Wordings are purely abstract pieces of code; you cannot hear or see them. The wording is re-coded in sound or writing. At this point, the relationship is largely arbitrary, although not entirely so. Thus, what is called 'rain' in English is called 'pioggia' in Italian, 'dozhd’' in Russian and 'yŭ' in Chinese; there is nothing natural about the relation of these sounds either to any other part of the code, or to the meteorological phenomenon that lies beyond the code.
- Halliday (1985), Pag. XVII