Semantic Primes and Universal Grammar

Empirical evidence from the Romance languages

Editor

Bert Peeters | University of Tasmania

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027230911 | EUR 125.00 | USD 188.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027293275 | EUR 125.00 | USD 188.00

This volume is part of a research program which started with the publication, in 1972, of Anna Wierzbicka’s groundbreaking work on Semantic Primitives. The first within the program to focus on a number of typologically similar languages, it proposes a French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian version of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) elaborated over the years by Wierzbicka and colleagues. Repetition is avoided through teamwork: a number of authors working on the languages under examination have had equal input in a set of five papers dealing with distinct parts of the metalanguage. Some of the findings presented here invite us to have a fresh look at what has already been achieved, and to amend some of the working hypotheses of the NSM approach accordingly. The volume also contains six case studies (on Italian sfogarsi, Portuguese saudades, Spanish crisis, French certes, Spanish expressions of sincerity and Italian and Spanish diminutives, respectively).

[Studies in Language Companion Series, 81] 2006. xvi, 374 pp.

Publishing status: Available

https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.81

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements | p. ix

List of contributors | pp. xi–xii

List of abbreviations | p. xiii

Typographical conventions and symbols | p. xv

Preface

Anna Wierzbicka | pp. 1–6

Scope and contents of this volume

Bert Peeters | pp. 7–12

The Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach: An overview with reference to the most important Romance languages

Cliff Goddard and Bert Peeters | pp. 13–38

Part 1: Romance versions of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage

Natural Semantic Metalanguage exponents and universal grammar in Romance: Substantives; determines; quantifiers

Bert Peeters, Marie-Odile Junker, Catherine E. Travis, Patrick Farrell, Pedro Perini-Santos and Brigid Maher | pp. 41–77

Natural Semantic Metalanguage exponents and universal grammar in Romance: Evaluators and descriptors; mental predicates

Bert Peeters, Marie-Odile Junker, Catherine E. Travis, Patrick Farrell, Pedro Perini-Santos and Brigid Maher | pp. 79–109

Natural Semantic Metalanguage exponents and universal grammar in Romance: Speech; actions, events and movement; existence and possession; life and death

Bert Peeters, Marie-Odile Junker, Patrick Farrell, Pedro Perini-Santos and Brigid Maher | pp. 111–136

Natural Semantic Metalanguage exponents and universal grammar in Romance: Time and space

Bert Peeters, Marie-Odile Junker, Patrick Farrell, Pedro Perini-Santos and Brigid Maher | pp. 137–175

Natural Semantic Metalanguage exponents and universal grammar in Romance: Logical concepts; intensifier and augmentor; taxonomy and partonomy; similarity

Bert Peeters, Marie-Odile Junker, Patrick Farrell, Pedro Perini-Santos and Brigid Maher | pp. 177–204

Part 2: The Natural Semantic Metalanguage Applied

Sfogarsi: A semantic analysis of an Italian speech routine and its underlying cultural values

Brigid Maher | pp. 207–233

Portuguese saudade and other emotions of absence and longing

Patrick Farrell | pp. 235–258

The development of a key word: The deictic field of Spanish crisis

Deborah DuBartell | pp. 259–287

The French connector certes: A Natural Semantic Metalanguage interpretation

Monique A. Burston | pp. 289–305

Francamente, el rojo te sienta fatal: Semantics and pragmatics of some expressions of sincerity in present-day Spanish

Mónica Aznárez Mauleón and Ramón González Ruiz | pp. 307–330

Towards a description of Spanish and Italian diminutives within the Natural Semantic Metalanguage framework

Angela Bartens and Niclas Sandström | pp. 331–360

Indexes | pp. 361–374

Cited by

Cited by 67 other publications

Allan, Keith

2020. On the semantics of cup. In Meaning, Life and Culture: In conversation with Anna Wierzbicka, ► pp. 441 ff.

Arab, Reza

2022. Cultural semantics of the ‘salt’ word in Persian. International Journal of Language and Culture 9:1 ► pp. 119 ff.

Asano-Cavanagh, Yuko

2014. Linguistic manifestation of gender reinforcement through the use of the Japanese term kawaii. Gender and Language 8:3 ► pp. 341 ff.

2014. Japanese interpretations of “pain” and the use of psychomimes. International Journal of Language and Culture 1:2 ► pp. 216 ff.

2016. Being ‘indecisive’ in Japanese. Studies in Language 40:1 ► pp. 63 ff.

2016. Japanese interpretations of “pain” and the use of psychomimes. In "Happiness" and "Pain" across Languages and Cultures [Benjamins Current Topics, 84], ► pp. 87 ff.

2017. Chapter 9. Kawaii discourse. In Cultural Keywords in Discourse [Pragmatics & Beyond New Series, 277], ► pp. 211 ff.

2020. Lost in translation: A semantic analysis of no da in Japanese. In Meaning, Life and Culture: In conversation with Anna Wierzbicka, ► pp. 229 ff.

Asano-Cavanagh, Yuko & Gian Marco Farese

2020. In Staunch Pursuit: The Semantics of the Japanese Terms Shūkatsu ‘Job Hunting’ and Konkatsu ‘Marriage Partner Hunting’. In Studies in Ethnopragmatics, Cultural Semantics, and Intercultural Communication, ► pp. 17 ff.

Aznárez-Mauleón, Mónica

2020. La fórmula de rechazo ¡Vete a … ! en español peninsular. Una propuesta de análisis desde la Metalengua Semántica Natural (NSM) . Pragmática Sociocultural / Sociocultural Pragmatics 7:3 ► pp. 421 ff.

Baider, Fabienne

2014. Bad feelings in context. In Linguistic Approaches to Emotions in Context [Pragmatics & Beyond New Series, 241], ► pp. 189 ff.

Baider, Fabienne & Georgeta Cislaru

2014. Linguistic approaches to emotion in context. In Linguistic Approaches to Emotions in Context [Pragmatics & Beyond New Series, 241], ► pp. 1 ff.

Bromhead, Helen

2011. The Bushin Australian English. Australian Journal of Linguistics 31:4 ► pp. 445 ff.

Fernández, Susana S.

2020. Una introducción a la teoría de la Metalengua Semántica Natural (NSM) y su aplicación a la pragmática . Pragmática Sociocultural / Sociocultural Pragmatics 7:3 ► pp. 397 ff.

Fernández, Susana S. & Cliff Goddard

2020. Una aproximación al estilo comunicativo de cercanía interpersonal del español a partir de la teoría de la Metalengua Semántica Natural. Pragmática Sociocultural / Sociocultural Pragmatics 7:3 ► pp. 469 ff.

Forbes, Alexander

2020. Using Minimal English to Model a Parental Understanding of Autism. In Studies in Ethnopragmatics, Cultural Semantics, and Intercultural Communication, ► pp. 143 ff.

Freund, Michael

2014. On Categorial Membership. Erkenntnis 79:5 ► pp. 1045 ff.

Gladkova, Anna

2016. Propositional Attitudes and Cultural Scripts. In Interdisciplinary Studies in Pragmatics, Culture and Society [Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology, 4], ► pp. 329 ff.

GLADKOVA, ANNA, ULLA VANHATALO & CLIFF GODDARD

2016. The semantics of interjections: An experimental study with natural semantic metalanguage. Applied Psycholinguistics 37:4 ► pp. 841 ff.

Goddard, Cliff

2009. The ‘Communication Concept’ and the ‘Language Concept’ in Everyday English. Australian Journal of Linguistics 29:1 ► pp. 11 ff.

2013. The Semantic Roots and Cultural Grounding of ‘Social Cognition’. Australian Journal of Linguistics 33:3 ► pp. 245 ff.

2014. Interjections and Emotion (with Special Reference to “Surprise” and “Disgust”). Emotion Review 6:1 ► pp. 53 ff.

2014. Author Reply. Emotion Review 6:1 ► pp. 66 ff.

2014. On “Disgust”. In Linguistic Approaches to Emotions in Context [Pragmatics & Beyond New Series, 241], ► pp. 73 ff.

2015. “Swear words” and “curse words” in Australian (and American) English. At the crossroads of pragmatics, semantics and sociolinguistics. Intercultural Pragmatics 12:2

2015. The complex, language-specific semantics of “surprise”. Review of Cognitive Linguistics 13:2 ► pp. 291 ff.

Goddard, Cliff & Kerry Mullan

2020. Explicating verbs for “laughing with other people” in French and English (and why it matters for humour studies) . HUMOR 33:1 ► pp. 55 ff.

Goddard, Cliff, Maite Taboada & Radoslava Trnavac

2019. The semantics of evaluational adjectives. Functions of Language 26:3 ► pp. 308 ff.

Goddard, Cliff & Anna Wierzbicka

2011. Semantics and cognition. WIREs Cognitive Science 2:2 ► pp. 125 ff.

2014. Semantic fieldwork and lexical universals. Studies in Language 38:1 ► pp. 80 ff.

2016. Explicating the English lexicon of ‘doing and happening’. Functions of Language 23:2 ► pp. 214 ff.

Goddard, Cliff, Anna Wierzbicka & Jock Wong

2016. “Walking” and “running” in English and German. Review of Cognitive Linguistics 14:2 ► pp. 303 ff.

Habib, Sandy

2011. Ghosts,Fairies,Elves, andNymphs: Towards a Semantic Template for Non-Human Being Concepts. Australian Journal of Linguistics 31:4 ► pp. 411 ff.

2014. Dying in the Cause of God: The Semantics of the Christian and Muslim Concepts ofMartyr. Australian Journal of Linguistics 34:3 ► pp. 388 ff.

2017. Dying for a Cause Other Than God: Exploring the Non-religious Meanings of Martyr and Shahīd. Australian Journal of Linguistics 37:3 ► pp. 314 ff.

2020. Heaven and Hell Are Here! The Non-religious Meanings of English Heaven and Hell and Their Arabic and Hebrew Counterparts. In Studies in Ethnopragmatics, Cultural Semantics, and Intercultural Communication, ► pp. 149 ff.

2022. On the verge of extinction: the semantics, pragmatics, and etymology of eight endangered similes in Jish Arabic. Intercultural Pragmatics 19:4 ► pp. 513 ff.

2022. The Ethnopragmatics of Jish Arabic-speaking culture. Pragmatics and Society 13:1 ► pp. 67 ff.

Levisen, Carsten

2013. On Pigs and People: The Porcine Semantics of Danish Interaction and Cognition. Australian Journal of Linguistics 33:3 ► pp. 344 ff.

2021. The syntax of something: Evaluative affordances ofnogetin Danish construction grammar. Nordic Journal of Linguistics 44:1 ► pp. 3 ff.

Levisen, Carsten & Karime Aragón

2017. Chapter 14. Lexicalization patterns in core vocabulary. In Creole Studies – Phylogenetic Approaches, ► pp. 315 ff.

Levisen, Carsten & Kristoffer Friis Bøegh

2017. Chapter 13. Cognitive creolistics and semantic primes. In Creole Studies – Phylogenetic Approaches, ► pp. 293 ff.

Levisen, Carsten, Carol Priestley, Sophie Nicholls & Yonatan Goldshtein

2017. Chapter 15. The semantics of Englishes and Creoles. In Creole Studies – Phylogenetic Approaches, ► pp. 345 ff.

Levisen, Carsten & Sophia Waters

2017. Chapter 1. How words do things with people. In Cultural Keywords in Discourse [Pragmatics & Beyond New Series, 277], ► pp. 1 ff.

Martín Arista, Javier

2018. The semantic poles of Old English: Toward the 3D representation of complex polysemy. Digital Scholarship in the Humanities 33:1 ► pp. 96 ff.

Mattos, Ana Paulla Braga

2017. Chapter 7. Subúrbio and suburbanos. In Cultural Keywords in Discourse [Pragmatics & Beyond New Series, 277], ► pp. 157 ff.

PELED, YAEL & MATTEO BONOTTI

2016. Tongue-Tied: Rawls, Political Philosophy and Metalinguistic Awareness. American Political Science Review 110:4 ► pp. 798 ff.

Rilliard, Albert, Donna Erickson, João Antônio de Moraes & Takaaki Shochi

2014. Cross-cultural perception of some Japanese politeness and impoliteness expressions*. In Linguistic Approaches to Emotions in Context [Pragmatics & Beyond New Series, 241], ► pp. 251 ff.

Sadow, Lauren & Kerry Mullan

2020. A Brief Introduction to the Natural Semantic Metalanguage Approach. In Studies in Ethnopragmatics, Cultural Semantics, and Intercultural Communication, ► pp. 13 ff.

Trnavac, Radoslava & Maite Taboada

2020. Positive Appraisal in Online News Comments. In Studies in Ethnopragmatics, Cultural Semantics, and Intercultural Communication, ► pp. 185 ff.

Veliz, Leonardo & Scott Smith

2021. Teachability of Figurative Language: Teachers’ Perceptions of the Role of Metaphor in English Language Teaching in Chile. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal 23:2 ► pp. 141 ff.

Wierzbicka, Anna

2009. Exploring English Phraseology with Two Tools. Journal of English Linguistics 37:2 ► pp. 101 ff.

2009. What makes a good life? A cross-linguistic and cross-cultural perspective. The Journal of Positive Psychology 4:4 ► pp. 260 ff.

2010. The “History of Emotions” and the Future of Emotion Research. Emotion Review 2:3 ► pp. 269 ff.

2011. Defining ‘the humanities’. Culture & Psychology 17:1 ► pp. 31 ff.

2011. Arguing in Russian: Why Solzhenitsyn’s Fictional Arguments Defy Translation. Russian Journal of Communication 4:1-2 ► pp. 8 ff.

2012. Is Pain a Human Universal? A Cross-Linguistic and Cross-Cultural Perspective on Pain. Emotion Review 4:3 ► pp. 307 ff.

2015. A whole cloud of culture condensed into a drop of semantics. International Journal of Language and Culture 2:1 ► pp. 1 ff.

2016. Making sense of terms of address in European languages through the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM). Intercultural Pragmatics 13:4 ► pp. 499 ff.

2017. Gdy skrypty kulturowe wchodzą w kolizję: Nieporozumienia komunikacyjne w „wielokulturowej” Australii. In Lingwistyka kulturowa i międzykulturowa. Antologia,

2019. The biblical roots of English ‘love’. International Journal of Language and Culture 6:2 ► pp. 225 ff.

Wierzbicka, Anna & Cliff Goddard

2018. Talking about our Bodies and their Parts in Warlpiri. Australian Journal of Linguistics 38:1 ► pp. 31 ff.

Wong, Jock

2016. A Critical Look at the Description of Speech Acts. In Interdisciplinary Studies in Pragmatics, Culture and Society [Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology, 4], ► pp. 825 ff.

2016. The Pragmatics of Kéyĭ (“Can”) in Singapore Mandarin. In Interdisciplinary Studies in Pragmatics, Culture and Society [Perspectives in Pragmatics, Philosophy & Psychology, 4], ► pp. 857 ff.

2022. Explaining COVID-19-Related Concepts in Singapore: A Minimal Language Approach. In COVID-19 and a World of Ad Hoc Geographies, ► pp. 2435 ff.

Wong, Jock & Marshal Or

2021. “Is beauty only skin deep?”. International Journal of Language and Culture 8:1 ► pp. 35 ff.

[no author supplied]

2018. Landscape and Culture – Cross-linguistic Perspectives [Cognitive Linguistic Studies in Cultural Contexts, 9],

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 6 march 2023. 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.

Subjects

Linguistics

Romance linguistics

Semantics

Theoretical linguistics

Main BIC Subject

CF: Linguistics

Main BISAC Subject

LAN009000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General

U.S. Library of Congress Control Number: 2006047604 | Marc record