Browsing results for Main Authors

(2020) English – Cultural key words

Published on February 16, 2019. Last updated on February 9, 2020.

Goddard, Cliff (2020). ‘Country’, ‘land’, ‘nation’: Key Anglo English words for talking and thinking about people in places. Journal of Postcolonial Linguistics, 1(2), 8-27.

Abstract:

This is a corpus-assisted, lexical-semantic study of the English words ‘country’, ‘land’ and ‘nation’, using the NSM technique of paraphrase in terms of simple, cross-translatable words. The importance of these words and their derivatives in Anglophone public and political discourses is obvious. Indeed, it would be no exaggeration to say that without the support of words like these, discourses of nationalism, patriotism, immigration, international affairs, land rights, and post/anti-colonialism would be literally impossible.

The study builds on Anna Wierzbicka’s (1997) seminal study of “homeland” and related concepts in European languages, as well as more recent NSM work that has explored ways in which discursively powerful words encapsulate historically and culturally contingent assumptions about relationships between people and places. The primary focus is on conceptual analysis, lexical polysemy, phraseology and discursive formation in mainstream Anglo English, but the study also touches on one specifically Australian phenomenon, which is the use of country in a distinctive sense which originated in Aboriginal English, e.g. in expressions like my grandfather’s country and looking after country. This highlights how Anglo English words can be semantically “re-purposed” in postcolonial and anti-colonial discourses.

Rating:


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

(2020) English (Australia) – Lexicography

Published on June 19, 2020. Last updated on August 15, 2021.

Sadow, Lauren (2020). Principles and prototypes of a cultural dictionary of Australian English for learners. In Lauren Sadow, Bert Peeters, & Kerry Mullan (Eds.), Studies in ethnopragmatics, cultural semantics, and intercultural communication: Vol. 3. Minimal English (and beyond) (pp. 165-190). Singapore: Springer.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9979-5_9

Abstract:

This chapter discusses some of the issues that need to be considered when producing a user-friendly resource intended to familiarize ESL learners with the invisible culture of Australian English. It draws on specialized function lexicography and on the cultural scripts approach as proposed by Goddard. The resource takes the form of an encyclopedic dictionary focusing on Australian values, attitudes and interactional norms and aims to respond to an industry need for pedagogical materials that introduce migrants coming to Australia to the culture embodied in Australian English. Best practice for teaching cultural awareness and related skills is to use a method for teaching that encourages students to reflect on their experience and to analyse it from an insider or emic perspective. The cultural scripts approach, which deconstructs complex cultural elements into simpler and universally intelligible building blocks, provides an effective means to this end. The chapter contends that drawing connections between different cultural scripts and illustrating those connections in a way that promotes the acquisition of concepts for learners is one of the most important elements in cultural dictionary design.

Rating:


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

Tags: , ,

(2020) English (UK) – Cultural key words

Published on July 28, 2020. Last updated on July 28, 2020.

Butter, Stella; Bułat Silva, Zuzanna (2020). The comfort of home as an ethical value in Mike Packer’s Inheritance. In Bert Peeters, Kerry Mullan, & Lauren Sadow (Eds.), Studies in ethnopragmatics, cultural semantics, and intercultural communication: Vol. 2. Meaning and culture (pp. 85-101). Singapore: Springer.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9975-7_5

Abstract:

The loss of, and search for, comfort is at the heart of the 2010 social realist play Inheritance, in which the English dramatist Mike Packer explores the burst of the housing bubble in England by depicting the declining fortunes of a family. The pensioner Harry decides to buy his council house as an inheritance for his sons, but when the economic recession hits, the house is lost. This chapter gauges how the play negotiates meanings and sources of comfort by linking them with the theme of home. Packer’s play is notable for the way it connects the
characters’ understanding of comfort with specific forms of subjectivity, highlighting in particular how comfort may be understood as an ethical value and how neoliberal subjects reduce such ethical comfort to a sensuous appeasement achieved through appropriate technological devices. In order to tease out different dimensions and meanings of comfort in the play, we adopt an interdisciplinary approach, conjoining literary studies and linguistics. In presenting our results, we rely heavily on the method of semantic analysis known as the NSM approach. The interdisciplinary analysis is presented as a first step towards establishing the heuristic value of NSM methodology for enriching the study of literary negotiations of meanings and values while also showing how the inclusion of literary texts in NSM studies helps trace semantic meaning transformations in the wake of changing life worlds.

Rating:


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

Tags:

(2020) English, Arabic, Hebrew – Religion

Published on July 28, 2020. Last updated on July 28, 2020.

Habib, Sandy (2020). Heaven and hell are here! The non-religious meanings of English heaven and hell and their Arabic and Hebrew counterparts. In Bert Peeters, Kerry Mullan, & Lauren Sadow (Eds.) (2020). Studies in ethnopragmatics, cultural semantics, and intercultural communication: Vol. 2. Meaning and culture (pp. 149-165). Singapore: Springer.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9975-7_8

Abstract:

The religious meanings of English heaven and hell, Arabic الجنة aljanna and الجحيم jahannam الجحيم,  and Hebrew גן העדן gan eden and גֵיהִנוֹם geyhinom have been explored in previous work. The aim of the present chapter is to throw light on their non-religious meanings, which turn out to be identical across the three languages. The six words are explicated using the simple, universal terms of the NSM approach. This results in explications that are easily understood and readily translatable into all languages, giving cultural outsiders an insider’s view of these concepts.

Rating:


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

Tags: , , , , ,

(2020) English, Australian Aboriginal English, Bislama – Shame

Published on November 22, 2020. Last updated on November 22, 2020.

Peeters, Bert (2020). Language Makes a Difference: Breaking the Barrier of Shame. Lublin Studies in Modern Language and Literature,  44(1), 27-37.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17951/lsmll.2020.44.1.27-37 (Open Access)

Abstract:
This paper argues against the reification of shame and the use of Anglocentric jargon to explain what it entails. It shows how the Natural Semantic Metalanguage can be used to define shame and set it apart from related concepts in Australian Aboriginal English and in Bislama, an English creole spoken in Vanuatu.

Rating:


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

Tags: , , ,

(2020) English, French – Laughing with others

Published on February 16, 2019. Last updated on November 11, 2020.

Goddard, Cliff, & Kerry Mullan (2020). Explicating verbs for “laughing with other people” in French and English (and why it matters for humor studies). Humor, 33(1), 55-77.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/humor-2017-0114

Abstract:

This study undertakes a contrastive lexical-semantic analysis of a set of related verbs in English and French (English to joke and to kid, French rigoler and plaisanter), using the NSM approach to semantic analysis. We show that the semantic and conceptual differences between French and English are greater than commonly assumed. These differences, we argue, have significant implications for humor studies: first, they shed light on different cultural orientations towards “laughter talk” in Anglo and French linguacultures; second, they highlight the danger of conceptual Anglocentrism in relying on English-specific words as a theoretical vocabulary for humor studies.

Rating:


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

Tags: , , ,

(2020) English, Italian – Ethnopragmatics

Published on February 9, 2020. Last updated on February 9, 2020.

Farese, Gian Marco (2020). The ethnopragmatics of English understatement and Italian exaggeration: Clashing cultural scripts for the expression of personal opinions. In Kerry Mullan, Bert Peeters, & Lauren Sadow (Eds.), Studies in ethnopragmatics, cultural semantics, and intercultural communication: Vol. 1. Ethnopragmatics and semantic analysis (pp. 59-73). Singapore: Springer.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9983-2_4

Abstract:

This chapter presents a cultural semantic analysis of the differences in the expression of personal opinions between English and Italian. In English, personal opinions are generally understated, whereas speakers of Italian tend to purposely exaggerate when making a statement. As one might expect, opposite communicative styles can lead to cases of miscommunication in cross-cultural interactions. Such cases can be avoided if language learners are provided with efficient tools, which can help them improve their cross-cultural awareness and competence. Adopting the approach of ethnopragmatics, this chapter proposes the theory of cultural scripts as the optimal pedagogical tool to pinpoint the differences in the expression of personal opinions between English and Italian and show how scripts can be used effectively for cross-cultural training.

Rating:


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

Tags: , , , ,

(2020) English, Italian, Japanese – NSM

Published on November 9, 2020. Last updated on November 22, 2020.

Farese, Gian Marco (2020). ‘Changing’ and ‘becoming’: new perspectives from cross-linguistic cognitive semantics. Cognitive Semantics, 6, 214-242.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/23526416-bja10009

Abstract:

This paper examines the conceptual and semantic relation between ‘changing’ and ‘becoming’ in cross-linguistic perspective to demonstrate that: (i) the assumption that ‘becoming’ is conceptually and semantically related to ‘changing’ is invalidated in at least two cases in which the meaning of ‘becoming’ does not encompass ‘changing’; (ii) the main verbs of ‘becoming’ in different languages are highly polysemous and therefore not cross-translatable in all contexts of use; (iii) differences in meaning reflect different conceptualizations of ‘becoming’ across languages. These results emerge from a contrastive semantic analysis between the main verbs of ‘changing’ and ‘becoming’ in English (change, become), Italian (cambiare, diventare) and Japanese (なるnaru) adopting NSM methodology. This paper also makes a strong case for the epistemic nature of the predicative complements licensed by verbs of ‘becoming’ by showing that a semantic component ‘it is like this, I know it’ emerges consistently from cross-linguistic comparison.

Rating:


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

Tags: , , , ,

(2020) English, Portuguese, Polish – Comfort

Published on January 15, 2022. Last updated on January 15, 2022.

Bułat-Silva, Zuzanna. (2020). Lexical-Semantic Analysis of ‘Comfort’: A Contrastive Perspective of English, European Portuguese, and Polish. In Dorothee Birke, Stella Butter (Eds.), Comfort in Contemporary Literature and Culture: The Challenges of a Concept. (21-42). Bielefeld: transcript Verlag. https://doi.org/10.14361/9783839449028-002

 

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between the concepts of comfort and sloth. While we intuitively assume a proportional correspondence between the two – more comfort results in more sloth and vice versa – I draw on the writings of American author Thomas Pynchon to elucidate why such a straightforward conclusion fails. In fact, Pynchon points to many possible modes of sloth in different cultural contexts, which I label »Writerly Sloth«, »Readerly Sloth«, »Watcherly Sloth«, and »Laugherly Sloth«, that all individually bring about a characteristic form of comfort and discomfort. Following Pynchon’s concise overview of the historical ramifications of the philosophy of sloth since Thomas Aquinus, I attempt to connect the poetics of slothfulness with specific events of US-American literature and politics from within their respective zeitgeists, such as the refusal to work during the heyday of Wall Street capitalism or watching TV in California in the 1960s.

 


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

Tags: , ,

(2020) English, Russian – Cultural key words

Published on June 19, 2020. Last updated on November 22, 2020.

Gladkova, Anna (2020). When value words cross cultural borders: English tolerant versus Russian tolerantnyj. In Lauren Sadow, Bert Peeters, & Kerry Mullan (Eds.), Studies in ethnopragmatics, cultural semantics, and intercultural communication: Vol. 3. Minimal English (and beyond) (pp. 73-93). Singapore: Springer.

DOI:

Abstract:

This chapter investigates the situation of language change in contemporary Russian with a particular focus on value words. Using data from the Russian National Corpus, it analyses the meaning of the word толерантный tolerantnyj, which has been borrowed from English. It compares its meaning with the English tolerant as a source of borrowing and the traditional Russian term tерпимый terpimyj. The chapter demonstrates a shift in meaning in the borrowed term, which allows it to accommodate to the Russian value system. The meanings of the terms in question are formulated using universal meanings employed in Minimal English, which makes the comparison transparent and explicit.

Rating:


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

Tags: , , , ,

(2020) Ethnopragmatics, intercultural learning

Published on June 19, 2020. Last updated on August 17, 2021.

Fernández, Susana S. (2020). Using NSM and “Minimal” Language for intercultural learning. In Lauren Sadow, Bert Peeters, & Kerry Mullan (Eds.), Studies in ethnopragmatics, cultural semantics, and intercultural communication: Vol. 3. Minimal English (and beyond) (pp. 191-212). Singapore: Springer.

Abstract:

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss how the learning and teaching of intercultural competence can be substantially enhanced by the use of NSM and/or some form of “minimal” language (inspired by Goddard 2018a) Minimal English. The affordances of the NSM theory of intercultural semantics and pragmatics (e.g., Goddard 2006; Wierzbicka 1997) for intercultural learning are, at least, twofold. On the one hand, the theory brings into focus cultural keywords and cultural scripts, which are crucial to the understanding of how a particular group thinks about and performs communication and social relations. On the other hand, NSM offers a set of few, simple, and cross-translatable concepts that can prove useful in the context of the classroom, to talk about keywords and cultural scripts and to explain complex language-specific grammatical features. The acquisition of intercultural compe- tence, also called intercultural communicative competence (Byram 1997), is the main goal of foreign and second language courses today, where the focus is on helping the learner to become a competent intercultural speaker and user of the language. Intercultural competence is also the target of courses on intercultural communication (for instance, university courses for humanities or business stu- dents), which normally provide an introduction to culture and communication theories. Both foreign/second language courses and intercultural communication courses would profit from a systematic approach to grammar, to the semantics of cultural keywords, and to pragmatics, which does not rely on heavily culturally loaded (and potentially Anglocentric) complex concepts. In this chapter, I propose different ways in which NSM can be used in these contexts, both at a theoretical level and based on my own experiences with the implementation of NSM in the classroom.

Rating:


Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners

(2020) French — Humour

Published on January 15, 2022. Last updated on January 15, 2022.

Waters, Sophia. (2020). The lexical semantics of blaguer: French ways of bringing people together through persuasion, deception and laughter. European Journal of Humour Research 8 (4) 31–47

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7592/EJHR2020.8.4.Waters

Abstract

This study presents a lexical semantic analysis of the French verb blaguer and related expressions. This verb belongs to a suite of “French humour practices”, and French-English dictionaries translate it as ‘to joke’. However, Anglo-specific terminology such as “joke” does not match the conceptual semantics of blaguer and its related noun blague. Relying on Anglo- specific terms to categorise culture-specific practices perpetuates conceptual and terminological Anglocentrism. This study furthers the call to avoid the dangers of sustaining Anglocentrism in the theoretical vocabulary of humour studies (Goddard & Mullan 2020; Goddard 2018; Wierzbicka 2014a).
Working from the assumption that semantic categories reflect particular ways of speaking, thinking, and behaving, this study’s goal is to capture the insider perspective that French speakers have about the meaning of the verb blaguer and the noun blague. Making local understandings more obvious and accessible to cultural and linguistic outsiders will increase cross-cultural understanding and foster appreciation for the different ways that speakers construct and interpret their world with words (Levisen & Waters 2017).
The analytical tool for this study is the technique of semantic explication couched in the simple cross-translatable and culture-neutral words of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (Goddard & Wierzbicka 2014). Carefully chosen example sentences are drawn from Google searches (google.fr) of authentic language use of the verb blaguer and the noun blague. Comparative reference is made to the verb ‘to joke’ from Australian English to highlight the differences in the conversational humour cultures of French and English speakers (Goddard & Mullan 2020; Béal & Mullan 2013, 2017).

 


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

Tags: , ,

(2020) Humour

Published on August 19, 2021. Last updated on August 19, 2021.

Goddard, Cliff. (2020). De-Anglicising humour studies. European Journal of Humour Research 8(4): 48–58

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7592/EJHR2020.8.4.Goddard

 

Abstract:

This Commentary has two main aims. The first is to argue that systematic approaches to “humour” have been hampered and skewed by terminological Anglocentrism, i.e. by reliance on terms and categories which are English-specific, such as ‘amusing’, ‘joking’, ‘serious’, and ‘mock’, and even by the banner term ‘humour’ itself. Though some humour scholars have recognised this problem, I contend that they have under-estimated its severity. Anglocentric terminology not only interferes with effective communication within the field: it affects our research agendas, methodologies, and theoretical framings. Needless to say, humour studies is not alone in facing this predicament, which at its largest can be described as the global Anglicisation of humanities and social science discourse.

While calls to make humour studies more conceptually pluralistic are laudable, they cannot fully succeed while ‘full’ Anglo English remains the dominant scholarly lingua franca. The second aim of this paper is to argue that considerable progress can be made by “de- Anglicising English” from within, using a newly developed approach known as Minimal English. This allows re-thinking and re-framing humour terminology and agendas using a small vocabulary of simple cross-translatable English words, i.e. words which carry with them a minimum of Anglo conceptual baggage. For illustrative purposes, I will discuss how complex terms such as ‘wit, wittiness’ and ‘fantasy/absurd humour’ can be clarified and de- Anglicised using Minimal English.

 


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

Tags: , ,

(2020) Japanese – Cultural key words

Published on February 9, 2020. Last updated on February 9, 2020.

Asano-Cavanagh, Yuko; Farese, Gian Marco (2020). In staunch pursuit: The semantics of the Japanese terms shūkatsu ‘job hunting’ and konkatsu ‘marriage partner hunting’. In Bert Peeters, Kerry Mullan, & Lauren Sadow (Eds.), Studies in ethnopragmatics, cultural semantics, and intercultural communication: Vol. 2. Meaning and culture (pp. 17-33). Singapore: Springer.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9975-7_2

Abstract:

This chapter presents an analysis of two Japanese compound words that share a common suffix. The words are 就活 shūkatsu ‘job hunting’ and 婚活 konkatsu ‘marriage partner hunting’. It is perhaps not entirely unexpected that the English glosses fall short of conveying the significant cultural context behind them. The shared suffix, 活 katsu, comes from the Japanese word 活動 katsudō, which means ‘activity’. 活 katsu implies a high level of engagement and dedication as well as a degree of obligation or a sense of duty associated with the task. For instance, 就活 shūkatsu implies single-mindedness regarding the activity of job-seeking, requiring deliberate effort from the participant. Similarly, 婚活 konkatsu implies that total devotion to the act of finding a marriage partner.

婚活 konkatsu, unlike 就活 shūkatsu, has drawn some attention from scholars, but no accurate semantic analysis of either has been carried out thus far. This study uses the framework of the NSM approach to clarify the meaning of these two Japanese compound words. The analysis reveals that the people engaged in the activities they refer to are fearful of not attaining their goal and that the use of the suffix 活katsu in the Japanese word formation process is therefore semantically rooted. The analysis also assists in identifying and elaborating on some of the contradictions and complexities of modern Japanese society.

Rating:


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

Tags: ,