Cover not available
Article published In:
Review of Cognitive Linguistics
Vol. 14:2 (2016) ► pp.303–336

“Walking” and “running” in English and German

The conceptual semantics of verbs of human locomotion

| Griffith University, Australia
| Australian National University
| National University of Singapore
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. laufen (in two senses, roughly, ‘run’ and ‘go by walking’), rennen (roughly, ‘run quickly’), gehen (roughly, ‘go/walk’), and the expression zu Fuß gehen (roughly, ‘go on foot’). Somewhat surprisingly for such closely related languages, the conceptual semantics turns out to be significantly different in the two languages, particularly in relation to manner-of-motion. On the other hand, it is shown that the same four-part semantic template (with sections Lexicosyntactic Frame, Prototypical Scenario, Manner, and Potential Outcome) applies in both languages. We consider the implications for systematic contrastive semantics and for lexical typology.
Keywords: contrastive semantics, conceptual semantics, lexical polysemy, Manner, verbs of motion, semantic template, Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM)
Published online: 10 January 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/rcl.14.2.03god
References (77)
References
Alexander, R.M. (1982). Locomotion of animals. London: Blackie. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Allan, K. (1986). Linguistic meaning (2 vols.1). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Apresjan, J. Du. (1974). Regular polysemy. Linguistics, 1421, 5–32.Google Scholar
Barrios Rodríguez, M.A., & Goddard, C. (2013). ‘Degrad verbs’ in Spanish and English: Collocations, lexical functions and contrastive NSM semantic analysis. Functions of Language, 20(2), 219–249. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bogusławski, A. (1966). Semantyczne pojęcie liczebnika i jego morfologia w języku rosyjskim [Semantic concept of numeral and its morphology in the Russian language]. Warsaw: Ossolineum.Google Scholar
Bohnemeyer, J., Enfield, N.J., Essegbey, J., Ibarretxe-Antuñano, I., Kita, S., Lüpke, F., & Ameka, F.K. (2007). Principles of event representation in language: The case of motion events. Language, 83(3), 495–532. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bromhead, H. (2009). The reign of truth and faith: Epistemic expressions in 16th and 17th century English. Berlin: Mouton. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cassell’s German and English dictionary. (1955). Ed. K. Breul. London: Cassell & Company.Google Scholar
Fillmore, C.J., & Atkins, B.T.S. (2000). Describing polysemy: The case of ‘crawl’. In Y. Ravin & C. Leacock (Eds.), Polysemy: Theoretical and computational approaches (pp. 91–110). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Gennari, S.P., Sloman, S.A., Malt, B.C., & Tecumseh Fitch, W. (2002). Motion events in language and cognition. Cognition, 831, 49–79. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures. London: Fontana.Google Scholar
Gladkova, A. (2010). Russkaja kul’turnaja semantika: ėmocii, cennosti, žiznennye ustanovki [Russian cultural semantics: Emotions, values, attitudes]. Moscow: Languages of Slavonic Cultures. [in Russian]Google Scholar
Gladkova, A., Vanhatalo, U., & Goddard, C. (2016). The semantics of interjections: An experimental study with Natural Semantic Metalanguage. Applied Psycholinguistics, 37(4), 841–865. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Goddard, C. (2001). Conceptual primes in early language development. In M. Pütz & 
S. Niemeier (Eds.), Applied Cognitive Linguistics I: Theory and language acquisition (pp. 193–227). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (Ed.). (2008). Cross-linguistic semantics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2010). Semantic molecules and semantic complexity (with special reference to “environmental” molecules). Review of Cognitive Linguistics, 8(1), 123–155.Google Scholar
. (2011). Semantic analysis (Revised 2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
. (2012). Semantic primes, semantic molecules, semantic templates: Key concepts in the NSM approach to lexical typology. Linguistics, 50(3), 711–743. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2015). Verb classes and valency alternations (NSM approach), with special reference to English physical activity verbs. In A. Malchukov & B. Comrie (eds.), Valency classes in the world’s languages (pp. 1671–1702). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Goddard, C., & Wierzbicka, A. (Eds.). (2002). Meaning and universal grammar: Theory and empirical findings (Vols I and II1). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2009). Contrastive semantics of physical activity verbs: ‘cutting’ and ‘chopping’ in English, Polish, and Japanese. Language Sciences, 311, 60–96. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2014). Words and meanings: Lexical semantics across domains, languages and cultures. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Goddard, C., Wierzbicka, A., & Fábrega, H., Jr. (2014). Evolutionary semantics: Using NSM to model stages in human cognitive evolution. Language Sciences, 421, 60–79. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Goddard, C., & Wierzbicka, A. (2016). Explicating the English lexicon of “doing” and “happening”. Functions of Language, 23(2), 214–256. DOI logo
Hasko, V., & Perelmetter, R. (Eds.). (2010). New approaches to Slavic verbs of motion. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jackendoff, R. (1990). Semantic structures. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
. (2010a). Meaning and the lexicon: The parallel architecture 1975–2010. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
. (2010b). The architecture of the linguistic-spatial interface (1996). In Meaning and the lexicon: The parallel architecture 1975–2010 (pp. 112–134). Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Revised version, original published 1996]Google Scholar
Koptjevskaja-Tamm, M., Divjak, D., & Rakhilina, E.V. (2010). Aquamotion verbs in Slavic and Germanic: A case study in lexical typology. In V. Hasko & R. Perelmetter (Eds.), New approaches to Slavic verbs of motion (pp. 315–342). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Leibniz, G.W. (1890[1675]). Die philosophischen Schriften von Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz [The philosophical papers of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz]. C.I. Gerhardt (Ed.). Hildesheim: Georg Olms.Google Scholar
. (1949[1765]). New essays concerning human understanding. Trans. by G.A. 
Langley. La Salle, Ill: The Open Court Company.Google Scholar
. (2007[1704]). Excerpts from ‘Table of definitions’. In P.W. Hanks (Ed.), Lexicology: Critical concepts in Linguistics, Vol I. Abingdon: Routledge. Google Scholar
Levin, B. (1993). English verb classes and alternations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Levin, B., & Rappaport Hovav, M. (2005). Argument realization. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Levisen, C. (2012). Cultural semantics and social cognition: A case study on the Danish universe of meaning. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Maienborn, C. (1990). Position und Bewegung: Zur Semantik lokaler Verben. IWBS-Report Nr. 138, IBM Stuttgart.Google Scholar
. (1991). Verbs of motion and position: On the optionality of the local argument. In O. Herzog & C.R. Rollinger (Eds.), Text understanding in LILOG (pp. 621–631). Berlin: Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Malt, B.C., Gennari, S., Imai, M., Ameel, E., Tsuda, N., & Majid, A. (2008). Talking about walking: Biomechanics and language of locomotion. Psychological Science, 19(3), 232–240. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Malt, B.C., Gennari, S., & Imai, M. (2010). Lexicalization patterns and the world-to-words mapping. In B.C. Malt & P. Wolff (Eds.), Words and the mind: How words capture human experience (pp. 29–57). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McArdie, W.D., Katch, F.I., & Katch, V.L. (2010). Exercise physiology: Nutrition, energy and human performance (7th ed.). Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.Google Scholar
Miller, G.A., & Johnson-Laird, P.N. (1976). Language and perception. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nida, E.A. (1975). Componential analysis of meaning. The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar
Papafragou, A., Massey, C., & Gleitman, L. (2002). Shake, rattle, ‘n’ roll: The representation of motion in language and cognition. Cognition, 841, 189–219. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2006). When English proposes what Greek presupposes: The cross-linguistic encoding of motion events. Cognition, 981, B75–B87. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Peeters, B. (Ed.). (2006). Semantic primes and universal grammar: Evidence from the Romance languages. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pinker, S. (2007). The stuff of thought: Language as a window into human nature. New York, NY: Viking Adult.Google Scholar
Rappaport Hovav, M., & Levin, B. (2010). Reflections on manner/result complementarity. In E. Doron, M. Rappaport Hovav, & I. Sichel (Eds.), Syntax, lexical semantics, and event structure (pp. 21–38). Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rheinisches Wörterbuch. (1941). Ed. Josef Müller. Berlin: Fritz Klopp.Google Scholar
Sibly, A. (2010). Harry slapped Hugo, Tracey smacked Ritchie: The semantics of slap and smack . Australian Journal of Linguistics, 30(3), 323–348. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Slobin, D.I. (1996). From “thought and language” to “thinking for speaking”. In J. Gumperz & S.C. Levinson (Eds.), Rethinking linguistic relativity (pp. 70–96). Cambridge, MA: 
Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
. (2000). Verbalised events: A dynamic approach to linguistic relativity and determinism. In S. Niemeier & R. Dirven (Eds.), Evidence for linguistic relativity (pp. 107–138). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2006). What makes manner of motion salient?: Explorations in linguistic typology, discourse, and cognition. In M. Hickmann & S. Robert (Eds.), Space in languages: Linguistic systems and cognitive categories (pp. 59–81). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Talmy, L. (1985). Lexicalization patterns: semantic structure in lexical forms. In T. Shopen (Ed.), Language typology and syntactic description. Volume III: Grammatical categories and the lexicon (pp. 57–150). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
. (2000). Towards a cognitive semantics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Taylor, J.R. (1996). On running and jogging. Cognitive Linguistics, 7(1), 21–34. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tien, A. (2010). Lexical semantics of children’s Mandarin Chinese during the first four years. Munich: LINCOM.Google Scholar
Wales, R. (2007). You can run, but: Another look at linguistic relativity. In D. Khlentzos & A.C. Schalley (Eds.), Mental states. Volume 2: Language and cognitive structure (pp. 331–350). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wierzbicka, A. (1972). Semantic primitives. Frankfurt am Main: AthenäumGoogle Scholar
. (1985). Lexicography and conceptual analysis. Ann Arbor, MI: Karoma.Google Scholar
. (1995). Emotion and facial expression: A semantic perspective. Culture & Psychology, 1(2), 227–258. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (1996). Semantics: Primes and universals. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
. (1999). Emotions across languages and cultures. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2001). Leibnizian linguistics. In I. Kenesei & R.M. Harnish (Eds.), Perspectives on semantics, pragmatics, and discourse: A festschrift for Ferenc Kiefer (pp. 229–253). 
Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2004). Conceptual primes in human languages and their analogues in animal communication and cognition. Language Sciences, 26(5), 413–441. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2006a). English: Meaning and culture. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2006b). Shape in grammar revisited. Studies in Language, 30(1), 115–177. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2007). Bodies and their parts: An NSM approach to semantic typology. Language Sciences, 291, 14–65. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2009). All people eat and drink: Does this mean that ‘eat’ and ‘drink’ are universal human concepts? In J. Newman (Ed.), The linguistics of eating and drinking (pp. 65–89). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2011). Common language of all people: The innate language of thought. Problems of Information Transmission, 471, 378–397. [English translation of a Russian text published in Problemy Peredachi Informatsii, 47(4), 84–103.] DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2014). Imprisoned in English: The hazards of English as a default language. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
. (2015). Innate conceptual primitives manifested in the languages of the world and in infant cognition. In E. Margolis & S. Laurence (Eds.), The conceptual mind: New directions in the study of concepts (pp. 379–412). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Wong, J. (2010). The triple articulation of language. Journal of Pragmatics, 42(11), 2932–2944. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. (2014). The culture of Singapore English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ye, Z. (2006). Why the ‘inscrutable’ Chinese face?: Emotionality and facial expression in Chinese. In C. Goddard (Ed.), Ethnopragmatics: Understanding discourse in cultural context (pp. 127–169). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
. (2010). Eating and drinking in Mandarin and Shanghainese: A lexical-conceptual analysis. In W. Christensen, E. Schier, & J. Sutton (Eds.), ASCS09: Proceedings of the 9th conference of the Australasian society for cognitive science (pp. 375–383). Sydney, Australia: Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science. [[URL]]Google Scholar
. (2013). Comparing the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach to emotion and the GRID paradigm. In J.J.R. Fontaine, K.R. Scherer, & C. Soriano (Eds.), Components of emotional meaning: A sourcebook (pp. 339–409). Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by (10)

Cited by ten other publications

Alhammadi, Nada & Sane Yagi
2024. An NSM-based contrastive semantic analysis of ‘strolling’ and ‘jogging’ in English and Arabic. Cogent Arts & Humanities 11:1 DOI logo
Menete, Sérgio N. & Guiying Jiang
2024. Another member out of the family: the description of manner of gait in Changana verbs of motion. Folia Linguistica 58:2 ► pp. 401 ff. DOI logo
Dalpanagioti, Thomai
2023. Fluidic motion patterns in English and Modern Greek. Languages in Contrast DOI logo
Purves, Ross S., Philipp Striedl, Inhye Kong & Asifa Majid
2023. Conceptualizing Landscapes Through Language: The Role of Native Language and Expertise in the Representation of Waterbody Related Terms. Topics in Cognitive Science 15:3 ► pp. 560 ff. DOI logo
Rissman, Lilia, Saskia van Putten & Asifa Majid
2022. Evidence for a Shared Instrument Prototype from English, Dutch, and German. Cognitive Science 46:5 DOI logo
Kudrnáčová, Naděžda
2019. Contrastive semantics of human locomotion verbs. Review of Cognitive Linguistics 17:1 ► pp. 53 ff. DOI logo
Kudrnáčová, Naděžda
2021. Contrastive semantics of human locomotion verbs. In Corpus Approaches to Language, Thought and Communication [Benjamins Current Topics, 119], ► pp. 53 ff. DOI logo
Goddard, Cliff
2018. Minimal English: The Science Behind It. In Minimal English for a Global World, ► pp. 29 ff. DOI logo
Goddard, Cliff
2020. Prototypes, polysemy and constructional semantics: The lexicogrammar of the English verb climb. In Meaning, Life and Culture: In conversation with Anna Wierzbicka, ► pp. 13 ff. DOI logo
Goddard, Cliff & Anna Wierzbicka
2016. Explicating the English lexicon of ‘doing and happening’. Functions of Language 23:2 ► pp. 214 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 22 september 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.