Imagery and the nature of language : iconicity and mimesis : some reflections on the debate between Karl Bühler and Heinz Werner

A historical debate between two outstanding German psychologists – Karl Bühler and Heinz Werner – serves as the point of departure for my discussion of iconic-ity and its role in language. Against Bühler’s position, I argue that iconic motiva-tion is indispensable not only in language genesis since iconicity also plays an important role in shaping the „symbolic field”. Against Werner’s position, I claim that a live connection between symbolic vehicles and physiognomic perception of entities – in other words, an awareness of iconic motivation in language use – is not necessary. This debate is placed in a contemporary context of research on the evolution of language, especially the notion of „mimesis” as developed by Merlin Donald.