Goddard, Cliff (Ed.) (2008). Cross-linguistic semantics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.102
Abstract:
Cross-linguistic semantics is central to the linguistic quest to understand the nature of human language. This set of studies explores and demonstrates cross-linguistic semantics as practised in the NSM framework.
The opening chapters give a state-of-the-art overview of the NSM model, propose several theoretical innovations and advance a number of original analyses in connection with names and naming, clefts and other specificational sentences, and discourse anaphora. Subsequent chapters describe and analyse diverse phenomena in ten languages from multiple families, geographical locations, and cultural settings around the globe. Three substantial studies document how the metalanguage of NSM semantic primes can be realized in languages of widely differing types: Amharic (Ethiopia), Korean, and East Cree. Each constitutes a lexicogrammatical portrait in miniature of the language concerned. Other chapters probe topics such as inalienable possession in Koromu (Papua New Guinea), epistemic verbs in Swedish, hyperpolysemy in Bunuba (Australia), the expression of ‘momentariness’ in Berber, ethnogeometry in Makasai (East Timor), value concepts in Russian, and “virtuous emotions” in Japanese.
Table of contents:
I. The Natural Semantic Metalanguage theory
1. Natural Semantic Metalanguage: The state of the art (Cliff Goddard)
2. New semantic primes and new syntactic frames: “Specificational BE” and “abstract THIS/IT” (Cliff Goddard, & Anna Wierzbicka)
3. Towards a systematic table of semantic elements (Cliff Goddard)
II. Whole metalanguage studies
4. Semantic primes in Amharic (Mengistu Amberber)
5. The Natural Semantic Metalanguage of Korean (Kyung-Joo Yoon)
6. Semantic primes and their grammar in a polysynthetic language: East Cree (Marie-Odile Junker)
III. Problems in semantic metalanguage
7. Hyperpolysemy in Bunuba, a polysynthetic language of the Kimberley, Western Australia (Emily Knight)
8. Re-thinking THINK in contrastive perspective: Swedish vs. English (Cliff Goddard, & Susanna Karlsson)
9. Identification and syntax of semantic prime MOMENT in Tarifyt Berber (Noureddine Elouazizi, & Radoslava Trnavac)
IV. Semantic studies across languages
10. The ethnogeometry of Makasai (East Timor) (Anna Brotherson)
11. The semantics of “inalienable possession” in Koromu (PNG) (Carol Priestley)
12. Tolerance: New and traditional values in Russian in comparison with English (Anna Gladkova)
13. Two “virtuous emotions” in Japanese: Nasake/joo and jihi (Rie Hasada)
Each chapter has a separate entry, where more information is provided.
Rating:
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
