Browsing results for The NSM toolkit
Published on November 22, 2020. Last updated on August 15, 2021.
Sadow, Lauren (2019). An NSM-based cultural dictionary of Australian English: From theory to practice. PhD Thesis, Australian National University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25911/5d514809475cb (Open Access)
This thesis is a ‘thesis by creative project’ consisting of a cultural dictionary of Australian English and an exegesis which details the theoretical basis and decisions made throughout the creative process of this project. The project aims to produce a resource for ESL teachers on teaching the invisible culture of Australian English to migrants, using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) (e.g. Wierzbicka, 2006) as a theoretical and methodological basis. The resource takes the form of an encyclopaedic dictionary focussing on Australian values, attitudes, and interactional norms, in response to the need for education resources describing the cultural ethos embodied in Australian English (Sadow, 2014).
Best practice for teaching intercultural communicative competence and related skills is to use a method for teaching which encourages students to reflect on their experience and analyse it from an insider perspective (Tomlinson and Masuhara, 2013). This thesis takes the position and demonstrates that an NSM-based descriptive method can meet these practical requirements by providing a framework for describing both cultural semantics and cultural scripts. In response to teacher needs for a pedagogical tool, I created Standard Translatable English (STE)—a derivative of NSM specifically designed for language pedagogy.
The exegesis part of this project, therefore, reports on the development of STE and the process, rationale, and results of creating a cultural dictionary using STE as a descriptive method. I also discuss the theoretical grounding of teaching invisible culture, the best-practice requirements for creating teaching materials and dictionaries, my methods for conducting user needs research, and the results, and the ultimate design choices which have resulted in a finished product, including supplementary materials to ensure that teachers are well prepared to use an NSM-based approach in pedagogical contexts.
The main body of this project, however, is the cultural dictionary—The Australian Dictionary of Invisible Culture for Teachers—comprising approximately 300 entries which describe, in STE, essential aspects of the values, attitudes, interactional norms, cultural keywords, and culture-specific language of Anglo-Australian English. The cultural dictionary is formatted as an eBook to enhance accessibility and practicality for teachers in classroom contexts. Drawing on previous dictionaries and on lexicography, the entries include a range of lexicographical information such as examples, part-of-speech, and cross-referencing. This innovative cultural dictionary represents the first targeted work into the applications of NSM and NSM-derived frameworks. It is the first dictionary of invisible culture in Australian English in this framework, and the only current resource which is aimed at maximum translatability for the English language education context.
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Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Published on June 21, 2020. Last updated on June 21, 2020.
Barrios Rodrígez, María Auxiliadora et al. (2019). Apoximación al significado léxico con primitivos y moléculas: Trabajo experimental – I. Madrid: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Departamento de Lengua Española, Teoría de la Literatura y Literaturas Comparadas.
(Open) access
Abstract:
This project gathers hundreds of explications in Minimal Spanish, produced in the course of a teaching project led by María Auxiliadora Barrios Rodríguez in 2017/2018. The explications are too numerous to be all tagged here, but a table of contents is provided below that illustrates their diversity.
This volume is best read in conjunction with the project leader’s contribution to the last volume (2020) of Studies in ethnopragmatics, cultural semantics, and intercultural communication: Vol. 3. Minimal English (and beyond). Singapore: Springer (edited by Lauren Sadow, Bert Peeters and Kerry Mullan): Minimal and inverse definitions: A semi-experimental proposal for compiling a Spanish dictionary with semantic primes and molecules.
Table of contents:
INTRODUCCIÓN. María Auxiliadora Barrios Rodríguez ………………………………………………….3
1. EL LÉXICO DE LA MEDICINA. Paula Hernández Laynez ……………………………………………5
2. EL LÉXICO DEL CUIDADO CORPORAL. Raquel Jimeno Valdepeñas ………………………….9
3. EL LÉXICO DE LA ROPA. Raquel Quintas Morcillo ………………………………………………….21
4. EL LÉXICO DE LOS ZAPATOS. Cristina Ruiz Alonso ……………………………………………….28
5. EL LÉXICO DE LOS TRANSPORTES. Fernando Martín González ………………………………35
6. EL LÉXICO DE LA CASA. Elena García Velázquez ……………………………………………………43
7. EL LÉXICO DE LOS UTENSILIOS DE COCINA. Laura Ros García ……………………………47
8. EL LÉXICO DE LAS HERRAMIENTAS. Alba Paredes de la Cruz ……………………………….61
9. EL LÉXICO DE LA PESCA, PECES Y PESCADOS. Ye Chin Kim ………………………………83
10. EL LÉXICO DE LA EQUITACIÓN. María Teresa Burguillo Escobar ………………………..117
11. EL LÉXICO DE LAS PIEDRAS PRECIOSAS. Irene Martín del Barrio ……………………..127
12. EL LÉXICO DE PIEDRAS DE CONSTRUCCIÓN. Loubna Belhadj Ouriaghlizefzafi. …143
13. EL LÉXICO DE LOS SENTIMIENTOS. Montserrat Plata Ruano ………………………………151
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Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Published on December 9, 2020. Last updated on December 9, 2020.
Goddard, Cliff and Anna Wierzbicka (2019). Cognitive Semantics, Linguistic Typology and Grammatical Polysemy: “Possession” and the English Genitive. Cognitive Semantics 5: 224-247.
DOI: http://doi.org/10.1163/23526416-00502003
Abstract
This paper explores the cognitive semantics of the typological category “possession” using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (nsm) approach. At the macro level, we argue that “possession” is not a unitary cognitive category for speakers, but instead represents an aggregation of diverse semantic schemas which center around three distinct conceptual anchor points: ownership, body-parts, and kinship relations. It is shown how each of these conceptual anchor points can be clearly identified using the nsm metalanguage of semantic primes and molecules. At the micro level, the paper undertakes a close examination of the cognitive semantics of English s-genitives in the frame [THIS SOMEONE’S] SOMETHING, e.g. Mary’s ring, Mary’s shoes, Mary’s drawing, Mary’s plate, Mary’s train. It is argued that the wide range of use of the s-genitive can be captured in a set of five semantic schemas, which constitute a network of grammatical polysemy.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) my, (E) S-genitive, (E) someone's
Published on January 15, 2022. Last updated on January 15, 2022.
Wierzbicka, Anna. (2019). From ‘Consciousness’ to ‘I Think, I Feel, I Know’: A Commentary on David Chalmers. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 26(9–10), pp. 257–69
Abstract
David Chalmers appears to assume that we can meaning- fully discuss what goes on in human heads without paying any attention to the words in which we couch our statements. This paper challenges this assumption and argues that the initial problem is that of metalanguage: if we want to say something clear and valid about us humans, we must think about ourselves outside conceptual English created by one particular history and culture and try to think from a global, panhuman point of view. This means that instead of relying on untranslatable English words such as ‘consciousness’ and ‘experi- ence’ we must try to rely on panhuman concepts expressed in cross- translatable words such as THINK, KNOW, and FEEL (Wierzbicka, 2018). The paper argues that after ‘a hundred years of consciousness studies’ it is time to try to say something about us (humans), about how we think and how we differ from cats and bats, in words that are clear, stable, and human rather than parochially English.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Published on January 26, 2020. Last updated on February 9, 2020.
Amberber, Mengistu (2020). The conceptual semantics of alienable possession in Amharic. In Kerry Mullan, Bert Peeters, & Lauren Sadow (Eds.), Studies in ethnopragmatics, cultural semantics, and intercultural communication: Vol. 1. Ethnopragmatics and semantic analysis (pp. 207-222). Singapore: Springer.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9983-2_11
Abstract:
This study investigates the semantics of alienable possession in Amharic, with particular reference to a recent proposal in the NSM framework according to which ‘true possession’ or ‘ownership’ is more adequately expressed by the semantic prime (BE) MINE than by the (now abandoned) prime HAVE. The author argues that this claim is borne out by data from Amharic. It is shown that the verb allə ‘have’ cannot reliably distinguish between true possession and other types of possessive relations, whereas the sequence jəne nəw ‘it is mine’ is consistently associated with ownership. The study also briefly examines the semantics of two sets of verbs in which the semantic prime for alienable possession plays a key role.
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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) awasə, (E) awərrəsə, (T) Amharic
Published on June 19, 2020. Last updated on January 15, 2022.
Tao, Jiashu & Wong, Jock. (2020). The confounding Mandarin colour term ‘qīng’: Green, blue, black or all of the above and more?. 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 Mandarin word qīng (‘青’), which Google translates to ‘green’, ‘blue’ and even ‘black’, among other colour terms in English, is one of the oldest, most frequently used colour terms in Mandarin and probably the most confounding. The word is polysemous and its multiple meanings and combinations with other words have generated much confusion among generations of non-native speakers and learners of Mandarin, and perhaps even native speakers. To help Mandarin speakers and learners better understand the word, dictionaries mainly define qīng using English colour terms, such as ‘green’, ‘blue’ and ‘black’, which is to a certain extent helpful but which raises questions, such as if Mandarin speakers do not distinguish between the colours green and blue. There is thus a need to semantically analyse this word to help Mandarin learners acquire a deeper understanding of its multiple meanings and uses. The objective of this paper is to study the multiple meanings of the character qīng, one of which dates back to the late Shang Dynasty (1200–1050 BC), when the oracle bone script, the earliest known form of Chinese writing, was first used. This paper also compares its meanings with those of two related colour terms lǜ (‘绿’) and lán (‘蓝’), which are associated with the English ‘green’ and ‘blue’, respectively. To capture the meanings and their differences with maximal clarity and minimal ethnocentrism, the authors use Minimal English.
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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) colour, (E) lán, (E) lǜ, (E) qing 清, (S) use of 'qīng'
Published on January 15, 2022. Last updated on January 15, 2022.
Trnavac, Radoslava, & Taboada, Maite. (2020). Positive Appraisal in Online News Comments. In Kerry Mullan, Bert Peeters, & Lauren Sadow (Eds.), Studies in ethnopragmatics, cultural semantics, and intercultural communication: Vol. 1. Ethnopragmatics and semantic analysis (pp. 185–206). Singapore: Springer.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9983-2_10
Abstract
This chapter investigates the linguistic expression of positive evaluation in English and describes a preliminary typology of linguistic devices used for positive evaluation. Using corpus-assisted analysis, we classify some of the resources that play a role in the expression of positive evaluation into phenomena in the lexicogrammar and phenomena that belong in discourse semantics and compare those resources to the ones deployed for negative evaluation (see the work on negative evaluation in Taboada et al. in Corpus Pragmat, 1:57–76, 2017). This general classification of evaluative devices overlaps with the planes of expression in systemic functional linguistics. Our data comes from a collection of opinion articles and the comments associated with them (Kolhatkar et al., in the SFU Opinion and Comments Corpus: A corpus for the analysis of online news comments, under review). We use a set of 1000 comments previously annotated for Appraisal (Martin and White in The language of evaluation. Palgrave, New York, 2005), including labels of Attitude (Affect, Judgement, Appreciation) and polarity (positive, negative, neutral). The central component of the chapter is the analysis of the resources used by commenters to express positive evaluation. We explore whether they make use of rhetorical figures, following up on our work with Cliff Goddard on the use of rhetorical figures in the expression of negative evaluation (Taboada et al. in Corpus Pragmat, 1:57–76, 2017). We then analyse the semantics of evaluative adjectives using the natural semantic metalanguage approach and follow our previous work on templates that capture different types of adjectives and fall into five groups (Goddard et al., in Funct Lang 26, 2019). Although our corpus analysis is limited, and it includes only a specific type of data (online news comments), the phenomena that we discuss are present across different genres of texts. While our previous work has focused on how to express negative evaluation, this chapter seeks to honour Cliff Goddard and his positive influence by studying how positivity is realized in language.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) amazing, (E) comfortable, (E) critical, (E) hilarious, (E) humorous, (E) inspiring, (E) noble, (E) pleased, (E) refreshing, (E) relieved, (E) thankful
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.
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.
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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) ashamed, (E) man sem, (E) shame, (T) shame
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: (E) terpimyj tерпимый, (E) terpit терпеть, (E) tolerant, (E) tolerantnyj толерантный, (T) Russian
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.
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Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Published on June 19, 2020. Last updated on August 15, 2021.
Sadow, Lauren (2020). Minimal English: Taking NSM ‘out of the lab’. 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.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9979-5_1
Abstract:
Abstract This introductory chapter to the third of three volumes celebrating the career of Griffith University academic Cliff Goddard recaps the fundamentals of the Minimal English offshoot of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach, com- pares the two approaches (Sect. 1.2), then contextualizes and introduces the indi- vidual papers (Sect. 1.3).
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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Published on June 19, 2020. Last updated on August 16, 2021.
Hill, Deborah (2020). From Expensive English to Minimal English. 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.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9979-5_3
Abstract:
Minimal English is a useful tool for improving communication between monolingual English speakers and multilingual Tok Pisin and English speakers in PNG. This chapter reports on the use of Minimal English in an agricultural development project in PNG, arguing that it can help to go ‘under’ the language barriers created by Expensive English, that is, English that is not easily understood by the majority of people in PNG. The chapter demonstrates two ways in which Minimal English can be useful in this multilingual context: (1) semantic explications in Minimal English can distinguish different senses of the same word used by agricultural training facilitators and participants, and (2) words that are important in the local context can be chosen to replace Expensive English words that are less familiar to participants. The chapter argues that Minimal English is a valuable tool in agricultural development training and can be used to improve communication in a multilingual context where English is the language of instruction.
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Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) brainstorm first, (E) brainstorm ideas, (E) brainstorm me, (E) case study, (E) story
Published on June 19, 2020. Last updated on November 22, 2020.
Forbes, Alexander (2020). Using Minimal English to model a parental understanding of autism. 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.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9979-5_8
Abstract:
The challenges faced by families of children who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder have been well-studied, as have the impacts on the family of this diagnosis. What a parent prototypically thinks when confronted with the word ‘autism’, however, has not been well-studied. This study reviewed liter- ature and examined multiple texts in order to posit two cognitive models held by the prototypical parent of an autistic child. These cognitive models are expressed in Minimal English, allowing readers to ‘get inside the head’ of a prototypical parent who hears that ‘X has autism’. Two scripts (cognitive models) are provided in this study: one noting perceptions of the autistic person and the other noting perceptions of other parents of autistic children. Script 1 reveals how the prototypical parent of an autistic child perceives an autistic person in relation to other people, including how the autistic person thinks, does things, feels and interacts with other people. It further describes how this prototypical parent assumes others perceive autistic people, and how the prototypical parent may want to do things in a particular way with an autistic person as opposed to non-autistic people. Script 2 reveals how the prototypical parent thinks of the parents of an autistic child, including assumptions of shared experiences, social isolation, and fear for the future. This innovative study breaks ground in the use of Minimal English and offers a new way forward for representing prototypical understandings of concepts.
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Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (S) parental experiences of autism, (S) parents thinking about an autistic child
Published on January 10, 2022. Last updated on January 10, 2022.
Dendenne, Boudjemaa. (2020). Minimal English: The dream of non-Anglocentric international communication. Babel. August 2020, pp 36-41.
Published on June 19, 2020. Last updated on August 15, 2021.
Vanhatalo, Ulla & Lindholm, Camilla. (2020). Prevalence of NSM primes in easy-to-read and standard Finnish: Findings from newspaper text corpora. 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.
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Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Published on July 25, 2020. Last updated on January 26, 2022.
Habib, Sandy (2020). The exponents of eleven simple, universal concepts in three Semitic languages. International Journal of Arabic Linguistics, 6(1-2), 68-90.
Open access
Abstract:
The NSM theory makes the claim that there are 65 concepts that are simple and universal; these concepts are called semantic prime. Their simplicity is proven by the fact that they cannot be defined via simpler terms, while their universality is proven by finding their exact equivalents in as many geographically and genetically different languages as possible. In this paper, I identify the exponents of eleven semantic primes in three Afroasiatic languages: Standard Arabic, Jish Arabic, and Hebrew.
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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Published on November 15, 2019. Last updated on January 10, 2022.
Sadow, Lauren; Peeters, Bert; & Mullan, Kerry (Eds.) (2020). Studies in ethnopragmatics, cultural semantics, and intercultural communication: Vol. 3. Minimal English (and beyond). Singapore: Springer.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9979-5
Abstract:
This book is the third in a three-volume set that celebrates the career and achievements of Cliff Goddard, a pioneer of the NSM approach in linguistics. This third volume explores the potential of Minimal English, a recent offshoot of NSM, with special reference to its use in language teaching and intercultural communication.
Table of contents:
1. Minimal English: Taking NSM ‘out of the lab’ (Lauren Sadow)
2. Using NSM and “Minimal” Language for intercultural learning (Susana S. Fernández)
3. From Expensive English to Minimal English (Deborah Hill)
4. “There is no sex in the Soviet Union”: From sex to seks (Anna Wierzbicka & Anna Gladkova)
5. When value words cross cultural borders: English tolerant versus Russian tolerantnyj (Anna Gladkova)
6. The confounding Mandarin colour term ‘qīng’: Green, blue, black or all of the above and more? (Jiashu Tao & Jock Wong)
7. Semantic challenges in understanding Global English: Hypothesis, theory, and proof in Singapore English (Jock Wong)
8. Using Minimal English to model a parental understanding of autism (Alexander Forbes)
9. Principles and prototypes of a cultural dictionary of Australian English for learners (Lauren Sadow)
10. Minimal and inverse definitions: A semi-experimental proposal for compiling a Spanish dictionary with semantic primes and molecules (María Auxiliadora Barrios Rodríguez)
11. Prevalence of NSM primes in easy-to-read and standard Finnish: Findings from newspaper text corpora (Ulla Vanhatalo & Camilla Lindholm)
More information:
Each chapter has its own entry, where additional information is provided.
Review:
Gladkova, Anna. (2020). Review of Sadow, Lauren, Bert Peeters, and Kerry Mullan (eds.). 2020. Studies in Ethnopragmatics, Cultural Semantics, and Intercultural Communication: Vol. 3. Minimal English (and beyond). Singapore: Springer. ISBN 978‐981‐329‐978‐8 Russian Journal of Linguistics, 24(4). pp. 1049—1054
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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Published on January 15, 2022. Last updated on January 15, 2022.
Ye, Zhengdao. (2021). The semantics of migrant, immigrant and refugee: a cross-linguistic perspective. In Aleksandrova, Angelina and Meyer, Jean-Paul (Eds.) Nommer l’humain: descriptions, catégorisations, enjeux, 97–122. Paris: L’Harmattan.
This paper investigates and presents the meanings of words denoting people who change, either voluntarily or involuntarily, places where they live. More specifically, it contrasts the meanings of ‘migrant’, ‘immigrant’, and ‘illegal immigrant’ in three varieties of English (e.g. Australian, British and American), and provides a cross-linguistic perspective by discussing the major differences in meaning between yímin (’emigrant/immigrant’) and nánmin (‘refugee’) in Chimpse and their counterparts in English. The analytical and comparative framework used in this paper for contrastive lexico-conceptual analysis is the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) (e.g. Wierzbicka, 1972, 1996; Goddard & Wierzbicka, 2014). The paper first discusses the larger context in which this methodology is situated (Sec. 2), as well as its basic principles (Sec. 3), before introducing NSM work on nouns for people and some of the key insights on which the present study is built (Sec. 4). Sec. 5 presents the analysis of the terms in question, and § 6 summarizes the implications arising from this study.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) illegal immigrant, (E) immigrant, (E) migrant, (E) migrate, (E) nánmin, (E) yímin
Published on August 21, 2023. Last updated on November 17, 2023.
Levisen, Carsten. (2021). The syntax of something: Evaluative affordances of noget in Danish construction grammar. Nordic Journal of Linguistics, 44(1), 3-24.
DOI: 10.1017/S033258652000013X
Abstract
This paper explores ‘the evaluative noget construction’ in Danish. The construction consists of noget ‘something’ juxtaposed by a noun in an evaluative frame such as e.g. Det er noget pjat, ‘It’s nonsense’. With a starting point in cross-linguistic studies on SOMETHING, the paper moves on to explore core members of this evaluative class in Danish, providing a detailed semantic analysis of the construction’s core configurations. The affordance of noget ‘something’ to mean ‘something bad’ is a key to understanding the construction, and from this general premise the class of evaluatives take off in multiple negative direc- tions, providing a snapshot of the Danish linguaculture of evaluation. The paper argues for a Cultural Construction Grammar that can bring together the lexicogrammatical integrationism of construction grammar approaches with the linguacultural holism of the research in ethnosyntax. The goal is to provide high-definition analysis of complex, language-specific constructions in a simple, globally translatable metalanguage.
Tags: (E) noget bras, (E) noget juks, (E) noget lort, (E) noget pjat, (E) noget rod, (E) noget sjusk, (E) noget skidt, (E) noget svineri, (T) Danish, (T) English
Published on August 15, 2021. Last updated on August 15, 2021.
Bromhead, Helen. (2021). Disaster linguistics, climate change semantics and public discourse studies: a semantically-enhanced discourse study of 2011 Queensland Floods. Language Sciences 85
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2021.101381
Abstract:
Natural disasters, such as what are known in English as ‘floods’ and ‘wildfires’, are increasingly a topic of concern due to the climate emergency, and their vocabulary and public discourses hold much to be explored through linguistics. This article inaugurates the examination of public discourse about extreme weather events through semantically- enhanced discourse studies, an approach which is based on Natural Semantic Meta- language (NSM) and developed herein. Taking the example of floods in the particular geographic, cultural and historical environment of the Australian state of Queensland in 2011, this transtextual study draws on a public inquiry into the event and English as spoken in Australia, more broadly, along with media reports, and literature from hu- manities and social sciences. Five case studies of vocabulary and discourse patterns are presented to cast cultural and semantic spotlights on the public discourses. It is demon- strated that this approach can provide high resolution analysis of discourse and bring out cultural and historical factors at play in extreme weather language thereby contributing to disaster linguistics, climate change semantics and public discourse studies.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) flood, (E) they just got in and..., (S) flood warnings, (S) the Inquiry
