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Part of
Emotion in Discourse
Edited by J. Lachlan Mackenzie and Laura Alba-Juez
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 302] 2019
► pp. 139–158

Chapter 6
The value of left and right

| Radboud University, Nijmegen (Netherlands)
This chapter focuses on the emotive value (‘axiology’) of words for left and right in different languages. As a general picture, an asymmetry emerges, with a positive value for right and a negative one for left. The chapter further explores whether this asymmetry is reflected in other domains like in cognitive behavior, culture, and the brain. Special attention is paid to the question whether the left-right dimension should be considered as an image schema in cognitive-linguistic theorizing and whether the axiological dimension should be considered as an integral part of this and other image schemas. In general, the chapter argues that research on the axiological value of words for left and right contributes to insights in the role of laterality in general, including the lateralization of language, handedness and emotion.
Keywords: axiology, emotion, handedness, image schema, laterality, left, right
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Left and right in cognition
    • 2.1Left-right and unconscious behavioral preferences
    • 2.2Is left-right an image schema?
    • 2.3Image schemas and axiology
  • 3.Left and right in languages
    • 3.1Words for left and right
    • 3.2Taboo and euphemisms for left
    • 3.3Figurative extensions
  • 4.Left and right in art and culture
    • 4.1Politics
    • 4.2Traffic
    • 4.3Discrimination of left-handers and reversal of values
  • 5.Explanations for evaluative differences between left and right
    • 5.1Handedness
    • 5.2Emotional processing in the brain
    • 5.3An upgrade for the right hemisphere
  • 6.Conclusions and outlook
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
Published online: 27 March 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.302.06foo
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