Article published in:
Studies in Language
Vol. 38:1 (2014) ► pp. 80–127

Semantic fieldwork and lexical universals

| Griffith University, Australian National University
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 rigorous, cognitively authentic, maximally translatable, and free from Anglocentrism. A second goal is to shed light on methodological issues in semantic fieldwork by interrogating some controversial claims about the Dalabon and Pirahã languages. We argue that reductive paraphrase into lexical universals provides a practical procedure for arriving at coherent interpretations of unfamiliar lexical meanings. Other indigenous/endangered languages discussed include East Cree, Arrernte, Kayardild, Karuk, and Maori. We urge field linguists to take the NSM metalanguage, based on lexical universals, into the field with them, both as an aid to lexicogrammatical documentation and analysis and as a way to improve semantic communication with consultants.
Keywords: linguistic fieldwork, endangered languages, lexical semantics, Anglocentrism, NSM, reductive paraphrase
Published online: 25 April 2014
https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.38.1.03god
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