Mulyadi (2014). Semantics of emotion verbs in Bahasa Indonesia and Asahan Malay language. Proceedings of the 2014 International Conference on “Empowering Local Wisdom in Support of National Identity” (pp. 225-232).
(2014) Malay – PANTUN
Spangenberg, Sigrid (2014). The function of pantun in Malay speech. MA thesis, Leiden University. PDF (open access)
A pantun is a poem of four very short lines, consisting of four word clusters that have only two or three syllables. Most pantun have ABAB as their rhyme scheme. Research on pantun has traditionally focused on the structure and meaning of these poems. However, there has not been a lot of research on how the pantun is used in everyday language. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the function of pantun in Malay speech. For this study, I have used a pantun-database called ‘Melayu Online’ to collect pantun. From this database, I have selected two pantun for analysis. For the analysis the following methods were used:
– ethnopragmatics: based on the assumption that there are cultural key words, these are explained using Wierzbicka’s Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM); ethnopragmatics is focused on the cultural part
– meaning space theory: models of mental space by Turner and Brandt & Brandt are used in a cognitive-semiotic framework to reconstruct meaning from a phenomenological perspective; meaning space theory focuses on the utterance and what this means
This thesis is a first step to further research into the function of pantun in Malay speech and how the pantun is used in everyday language. On the basis of this pilot study, it can be assumed that Malay people express themselves with a pantun in a way that is respectful of their cultural values and avoids any kind of friction. This assumption can be confirmed by extensive research through fieldwork. That is why I recommend participant observation in Malaysia in order to properly analyse the function of the pantun.
(2014) Tagalog – Terms of address
Waga, Andrew Ike B. (2014). A semantic differentiation of the name marker pairs Kuya/Ate and Manong/Manang using Natural Semantic Metalanguage. BA thesis, University of the Philippines Diliman. DOCX (open access)
This undergraduate thesis uses Natural Semantic Metalanguage to semantically differentiate the name markers Kuya/Ate and Manong/Manang. The semantic explications are then compared to their literal meanings provided by the UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino. This research also investigates how gender could be a factor in one’s linguistic choices, particularly how it affects one’s use of the two name marker pairs.
This research demonstrates the validity of the use of NSM as it is able to come up with thorough semantic explications of the name markers kuya/ate and manong/manang. This study also demonstrates how one’s gender influences one’s motivations in using language, specifically in the use of name markers to address people. Through Deborah Tannen’s Difference and Dominance Approaches, this study shows how each gender has sex-specific motivations in language use.
Approximate application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
(2014) Words and meanings [BOOK]
Goddard, Cliff & Wierzbicka, Anna (2014). Words and meanings: Lexical semantics across domains, languages, and cultures. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199668434.001.0001
Abstract:
This book presents a series of systematic, empirically based studies of word meanings. Each chapter investigates key expressions drawn from different domains of the lexicon – concrete, abstract, physical, sensory, emotional, and social. The examples chosen are complex and culturally important; the languages represented include English, Russian, Polish, French, Warlpiri, and Malay. The authors ground their discussions in real examples and draw on work ranging from Leibniz, Locke, and Bentham, to popular works such as autobiographies and memoirs, and the Dalai Lama’s writings on happiness.
The book opens with a review of the neglected status of lexical semantics in linguistics and a discussion of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage methodology, which is used in all chapters. The discussion includes a wide range of methodological and analytical issues including lexical polysemy, semantic change, the relationship between lexical and grammatical semantics, and the concepts of semantic molecules and templates.
Table of contents:
- Words, meaning, and methodology
- Men, women, and children: The semantics of basic social categories
- Sweet, hot, hard, heavy, rough, sharp: Physical quality words in cross-linguistic perspective
- From “colour words” to visual semantics: English, Russian, Warlpiri
- Happiness and human values in cross-cultural and historical perspective
- Pain: Is it a human universal? The perspective from cross-linguistic semantics
- Suggesting, apologising, complimenting: English speech act verbs
- A stitch in time and the way of the rice plant: The semantics of proverbs in English and Malay
- The meaning of abstract nouns: Locke, Bentham and contemporary semantics
- Broader perspectives: Beyond lexical semantics
More information:
Chapter 3 builds on: NSM analyses of the semantics of physical qualities: sweet, hot, hard, heavy, rough, sharp in cross-linguistic perspective (2007)
Chapter 4 builds on: Why there are no “colour universals” in language and thought (2008)
Chapter 5 builds on: “Happiness” in cross-linguistic and cross-cultural perspective (2004); The “history of emotions” and the future of emotion research (2010); What’s wrong with “happiness studies”? The cultural semantics of happiness, bonheur, Glück and sčas’te (2011)
Chapter 6 builds on: Is pain a human universal? A cross-linguistic and cross-cultural perspective on pain (2012)
Chapter 8 builds on an unpublished English original translated in Russian as: Следуй путем рисового поля”: семантика пословиц в английском и малайском языках [“Sleduy putem risovogo polya”: semantika poslovits v angliyskom i malayskom yazykakh / “Follow the way of the rice plant”: The semantics of proverbs in English and Malay (Bahasa Melayu)] (2009)
The proverbs explicated in Chapter 8 include: (English) A stitch in time saves nine, Make hay while the sun shines, Out of the frying pan into the fire, Practice makes perfect, All that glitters is not gold, Too many cooks spoil the broth, You can’t teach an old dog new tricks; Where there’s smoke there’s fire; (Malay) Ikut resmi padi ‘Follow the way of the rice plant’, Seperti ketam mangajar anak berjalan betul ‘Like a crab teaching its young to walk straight’, Binasa badan kerana mulut ‘The body suffers because of the mouth’, ‘Ada gula, ada semut ‘Where there’s sugar, there’s ants’, Seperti katak di bawah tempurung ‘Like a frog under a coconut shell’, Keluar mulut harimau masuk mulut buaya ‘Out from the tiger’s mouth into the crocodile’s mouth’, Bila gajah dan gajah berlawan kancil juga yang mati tersepit ‘When elephant fights elephant it’s the mousedeer that’s squashed to death’.
Tags listed below are in addition to those listed at the end of the entries for the earlier work on which this book builds.
Rating:
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
(2015) Dengka – Emotions
Umiyati, Mirsa (2015). Verba emosi Bahasa Rote Dialek Dengka: Suatu Tinjauan MSA [Verbs of emotion in the Dengka dialect of the Rote language: A Natural Semantic Metalanguage analysis]. Jurnal Linguistik Terapan, 5(2), 47-55.
Abstract:
This paper applies the NSM approach to the Dengka dialect of the Rote language, a Central Malayo-Polynesian language spoken on Roti Island, off Timor, to explicate one positive and one negative emotion verb. The exponent for FEEL in this dialect is lasa, which will be used in the Dengka versions of the explications formulated here in Indonesian for the positive emotion verb umuho-o ‘be happy’ and the negative emotion verb nggahisa ‘be not-happy’.
More information:
Written in Indonesian.
Rating:
Sound application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
(2015) English, Malay – Emotions
Goddard, Cliff (2015). The complex, language-specific semantics of “surprise”. Review of Cognitive Linguistics, 13(2), 291-313.
DOI: 10.1075/rcl.13.2.02god
Abstract:
This study has three main dimensions. It begins by turning the lens of NSM semantic analysis onto a set of words that are central to the “discourse of the unexpected” in English: surprised, amazed, astonished and shocked. By elucidating their precise meanings, we can gain an improved picture of the English folk model in this domain. A comparison with Malay (Bahasa Melayu) shows that the “surprise words” of English lack precise equivalents in other languages.
The second dimension involves grammatical semantics: it seeks to identify the semantic relationships between agnate word-sets such as: surprised, surprising, to surprise; amazed, amazing, to amaze.
The third dimension is a theoretical one and is concerned with the development of a typology of “surprise-like” concepts. It is argued that adopting English-specific words, such as surprise or unexpected, as descriptive categories inevitably leads to conceptual Anglocentrism. The alternative, non-Anglocentric strategy relies on components phrased in terms of universal semantic primes, such as ‘something happened’ and ‘this someone didn’t know that it will happen’, and the like.
More information:
Reissued as:
Goddard, Cliff (2017). The complex, language-specific semantics of “surprise”. In Agnès Celle, & Laure Lansari (Eds.), Expressing and describing surprise (pp. 27-49). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI: 10.1075/bct.92.02god
Rating:
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
(2015) Indonesian – Emotion verbs
Mulyadi (2015). Categorization of emotion verbs in Bahasa Indonesia. Proceedings of the International Seminar “Language Maintenance and Shift” V (pp. 95-99).
(2015) Singapore languacultures – Hokkien-based offensive language
Tien, Adrian (2015). Offensive language and sociocultural homogeneity in Singapore: An ethnolinguistic perspective. International Journal of Language and Culture, 2(2), 142-168. DOI: 10.1075/ijolc.2.2.01tie
Offensive language use in Singapore’s languacultures appears to be underpinned by cultural norms and values embraced by most if not all Singaporeans. Interviews with local informants and perusal of Singapore’s linguistic and cultural resources led to the identification of eight offensive words and phrases deemed representative of Singaporean coarseness. This set was narrowed down to a smaller set of common words and phrases, all Chinese Hokkien, all culturally laden. The finding that, although originally Hokkien, all of them are accessible not only to the Chinese-speaking population but also to speakers of Singapore Malay, Singapore Tamil, and Singapore English is compelling. The words and phrases studied in this paper are full-fledged members of the lexicon of these local non-Chinese languages, without loss or distortion of meaning. They are accepted as part of the local linguistic scene and of local cultural knowledge. At least in certain situations, people of different ethnic backgrounds who live and work together can rely on them as a testament of common identity which, in a curious way, gives voice to the sociocultural homogeneity this society unrelentingly pursues.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
(2015) Tagalog – Cultural key words
Lorenzana, Angela E. (2015). A semantic analysis of “pakikisama”, a key Filipino cultural relationship concept: The NSM approach. Iamure International Journal of Literature, Philosophy and Religion, 7(1), 15-31.
DOI: 10.7718/iamure.ijlpr.v7i1.874
Abstract:
The study of a language, especially of its vocabulary, can reveal one’s way of thinking, show the essential features of a particular culture and offer important clues for its distinction from others. This paper uses NSM to investigate the Filipino notion of pakikisama ‘getting along with others’. The semantic explication reveals the Filipinos’ unique way of looking at things by demonstrating their dominantly inherent ‘group’ cognitive structures. The paper recommends that the concept be compared with those from other ethnolinguistic groups in order to promote goodwill and understanding among people of diverse cultural backgrounds.
Rating:
Approximate application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
(2016) Acehnese – Senses: seeing
Fitrisia, Dohra, & Mulyadi (2016). Verb eu ‘see’ in the Acehnese language. Proceedings of English Education International Conference, 1(2), 232-238. PDF (open access)
This study uses NSM to describe the meaning and semantic structure of verbs involving the semantic prime SEE in Acehnese. The Acehnese exponent of the prime is eu. The data were collected by interviewing native speakers. All verbs described appear to be built around combinations of the prime SEE with each of the primes FEEL, THINK, KNOW, and SAY, resulting in four partly overlapping groups of verbs.
Crude application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
(2016) Balinese – EAT
Ketut Alit Suputra, Gusti; Budirasa, Made; Dhanawaty Ni Made; & Putu Putra, A. A. (2016). The meanings of the Balinese ‘to eat’: A study of Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM). e-Journal of Linguistics, 10(2), 153–167. PDF (open access)
This study discusses the meaning of a number of verbs referring to the act of eating in Balinese, showing each has its own distinctive features. The verbs are ngrayunang, ngajeng, daar, nunas, nede, ngamah, nidik, nyaplok, caklok, ngleklek, and nyanggol. The study relies on oral (primary) and written (secondary) data. The method used in data collection was observation and conversation. Results of the data analysis are presented by using formal and informal methods.
Crude application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
(2016) English, Indonesian – Translation of phrasal verbs
Krisna Adi Candra, I Made (2016). Translation method of phrasal verb in novel Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Linguistika, 23(2), 139-147. PDF (open access)
The aim of this research is to investigate the translation of phrasal verbs through the prism of Newmark’s translation theory. The data are phrasal verbs in the source language (English) and their translation in the target language (Indonesian) and are taken from the novel Eat Pray Love (Elizabeth Gilbert) and its Indonesian translation Makan Doa Cinta. The study reveals that no phrasal verb in the source language was translated into a phrasal verb in the target language. A few translations are studied more closely, and NSM is used to explicate the differences that are found to exist between the original verb and its translation.
Crude application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
(2016) Indonesian – Physical qualities
Erinita, Dwi Agus (2016). Analisis ranah rasa dengan pendekatan Natural Semantic Metalanguage [An analysis of the domain of taste using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach]. Sirok Bastra, 4(2), 129-136.
DOI: 10.26499/sb.v4i2.82 / Open access
Abstract:
This paper analyses the lexical domain related to the human sense of taste, with special reference to Indonesian. It is shown that, in Indonesian, apart from the four main tastes (corresponding to the English words sweet, sour, salty, and bitter), there are several more tastes, including two words for ‘spicy’, another word reminiscent of ‘bitter’, and furthermore words for ‘savory’, ‘bland’ and ‘tasteless’. All can be explicated with reference to ingredients, fruit, and other food items, i.e. categories that are present in nature and daily life.
More information:
Written in Indonesian.
Rating:
Approximate application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
(2016) Javanese – Perception verbs
Setiawan, Risky Hendra (2016). Semantic analysis on Javanese perception verbs. BA(Hons) thesis, Diponegoro University, Semarang (Indonesia). PDF (open access)
Partially published as:
Setiawan, Risky Hendra (2017). Semantic analysis on Javanese perception verbs. Lantern, 6(1).
The use and meaning of perception verbs (i.e. verbs of seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and touching) differs from one language to another; these verbs have their own characteristics and uniqueness. This study aims to describe the exact meaning of perception verbs in Javanese. It relies on purposive sampling to retrieve data from Javanese language dictionaries and magazines as well as on the author’s intuition as a native speaker. The prime meanings SEE, THINK, WANT, KNOW, HEAR, DO, and HAPPEN are used to explicate the meaning of each of the verbs.
Approximate application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
(2016) Longgu – Carrying
Hill, Deborah (2016). Bride-price, Baskets, and the Semantic Domain of “Carrying” in a Matrilineal Society. Oceanic Linguistics 55(2): 500-521
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/ol.2016.0023
Abstract:
The semantic domain of “carrying” is culturally salient in the Oceanic lan- guage, Longgu. Like many Austronesian languages, Longgu has about a dozen lexically specific verbs that refer to modes of carrying things and small children. This paper discusses the semantics of verbs in this domain, paying particular attention to the most culturally significant verb sungia, which is heterosemous with the noun sungi ‘bride-price exchange’ and refers to the manner in which women carry things supported on their head. The paper discusses meaning components, such as manner and motion, of verbs in this domain and highlights the importance of the association between some verbs and material objects. Further, the paper argues that there are grounds for suggesting the gender of the carrier is entailed in the lexical meaning of some verbs. The paper also discusses whether, given there is no generic verb ‘carry’, there is an underlying semantic pattern to this domain, and suggests that it may revolve around the cultural prominence of the verb sungia ‘to carry something [supported] on the head’.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
(2017) Balinese – ‘Feel [in one’s limbs]’
Sukarsih, Ni Nyoman Tri, & Erfiani, Ni Made Diana (2017). Peranan Metabahasa Semantik Alami dalam pencarian makna verba Bahasa Bali “rasa pada anggota tubuh” [The role of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage in the search for the meaning of Balinese verbs for ‘feel in one’s limbs’]. Sphota: Jurnal Linguistik dan Sastra, 6(1), 59-70. PDF (open access)
Written in Indonesian. All NSM explications are formulated in the language of the paper.
In Balinese, there are several verbs meaning ‘to feel’, all referring to physical pain in the limbs. Using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach, it can be revealed that each word has a different meaning, even though they belong to the same lexical field. The semantic features of each of the words can be described through an in-depth study involving NSM, so that even subtle differences in meaning can be mapped. The NSM theory is able to discern subtle differences between meanings, thus supporting the ‘one form for one meaning and one meaning expressed by a single word’ postulate.
Sound application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
(2017) Balinese – NSM primes, language learning
Arnawa, Nengah (2017). The implementation of Natural Semantic Metalanguage and semantic field in language teaching: A case study. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 8(3), 507-515. DOI: 10.17507/jltr.0803.08
This study presents a model for teaching Balinese words by implementing Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) and semantic field theory. Data were collected before and after the development of the model with certain indicators: the speed in understanding word meaning, the skill in using words in natural sentence structure, and students’ learning creativity. Based on statistical analysis, it was established that the implementation of NSM and semantic field theory was very effective (significant) for the learning of Balinese words in students of grades 1, 2, and 3.
This paper is about language learning. It does not contain any explications or scripts. No rating is provided.
(2017) Indonesian – Cultural key words
Gusmeldi, Ridha Fitryani (2017). Indonesian cultural keyword hati and its English translation. Master’s thesis, Australian National University.
Hati, regarded by Indonesian speakers as the central controller of psychological functioning, is a cultural key word that is very difficult to translate into other languages. Due to this fact, selecting equivalent words for target texts, as well as understanding the concept of hati itself, is highly challenging. However, without a good understanding of this cultural key word, cultural and linguistic misunderstandings of hati-related terms are bound to emerge in translation.
This thesis investigates the meanings and English translations of hati-related terms in Bahasa Indonesia. Hati-related terms are grouped into several categories: feeling, moral judgement, thinking, religion, and physical meaning. The eleven highest frequency terms including hati are explicated using semantic primes. The terms are dalam hati, sepenuh hati, sakit hati, patah hati, senang hati, besar hati, menarik hati, baik hati, rendah hati and sesuka hati.
Rating:
Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
(2017) Javanese – Perception verbs
Setiawan, Risky Hendra (2017). Semantic analysis on Javanese perception verbs. Lantern, 6(1). PDF (open access)
Based on:
Setiawan, Risky Hendra (2016). Semantic analysis on Javanese perception verbs. BA(Hons) thesis, Diponegoro University, Semarang (Indonesia).
The use and meaning of perception verbs (i.e. verbs of seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and touching) differs from one language to another; these verbs have their own characteristics and uniqueness. This study aims to describe the exact meaning of perception verbs in Javanese. It relies on purposive sampling to retrieve data from Javanese language dictionaries and magazines as well as on the author’s intuition as a native speaker. The prime meanings SEE, THINK, WANT, KNOW, HEAR, DO, and HAPPEN are used to explicate the meaning of each of the verbs.
Approximate application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
(2017) Javanese (Old) – Speech act verbs
Ratna Erawati, Ni Ketut & Ngurah Sulibra, I Ketut (2017). Speech act verb in Old Javanese: Natural Semantics Metalanguage analysis. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 4(2), 71-80. PDF (open access)
Based on their semantic components, verbs in Old Javanese are classified into states, processes, and actions. Speech verbs are a subtype of the latter. In this paper, they are analysed with the help of NSM theory. Based on the analysis of the speech verbs included, we can see that each of them reflects two important components of semantics (dictum and illocutionary purpose) that show similar overall meaning but subtle differences from one verb to another.
The speech act verbs included belong to the following general categories: ask, reply, request, tell, promise, call, scold, persuade, advise, discuss, complain, accuse, entertain, mock, berate.
Crude application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner