Browsing results for Artefacts

(1984) English – Drinking utensils

Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on March 14, 2019.

Wierzbicka, Anna (1984). Cups and mugs: Lexicography and conceptual analysis. Australian Journal of Linguistics, 4(2), 205-255.

DOI: 10.1080/07268608408599326

A more recent publication building on this one is chapter 1 (pp. 10-103) of:

Wierzbicka, Anna (1985). Lexicography and conceptual analysis. Ann Arbor: Karoma.

Abstract:

In contrast to most other recent [1984] writings on the subject, this paper tries to demonstrate not only that it is possible to say what ordinary words mean, but also that both the process and the results of establishing these meanings can be exciting and illuminating. It tries to do this not by arguing theoretically that it is possible to define everyday words, but by actually defining them in practice. The focus is on names of simple artefacts, and in particular on the words cup and mug, which have acquired a special notoriety in the literature.


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

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(2022) English, molecules — Money

Published on January 31, 2022. Last updated on April 8, 2022.

Goddard, Cliff, Wierzbicka, Anna & Farese, Gian Marco. (2022). The conceptual semantics of “money” and “money verbs”. Russian Journal of Linguistics 26(1) 7–20. https://doi.org/10.22363/2687-0088-27193

Open Access

 

Abstract

The central purpose of this study is to apply the NSM (Natural Semantic Metalanguage) method of semantic-conceptual analysis to the word ‘money’ and to related “economic transaction” verbs, such as ‘buy’, ‘sell’ and ‘pay’, as used in everyday English. It proposes semantic explications for these words on the basis of conceptual analysis and a range of linguistic evidence and taking account of lexical polysemy. Even in its basic meaning (in a sentence like ‘there was some money on the table’), ‘money-1’ is shown to be surprisingly complex, comprising about 35 lines of semantic text and drawing on a number of semantic molecules (such as ‘country’, ‘number’, and ‘hands’), as well as a rich assortment of semantic primes. This ‘money-1’ meaning turns out to be a crucial semantic molecule in the composition of the verbs ‘buy’, ‘sell’, ‘pay’, and ‘(it) costs’. Each of these is treated in some detail, thereby bringing to light the complex semantic relationships between them and clarifying how this bears on their grammatical properties, such as argument structure. The concluding section considers how NSM semantic-conceptual analysis can help illuminate everyday economic thinking and also how it connects with Humanonics, an interdisciplinary project which aims to “re-humanise” economics.

 


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

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