Maher, Brigid (2006). Sfogarsi: A semantic analysis of an Italian speech routine and its underlying cultural values. In Bert Peeters (Ed.), Semantic primes and universal grammar: Empirical evidence from the Romance languages (pp. 207-233). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI: 10.1075/slcs.81.15mah
This paper offers clear and precise paraphrases for the different meanings of the Italian key word sfogarsi which, in its most common use (roughly, ‘to vent one’s negative feelings’), refers to a way of releasing emotions that might otherwise build up inside a person in a dangerous way. It proposes two so-called “cultural scripts” aimed at describing some of the Italian folk theories (cultural norms and
values) relevant to the expression of emotions. The use of the simple, universal concepts of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage allows for both the paraphrases and the scripts to be tested against the intuitions of native speakers, and will help people from other language backgrounds gain a better understanding of selected aspects of Italian culture.
