Anna Wierzbicka
List of John Benjamins publications for which Anna Wierzbicka plays a role.
Journal
Titles
Cognitive Exploration of Language and Linguistics: Second revised edition
Edited by René Dirven † and Marjolijn H. Verspoor
[Cognitive Linguistics in Practice, 1] 2004. xii, 277 pp.
Subjects Cognition and language
The Body in Description of Emotion: Cross-linguistic studies
Edited by N.J. Enfield and Anna Wierzbicka
Special issue of Pragmatics & Cognition 10:1/2 (2002) vi, 369 pp.
Subjects Cognitive linguistics | Pragmatics | Semantics
Meaning and Universal Grammar: Theory and empirical findings. Volume 1
Edited by Cliff Goddard and Anna Wierzbicka
[Studies in Language Companion Series, 60] 2002. xvi, 337 pp.
Subjects Semantics | Theoretical linguistics | Typology
Meaning and Universal Grammar: Theory and empirical findings. Volume 2
Edited by Cliff Goddard and Anna Wierzbicka
[Studies in Language Companion Series, 61] 2002. xvi, 337 pp.
Subjects Semantics | Theoretical linguistics | Typology
Meaning and Universal Grammar: Theory and empirical findings. 2 Volumes (set)
Edited by Cliff Goddard and Anna Wierzbicka
[Studies in Language Companion Series, 60-61] 2002. xvi, 337 pp. & xvi, 337 pp.
Subjects Semantics | Theoretical linguistics | Typology
Cognitive Exploration of Language and Linguistics
René Dirven † and Marjolijn H. Verspoor
[Cognitive Linguistics in Practice, 1 (1999)] 1999. xiv, 300 pp.
Subjects Cognition and language
Semantic and Lexical Universals: Theory and empirical findings
Edited by Cliff Goddard and Anna Wierzbicka
[Studies in Language Companion Series, 25] 1994. viii, 510 pp.
Subjects Functional linguistics | Semantics
The Semantics of Grammar
Anna Wierzbicka
[Studies in Language Companion Series, 18] 1988. x, 617 pp.
Subjects Semantics | Syntax | Theoretical linguistics
Articles
The biblical roots of English ‘love’: The concept of ‘love’ in a historical and cross-linguistic perspective International Journal of Language and Culture 6:2, pp. 225–254
2019 Seen from a broad cross-linguistic perspective, the English verb (to) love is quite unusual because it has very broad scope: it can apply to a mother’s love, a husband’s love, a sister’s love, etc. without any restrictions whatsoever; and the same applies to its counterparts in many other European… read more | Article
2016
This study proposes NSM semantic explications for a cross-section of the English verbal lexicon of ‘doing and happening’. The twenty-five verbs are drawn from about a dozen verb classes, including verbs for non-typical locomotion (crawl, swim, fly), other intransitive activities (play, sing),… read more | Article
“Walking” and “running” in English and German: The conceptual semantics of verbs of human locomotion Review of Cognitive Linguistics 14:2, pp. 303–336
2016 This study examines the conceptual semantics of human locomotion verbs in two languages – English and German – using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach. Based on linguistic evidence, it proposes semantic explications for English walk and run, and their nearest counterparts in German, i.e.… read more | Article
“Pain” and “suffering” in cross-linguistic perspective “Happiness” and “Pain” across Languages and Cultures, Goddard, Cliff and Zhengdao Ye (eds.), pp. 19–43
2016 This chapter builds on findings of the author’s 1999 book Emotions Across Languages and Cultures: Diversity and Universals, which tentatively identified eleven universals pertaining to human emotions. The chapter probes some of those “emotional universals” further, especially in relation to… read more | Article
A whole cloud of culture condensed into a drop of semantics: The meaning of the German word Herr as a term of address International Journal of Language and Culture 2:1, pp. 1–37
2015 This paper investigates the meaning and use of the German word Herr as a form of address, in a historical and cross-linguistic perspective. The paper argues that despite their apparent insignificance, generic titles used daily across Europe, and in all the parts of the world to which European… read more | Article
2014
The main goal of paper is to show how NSM findings about lexical universals (semantic primes) can be applied to semantic analysis in little-described languages. It is argued that using lexical universals as a vocabulary for semantic analysis allows one to formulate meaning descriptions that are… read more | Article
“Pain” and “suffering” in cross-linguistic perspective "Happiness" and "Pain" across Languages and Cultures, Goddard, Cliff and Zhengdao Ye (eds.), pp. 149–173
2014 This paper builds on findings of the author’s 1999 book Emotions Across Languages and Cultures: Diversity and Universals, which tentatively identified eleven universals pertaining to human emotions. The paper probes some of those “emotional universals” further, especially in relation to ‘laughing’,… read more | Article
Chapter 14. ‘Advice’ in English and in Russian: A contrastive and cross-cultural perspective Advice in Discourse, Limberg, Holger and Miriam A. Locher (eds.), pp. 309–332
2012 This paper argues that the English word advice encodes a language-specific perspective on the universe of discourse and that to analyse discourse in other languages and cultures in terms of this culture-specific English word would involve imposing on them an Anglocentric perspective. The paper… read more | Chapter
Understanding others requires shared concepts Culture – Language – Cognition, Dascal, Marcelo † (ed.), pp. 356–379
2012 “It is a noble task to try to understand others, and to have them understand you (…) but it is never an easy one”, says Everett (p. 327). This paper argues that a basic prerequisite for understanding others (and also for having them understand you) is to have some shared concepts on which this… read more | Article
‘Want’ is a lexical and conceptual universal: Reply to Khanina Studies in Language 34:1, pp. 108–123
2010 The question of whether or not all languages have a word for ‘want’ (as in ‘I know what you want, I want the same’) is far more important than many linguists appear to realize. Having studied and debated this question for many years, we welcome Olesya Khanina’s (2008) paper “How universal is… read more | Article
‘Story’ — An English cultural keyword and a key interpretive tool of Anglo culture Narrative Inquiry 20:1, pp. 153–181
2010 This paper shows that story is an English cultural keyword and a key interpretive tool of modern Anglo culture and that it is linked with a family of concepts which have no semantic equivalents in other languages and are unique conceptual artefacts of Anglo culture. It argues that if we can… read more | Article
All people eat and drink. Does this mean that 'eat' and 'drink' are universal human concepts? The Linguistics of Eating and Drinking, Newman, John (ed.), pp. 65–89
2009 Eating and drinking are, one might say, human universals. Or so it may seem to speakers of English, and other European languages. But what would a Kalam, or a Warlpiri linguist say about it, given that Kalam and Warlpiri have no word meaning ‘eat’ and no word meaning ‘drink’? No doubt, he/she would… read more | Article
“Reciprocity”: An NSM approach to linguistic typology and social universals Studies in Language 33:1, pp. 103–174
2009 This paper develops a semantic approach to the study of “reciprocity” — an area increasingly seen as central to linguistic typology. “Reciprocal” and “reflexive-reciprocal” constructions from five languages — English, Russian, Polish, French and Japanese — are analyzed in considerable detail. The… read more | Article
Universal human concepts as a basis for contrastive linguistic semantics Current Trends in Contrastive Linguistics: Functional and cognitive perspectives, Gómez González, María de los Ángeles, J. Lachlan Mackenzie and Elsa M. González Álvarez (eds.), pp. 205–226
2008 This study sets out to demonstrate that the NSM metalanguage of semantic primes provides a stable language-neutral medium for fine-grained contrastive semantic analysis, in both the lexical and grammatical domains. The lexical examples are drawn from “yearning-missing” words in English, Polish,… read more | Article
2. New semantic primes and new syntactic frames: "Specificational BE" and "abstract THIS/IT" Cross-Linguistic Semantics, Goddard, Cliff (ed.), pp. 35–57
2008 Article
NSM analyses of the semantics of physical qualities: sweet, hot, hard, heavy, rough, sharp in cross‑linguistic perspective Studies in Language 31:4, pp. 765–800
2007 All languages have words, such as English hot and cold, hard and soft, rough and smooth, and heavy and light, which attribute qualities to things. This paper maps out how such descriptors can be analysed in the natural semantic metalanguage (NSM) framework, in terms of like and other semantic… read more | Article
7. Semantic primes and cultural scripts in language learning and intercultural communication Applied Cultural Linguistics: Implications for second language learning and intercultural communication, Sharifian, Farzad † and Gary B. Palmer (eds.), pp. 105–124
2007 Because meaning is fundamental to language and culture, a practical technique for describing meanings and transposing them across languages has multiple practical applications. This chapter demonstrates several applications of the NSM approach to semantics: as a guide to core vocabulary in the… read more | Chapter
2. Is "remember" a universal human concept? "Memory" and culture The Language of Memory in a Crosslinguistic Perspective, Amberber, Mengistu (ed.), pp. 13–39
2007 Speaking of “elementary notions, common to everyone in the human race, that can be expressed in all languages”, Umberto Eco (2000: 87–88) states: “Most certainly, every man has a notion of what it means to (. . .) to remember”. This paper argues that Eco is mistaken and that ‘remembering’ is not a… read more | Article
3. Shape and colour in language and thought Mental States: Volume 2: Language and cognitive structure, Schalley, Andrea C. and Drew Khlentzos (eds.), pp. 37–60
2007 Article
Preface Semantic Primes and Universal Grammar: Empirical evidence from the Romance languages, Peeters, Bert (ed.), pp. 1–6
2006 Miscellaneous
The semantics of colour: A new paradigm Progress in Colour Studies: Volume I. Language and culture, Biggam, Carole P. and Christian Kay (eds.), pp. 1–24
2006 Article
2003
In this paper we try to crack one of the hardest and most intriguing chestnuts in the field of cross-cultural pragmatics and to identify the meaning of the celebrated Singaporean particle lah — the hallmark of Singapore English. In pursuing this goal, we investigate the use of lah and seek to… read more | Article
Introduction: The body in description of emotion The Body in Description of Emotion: Cross-linguistic studies, Enfield, N.J. and Anna Wierzbicka (eds.), pp. 1–25
2002 Anthropologists and linguists have long been aware that the body is explicitly referred to in conventional description of emotion in languages around the world. There is abundant linguistic data showing expression of emotions in terms of their imagined ‘locus’ in the physical body. The most… read more | Article
2. Semantic Primes and Universal Grammar Meaning and Universal Grammar: Theory and empirical findings, Goddard, Cliff and Anna Wierzbicka (eds.), pp. 41–85
2002 Article
Preface to Volume II Meaning and Universal Grammar: Theory and empirical findings, Goddard, Cliff and Anna Wierzbicka (eds.), pp. xv ff.
2002 Miscellaneous
Opening Statement Meaning and Universal Grammar: Theory and empirical findings, Goddard, Cliff and Anna Wierzbicka (eds.), pp. 1–3
2002 Miscellaneous
2. Semantic primes and Universal Grammar in Polish Meaning and Universal Grammar: Theory and empirical findings, Goddard, Cliff and Anna Wierzbicka (eds.), pp. 65–144
2002 Article
4. Semantic Primes and Linguistic Typology Meaning and Universal Grammar: Theory and empirical findings, Goddard, Cliff and Anna Wierzbicka (eds.), pp. 257–300
2002 Article
Leibnizian linguistics Perspectives on Semantics, Pragmatics, and Discourse: A Festschrift for Ferenc Kiefer, Kenesei, István and Robert M. Harnish (eds.), pp. 229–253
2001 Article
The semantics of human facial expressions Facial Information Processing: A multidisciplinary perspective, Dror, Itiel E. and Sarah V. Stevenage, pp. 147–183
2000 This paper points out that a major shift of paradigm is currently going on in the study of the human face and it seeks to articulate and to develop the fundamental assumptions underlying this shift. The main theses of the paper are: 1) Facial expressions can convey meanings comparable to the… read more | Article
Conditionals and counterfactuals: conceptual primitives and linguistic universals On Conditionals Again, Athanasiadou, Angeliki and René Dirven † (eds.), pp. 15 ff.
1997 Article
A response to Michael Bamberg The Language of Emotions: Conceptualization, expression, and theoretical foundation, Niemeier, Susanne and René Dirven † (eds.), pp. 227 ff.
1997 Article
A Semantic Basis for Grammatical Typology Discourse, Grammar and Typology: Papers in honor of John W.M. Verhaar, Abraham, Werner, T. Givón and Sandra A. Thompson (eds.), pp. 179 ff.
1995 Article
Dictionairies vs. encyclopaedias: how to draw the line Alternative Linguistics: Descriptive and theoretical modes, Davis, Philip W. (ed.), pp. 289 ff.
1995 Article
2 Introducing Lexical Primitives Semantic and Lexical Universals: Theory and empirical findings, Goddard, Cliff and Anna Wierzbicka (eds.), pp. 31 ff.
1994 Chapter
"Cultural scripts": A new approach to the study of cross-cultural communication Language Contact and Language Conflict, Pütz, Martin (ed.), pp. 69–87
1994 Article
17 Semantic Primitives Across Languages: A Critical Review Semantic and Lexical Universals: Theory and empirical findings, Goddard, Cliff and Anna Wierzbicka (eds.), pp. 445 ff.
1994 Review
Opening Statement Semantic and Lexical Universals: Theory and empirical findings, Goddard, Cliff and Anna Wierzbicka (eds.), pp. 1 ff.
1994 Miscellaneous
Reading human faces: Emotion components and universal semantics Pragmatics & Cognition 1:1, pp. 1–23
1993 It is widely believed that there are some emotions (so-called "basic emotions ") which are universally associated with distinctive facial expressions and that one can recognize, universally, an angry face, a happy face, a sad face, and so on. The "basic emotions " are believed to be part of the… read more | Article
Why do We Say in April, on Thursday, at 10 O'Clock? In Search of an Explanation Studies in Language 17:2, pp. 437–454
1993 Why do we say ON Thursday but AT 10 o'clock? Or why do we say AT night but IN the morning? One common answer to such questions is to dismiss the problem: this is the way we speak because this is the way to speak; it is all arbitrary, conventional, idiosyncratic. It is argued that such answers are… read more | Article
The search for universal semantic primitives Thirty Years of Linguistic Evolution: Studies in honour of René Dirven on the occasion of his 60th birthday, Pütz, Martin (ed.), pp. 215 ff.
1992 Article
Cross-cultural pragmatics and different values Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 13:1, pp. 43–76
1990 The author argues that the differences in the ways of speaking prevailing in different societies and different communities are profound and systematic, and reflect the different cultural values. In the past, the extent of the differences between different language communities in their ways of… read more | Article
What's in a Noun? (Or: How Do Nouns Differ in Meaning from Adjectives?) Studies in Language 10:2, pp. 353–389
1986 Article
“oats” and “wheat”: the fallacy of arbitrariness Iconicity in Syntax: Proceedings of a symposium on iconicity in syntax, Stanford, June 24–26, 1983, Haiman, John (ed.), pp. 311 ff.
1985 Article