concept was formed well before English was used as a commonly accepted lingua franca among linguists. It thus proves that to investigate such a linguistic concept, it is necessary to have a trans-disciplinary perspectiveand gain supportsfrom therelevant texts published in various languages. more...