Junker, Marie-Odile (2008). Semantic primes and their grammar in a polysynthetic language: East Cree. In Cliff Goddard (Ed.), Cross-linguistic semantics (pp. 163-204). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI: 10.1075/slcs.102.11jun
Using data from the polysynthetic language East Cree, this study examines challenges to the Natural Semantic Metalanguage theory developed by Wierzbicka and her colleagues. An almost complete version of the Cree NSM is proposed. While most primes have exponents in Cree, the universality of the lexical
realisation of partonymy is called into question. Most combinatorial properties of the semantic metalanguage are attested in Cree, except for problems in the syntactic combinations of THINK and FEEL with SOMETHING, and with GOOD and BAD. Current ways of thinking about NSM clause structure need to be revised to accommodate the pronominal argument structure of such a language. The NSM approach also proves to be a good bottom-up technique for language description. More polysynthetic languages need to be studied using this framework.
