ABSTRACT
In this article it is argued that motivation is an explanatory concept in linguistic theorizing. After a brief introduction that contrasts the everyday conception of motivation with its theoretical use in cognitive linguistics, some historical landmarks of the concept are selectively presented ranging from antiquity to present-day linguistics. On the basis of C. S. Peirce’s threefold classification of signs into symbols, indexes, and icons, a model is proposed that distinguishes between language-internal and language-external factors of motivation. The workings of each type of motivation are illustrated with mostly English-language examples. The chapter concludes with some desiderata for future research.
