Browsing results for Semantic primes
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on August 20, 2018.
Elouazizi, Noureddine, & Trnavac, Radaslava (2008). Identification and syntax of semantic prime MOMENT in Tarifyt Berber. In Cliff Goddard (Ed.), Cross-linguistic semantics (pp. 241-258). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI: 10.1075/slcs.102.15elo
This study contributes to our understanding of the status of the newly proposed NSM semantic prime MOMENT using data from Tarifyt Berber. The syntax of the primary Tarifyt Berber exponent ġar is exclusively adverbial and requires a biclausal construction. We argue that this reflects the universal “conceptual syntax” of MOMENT, because the aspect-like modification provided by MOMENT requires the implicit presence of an “eventive” frame. The English sentence It happened in one moment, for example, is elliptical for a semantically equivalent,
but more explicit, expanded version: When it happened, it happened in one moment. English expressions such as at that moment and for a moment also lack direct equivalents in Tarifyt Berber.
Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on August 18, 2018.
Tien, Adrian (2009). Semantic prime HAPPEN in Mandarin Chinese: In search of a viable exponent. Pragmatics & Cognition, 17(2), 356-382. DOI: 10.1075/p&c.17.2.07tie
HAPPEN is part of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) inventory of primes. Its most appropriate exponent in Mandarin Chinese was previously thought to be fa1sheng1. This article argues that fa1sheng1 is not the correct exponent of HAPPEN as it is marked for ‘adversity’ as well as what I call ‘serious mention’ or ‘noteworthiness’ of the event, i.e., that an event is sufficiently serious or noteworthy to fare a mention. This article puts forward you3, lit. ‘have, exist, happen’, and zen3(me)yang4 / zhe4(me)yang4, lit. ‘like how/like this’ instead, as allolexic exponents of HAPPEN in Mandarin Chinese. Though highly polysemous each in its own way, the HAPPEN sense of you3 and zen3(me)yang4 / zhe4(me)yang4 can, respectively, be shown to be semantically irreducible and pragmatically neutral. This article delineates some of the syntactic and contextual distributions attesting to the viability of you3 and zen3(me)yang4 / zhe4(me)yang4 as the Mandarin Chinese exponents of HAPPEN.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (T) Chinese (Mandarin)
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on May 24, 2019.
Goddard, Cliff (2011). The lexical semantics of language (with special reference to words). Language Sciences, 33(1), 40-57.
DOI: 10.1016/j.langsci.2010.03.003
Abstract:
Language can be regarded as one of the cultural key words of English, as well as the foundational term of the discourse of linguistics. It is well to remember, however, that the concept of a language lacks precise semantic equivalents in many languages. This study presents a semantic-lexicographic analysis of several meanings of the word language in contemporary English, using the NSM method of semantic description. The study is similar in scope and approach to an earlier study of the word culture, which resembles language in several important respects. One distinctive aspect of the explications for language is their reliance on the proposed semantic prime WORDS, which is discussed at some length. Though primarily focused on English, the study makes reference to Yankunytjatjara, Chinese, and Russian, among other languages.
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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on June 25, 2019.
Gladkova, Anna (2012). Universals and specifics of ‘time’ in Russian. In Luna Filipović, & Kasia M. Jaszczolt (Eds.), Space and time across languages and cultures: Vol. II. Language, culture and cognition (pp. 167-188). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.37.13gla
Abstract:
This chapter addresses the question of universal as well as language- and culture-specific traits in the conceptualization of ‘time’. It tests the NSM hypothesis that the semantic primes WHEN~TIME and NOW should also be found in Russian. It demonstrates that когда~время kogda~vremja and сейчас sejčas are Russian exponents of these primes, while the related terms пора pora, теперь teper’, and нынче nynče are semantically complex. The chapter formulates culturally salient attitudes to time in Russian, such as ‘change’, ‘persistence’, ‘things being outside people’s control’, on the basis of the analysed words. It argues that, because of its universal character, NSM can be regarded as an effective tool in time-related linguistic research.
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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) change, (E) nynče нынче, (E) out of one's control, (E) persistence, (E) pora пора, (E) teper’ теперь, (T) Russian
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on June 25, 2019.
Gladkova, Anna (2014). HERE, NEAR, FAR: Spatial conceptualisation and cognition in a cross-linguistic perspective (English vs. Russian). In Luna Filipović, & Martin Pütz (Eds.), Multilingual cognition and language use: Processing and typological perspectives (pp. 121-150). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.44.05gla
Abstract:
This chapter explores variation and similarities in the conceptualization of space in Russian and English on the basis of selected terms of ‘location’ and ‘proximity/distance’. It adopts the NSM approach, which identifies eight semantic universals of space, three of which, HERE, NEAR, FAR, were tested for their realization in both languages. A semantic analysis of terms denoting ‘here’, ‘near’, ‘not far’, and ‘far’ confirms the presence of the three universal primes in English and Russian, though they differ in how they conceptually carve up the notion of space.
The study has implications for research into bilingualism and language acquisition and demonstrates that the NSM formulae can be used experimentally to test spatial conceptualization and cognition cross-linguistically.
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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) afar, (E) close by, (E) close to, (E) ne daleko не далеко, (E) nearby, (E) nedaleko недалеко, (E) nepodaleku неподалеку, (E) nevdaleke невдалеке, (E) next to, (E) otsjuda отсюда, (E) poblizosti поблизости, (E) rjadom рядом, (E) sjuda сюда, (E) vblizi вблизи, (E) vdaleke вдалеке, (E) vdali вдали, (T) Russian
Published on August 4, 2018. Last updated on May 23, 2019.
Purnawati, Ketut Widya (2014). Japanese mental predicate ‘see’ in kanji: 見る miru, 観る miru, 視る miru, 看る miru: A Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach. Lingual: Journal of Language and Culture, 3(2).
DOI: 10.24843/LJLC.2014.v03.i02.p07 / Open access
Abstract:
The semantic prime SEE is lexicalized in Japanese as MIRU, which is written as 見る in Japanese kanji and kana. Within the Japanese version of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage, MIRU 見る belongs to the group of Mental Predicates. In Japanese itself, though, the verb miru is not written only in one way as mentioned above, but may also be written in other ways, such as 観る miru, 視る miru, and 看る miru. In general, these kanji denote the semantic prime SEE – or MIRU in Japanese. However, each of them has actually its own specific meaning as well. This paper is aimed at defining the differences between the miru verbs in Japanese.
Rating:
Sound application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
Tags: (E) amae 甘え, (E) miru 見る, 観る, 視る, 看る
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on May 3, 2019.
Goddard, Cliff, & Wierzbicka, Anna (2014). Semantic fieldwork and lexical universals. Studies in Language, 38(1), 80-126. DOI: 10.1075/sl.38.1.03god
The main goal of paper is to show how NSM findings about lexical universals (semantic primes) can be applied to semantic analysis in little-described languages. It is argued that using lexical universals as a vocabulary for semantic analysis allows one to formulate meaning descriptions that are rigorous, cognitively authentic, maximally translatable, and free from Anglocentrism.
A second goal is to shed light on methodological issues in semantic fieldwork by interrogating some controversial claims about the Dalabon and Pirahã languages. We argue that reductive paraphrase into lexical universals provides a practical procedure for arriving at coherent interpretations of unfamiliar lexical meanings. Other indigenous/endangered languages discussed include East Cree, Arrernte, Kayardild, Karuk, and Maori.
We urge field linguists to take the NSM metalanguage, based on lexical universals, into the field with them, both as an aid to lexicogrammatical documentation and analysis and as a way to improve semantic communication with consultants.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) bengdi, (E) bengkan, (T) English, (T) semantic molecules
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on May 5, 2019.
Levisen, Carsten (2016). Postcolonial lexicography: Defining creole emotion words with the Natural Semantic Metalanguage. Cahiers de lexicologie, 109, 35-60.
DOI: 10.15122/isbn.978-2-406-06861-7.p.0035
Abstract:
The lexicographical study of postcolonial language varieties is severely undertheorized and underdeveloped. Postcolonial Lexicography is a new framework that seeks to go some way towards filling the gap. It aims at providing a new praxis of word definition for the study of creoles, world Englishes, and other languages spoken in postcolonial contexts. NSM is used as an interpretative technique for the definition of meaning. The NSM approach allows for a fine-grained lexical-semantic analysis, and at the same time helps circumvent ‘conceptual colonialism’ and the related vices of Anglocentrism and Eurocentrism, all of which hamper advances in lexicographical studies in a postcolonial context.
More specifically, drawing on advances in lexical semantics, linguistic ethnography and postcolonial language studies, the paper offers an original analysis of emotion words in Urban Bislama, a creole language spoken in Port Vila, Vanuatu. The author develops a sketch of the Bislama lexicon of emotion and provides new definitions of kros, roughly ‘angry’, les, roughly ‘annoyed’ and sem, roughly ‘ashamed’. A table of Bislama exponents of NSM primes is included, as well as some discussion on the exponents for FEEL, GOOD, and BAD.
Rating:
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) kros, (E) les, (E) sem, (T) Bislama
Published on December 16, 2017. Last updated on September 27, 2018.
Mateo Mendaza, Raquel (2016). Old English semantic primes: Events, movement, contact. PhD thesis, Universidad de la Rioja. PDF (open access)
This PhD thesis by publications consists of the author’s three published papers on Old English (2013 on TOUCH, 2016 on HAPPEN, 2016 on MOVE), preceded by an introduction and a summary of results, and followed by conclusions and perspectives for future research. It pursues the research line into the semantic primes of Old English started by Martín Arista and Martín de la Rosa. It aims at defining the criteria for exponent identification in a historical language and at applying to Old English a set of criteria that make reference to morphological, textual, semantic and syntactic aspects and that are ultimately based on markedness theory. The NSM category selected for analysis is Actions, events, movement, contact, which had not been studied in Old English in previous work.
On the descriptive side, the Old English exponents for the semantic primes TOUCH, HAPPEN and MOVE are identified. These exponents correspond, respectively, to the verbs (ge)hrīnan, (ge)limpan and (ge)styrian. The decision to select these rather than any other verbs is based on the fact that, except for some particular cases, they are the candidates that best satisfy the different morphological, textual, semantic and syntactic requirements imposed by the nature of each semantic prime.
Along with the descriptive results, significant advances are made on the methodological side because the three studies in the Old English exponents for these semantic primes contribute to the whole NSM paradigm by designing and implementing a method for indirect searching for prime exponents in historical languages. The indirect methodology proposed for the historical languages is in contrast with the direct method preferred in natural languages, which is based on linguistic analysis carried out by native speakers of the language and, moreover, on the availability of potentially infinite data.
Sound application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
Published on July 26, 2018. Last updated on May 5, 2019.
Tokula, Lillian & Pütz, Martin (2016). Emotion concepts in Igala language (Nigeria): A view from NSM theory. In Gratien G. Atindogbé & Evelyn Fogwe Chibaka (Eds.), Proceedings of the 7th World Congress on African linguistics: Vol. 2 (pp. 948-976). Bamenda (Cameroon): Langaa.
Abstract:
This study highlights the various characteristics of emotion concepts in Igala and shows the areas of overlap among the members of different categories of emotion concepts. The absence of a lexical exponent for FEEL in Igala is shown not to have any relevance to the expression and comprehension of emotive language in Igala, as shown by the side by side explication done simultaneously in both languages for happiness-, love- and fear-like emotions. The authors submit that, contrary to the claims made by the leading developers of the theory, FEEL is not necessary to the semantic explication of emotion concepts universally. They therefore recommend a review of the status of FEEL. In the face of evidence to the contrary from languages such as Igala and Sidaama, its present status as a semantic prime points to (unintended and paradoxical) ethnocentric bias on the part of the developers of the theory – a phenomenon, among others, that motivated the development of the theory in the first place. A re-evaluation of the status of the concept FEEL as a semantic molecule necessary for the semantic explication of emotion concepts in English and some other languages but not as a semantic prime found in ALL languages of the world may be more fitting to the data.
Rating:
Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) àyìlò, (E) ɛ̀dɔ̀ ɛ̀bɔ́, (E) òkpò, (E) ufɛ́dɔ̀, (E) ùyɔ̀, (T) Igala
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on September 5, 2018.
Goddard, Cliff & Wierzbicka, Anna (2016). ‘It’s mine!’ Re-thinking the conceptual semantics of “possession” through NSM. Language Sciences, 56, 93-104. DOI: 10.1016/j.langsci.2016.03.002
This study has two main parts. It begins with a conceptual and semantic analysis in the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) framework of what linguists term “true possession” or “ownership”. The requirements of the NSM framework force the analysis to be conducted using very simple expressions that are available not only in English, but (ideally) in all languages. The main proposal is that true possession is anchored in a semantic prime with an egocentric perspective that occurs in a predicative construction, i.e. (IS) MINE. It is argued that expressions like This is mine are semantically irreducible and (very likely) universally expressible across the diversity of the world’s languages.
In the second part of the study, three semantically and grammatically complex “possession verbs” are examined: steal, give, and own. Intricate (but coherent) explications for the English versions of these words are proposed, using (IS) MINE and a range of other semantic components. Though no claim is made that all languages possess precisely these meanings, this study hopes to help pave the way for a lexical semantic typology of “ownership-related” concepts in the languages of the world.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Published on June 13, 2017. Last updated on September 13, 2018.
Levisen, Carsten & Aragón, Karime (2017). Lexicalization patterns in core vocabulary: A cross-creole study of semantic molecules. In Peter Bakker, Finn Borchsenius, Carsten Levisen & Eeva Sippola (Eds.), Creole studies – Phylogenetic approaches (pp. 315-344). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI: 10.1075/z.211.14lev. PDF (open access)
The study of semantic domains is important for creolistics, given the complex label-meaning configuration in creoles vis-à-vis the European lexifiers. Due to lexical semantic creativity in the creolization process as well as subsequent developments and contacts with lexifiers, substrates, and other contact varieties, each domain seems to have its own history, its own configuration.
Comparing creole words in four different semantic domains, the authors contrast the labels and lexicalizations of social concepts, body part terms, environmental concepts and logical concepts. They focus on the following meanings:
‘children’, ‘women’, ‘men’, ‘mother’, ‘father’, ‘wife’, ‘husband’ (social molecules)
‘head’, ‘eyes’, ‘ears’, ‘mouth’, ‘nose’, ‘hands’, ‘legs’ (body part molecules)
‘sun’, ‘sky’, ‘ground, ‘water’, ‘fire’, ‘day’, ‘night’ (environmental molecules)
‘not’, ‘maybe’, ‘can’, ‘because’, ‘if’, ‘very’ and ‘more’ (semantic primes: logical concepts)
Phylogenetic networks are used to compare and contrast lexicalization patterns between domains.
It is shown that the core semantic-conceptual constructs investigated in the study tend to cluster with their lexifiers, but that there are important differences across domains as well: the label-meaning configurations of the social domain stand out as the most diverse, and the environmental domain as the most homogenous.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on September 13, 2018.
Levisen, Carsten; Priestley, Carol; Nicholls, Sophie; & Goldshtein, Yonatan (2017). The semantics of Englishes and Creoles: Pacific and Australian perspectives. In Peter Bakker, Finn Borchsenius, Carsten Levisen & Eeva Sippola (Eds.), Creole studies – Phylogenetic approaches (pp. 345-368). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI: 10.1075/z.211.15lev. PDF (open access)
This paper provides a lexical-semantic comparison of a selection of Englishes and English-related creoles in the Australia-Pacific area. Faced with the conundrum of sociolinguistic classificatory practice and its contested categories (“language”, “creole”, “dialect”, “variety” and English(es)”), it attempts to circumvent the problematic of metavocabulary by taking a new, two-pronged approach. Firstly, it relies on semantic primes, comparing and contrasting their lexicalizations (especially those of the prime PEOPLE) across the sample of creoles. Secondly, it uses phylogenetic networks to visualize the results and to form new hypotheses.
The results provide counter-evidence to the claim that Melanesian and Australian creoles are “varieties of English”. The creole sample displays three basic types of relations: “shared-core” types (Australian English vs. New Zealand English); “closely related core” types (Hawai’i Creole vs. Anglo Englishes); and “distantly related core” types (Tok Pisin vs. Anglo English, Kriol vs. Anglo English, or Yumplatok vs. Anglo English). The results are measured against Scandinavian languages to explore the language-dialect question, and against Trinidadian (a Caribbean creole) to explore the extent of lexical-semantic areality. It is concluded that current sociolinguistic metavocabulary is inadequate for representing the complexity of the new ways of speaking in the Australia-Pacific region, and it is suggested a principled areal-semantic investigation of words based on semantic principles is the way to go.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Published on July 29, 2018. Last updated on June 29, 2019.
Brise, Lillian (2017). Eating regret and seeing contempt: A Cognitive Linguistic approach to the language of emotions in Igala (Nigeria). Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3726/b11354
Abstract:
This book, which deals with emotions and their expression in Igala, a Nigerian minority language with about two million speakers, calls for significant revisions within the NSM framework, its universal lexicon and its universal syntax, especially with respect to the prime FEEL. It challenges the claim that, in its present form, NSM is adequate for the analysis of emotion concepts universally. The challenge is based on the way emotions are conceptualized in Igala as well as on the absence of certain semantic primes that the NSM approach considers necessary for the analysis of emotions.
The author argues that NSM’s rigid claims to universality (of its syntax, for example) hinder the elegant description of emotion concepts in Igala and that the status of FEEL has to be re-evaluated. Igala does not have a generic lexical item that fits into the allegedly universal syntax specifications for FEEL and that lends itself to the explication of both physical and emotional (mental) states. FEEL must therefore possibly be downgraded and accorded the status of a semantic molecule rather than a prime. This would make it a language-specific concept, required for the explication of emotion concepts in some languages (e.g. English) but unnecessary in others (e.g. Igala).
Rating:
Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) àjìlò, (E) áɲó, (E) ɛ̀dɔ̀ dúdú, (E) ɛ̀dɔ̀ ɛ̀bɔ́, (E) ɛ̀dɔ̀ ɛ́kpabíe, (E) ɛ̀dɔ̀ ɛ̀kpabíɛ́, (E) ìhìɛ̀nɛ̀, (E) ìmélí, (E) ìwɔ̀, (E) òkpò, (E) ɔ́la ɟìɟìlì, (E) ufɛ́dɔ̀, (E) ùgɛ́dɔ̀, (E) ùgójì, (E) ùkàtà, (E) ùlàkà, (E) ùwɛ́dɔ̀, (E) ùyɔ̀, (T) Igala
Published on September 2, 2018. Last updated on September 4, 2018.
Holden, Josh (2018). Expressing concepts of FEEL, CAN, CAN’T, and PART in Denesųłiné. Working Papers in Dene Languages 2017, 55-72. Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center.
This paper details the author’s attempt to elicit the semantic primes FEEL, CAN, CAN’T, and PART in the First Nations language Denesųłiné (Dene/Athabaskan language family, Northern Canada, with the goal of empirically testing NSM claims and shedding light on the Denesųłiné lexicon. If these primes are not found, it is shown how the concepts are expressed in Denesųłiné.
Although, in the author’s opinion, the findings suggest the need for changes to the current semantic prime inventory, they should not be viewed as discounting the NSM approach. Dene shows many cases where, even though one can posit the existence of an NSM exponent, there are still language-specific differences in denotational range and even meaning. One wonders how exact the correspondence must be, or even whether this exactness can even be verified without a deep, native-like knowledge of both source and metalanguage. Still, semantic primes as a concept may be useful in identifying a core of the lexicon where there is significant overlap in word meanings between languages, without these being true universals that can be elicited in the same core contexts.
The issues of translatability and equivalence raised by the NSM approach are also highly relevant to Dene language documentation, which is virtually always bilingual: a linguist translates words from the source language to English when glossing. The phenomenon of lexical incommensurability, in which a meaning in the studied language has no direct equivalent in the metalanguage language of description, can render any one-word translation culturally specific and therefore inaccurate as a representation of the source language meaning. This is problematic because future heritage learners and researchers will only be able to access the Indigenous lexicon through the prism of a flawed or incomplete English translation. Diligent cross-linguistic semantic analysis of the type that the NSM school proposes can help build a more authentic record of the lexicon. The NSM approach of explicating culture-specific meanings is therefore a valuable tool in language documentation efforts, although more empirical studies will be needed to test the universality of the semantic primes, and future revisions to the NSM inventory may be required in light of their results, and of the Denesųłiné data discussed here.
Sound application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
Published on April 2, 2018. Last updated on September 27, 2018.
Martín Arista, Javier (2018). The semantic poles of Old English: Toward the 3D representation of complex polysemy. Digital Scholarship in the Humanities, 33(1), 96-111. DOI: 10.1093/llc/fqx004
This article, which attempts to explain some aspects of verbal polysemy in Old English, develops its main claims with reference to NSM primes belonging to different categories (mental predicates, speech, actions/events/movement/contact, location/existence/possession/specification, life and death). It does not proceed to the identification of potential exponents, except in the case of the prime TRUE.
No rating is applied, since there is no engagement with NSM as a tool for semantic explication.
Published on September 26, 2017. Last updated on November 9, 2019.
Farese, Gian Marco (2018). Is KNOW a semantic universal? Shiru, wakaru and Japanese ethno-epistemology. Language Sciences, 66, 135-150.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2017.09.001
Abstract:
This paper focuses on the debated question of the universality of ‘know’ as a concept available to speakers of all languages. The NSM view is that all languages have a lexical exponent for the concept expressed in English by the word know. Epistemologist Masaharu Mizumoto has suggested that Japanese is a counter-example, because in this language two verbs, 知る shiru and わかる wakaru, are used in propositional knowledge attributions and neither is, he claims, exactly equivalent to know. Drawing on linguistic evidence from a corpus of Japanese and from Japanese contemporary literature, this paper shows that 知る shiru corresponds exactly in meaning to the English know and is the only Japanese exponent of the universal semantic prime KNOW. An NSM semantic explication of わかる wakaru phrased in both English and Japanese is presented to show that わかる wakaru is a complex concept that can be explicated via 知る shiru, but not vice-versa.
Rating:
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) I don't understand, (E) know how, (E) wakaru わかる, (T) Japanese
Published on August 18, 2018. Last updated on April 10, 2019.
Rosa, Rusdi Noor (2018). Makna verba ‘mancaliak‘ dalam Bahasa Minangkabau: Kajian Metabahasa Semantik Alami [Verbs of seeing in Minangkabau: A Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach]. Lingua Didaktika 12(1), 1-11. PDF (open access)
DOI: 10.24036/ld.v12i1.9787
Abstract:
This article is aimed at finding out the meaning of the Minangkabau (West Sumatra) verbs that are semantically similar to the local exponent of the prime SEE. Five native Minangkabau speakers living in the area of Padang were taken as subjects for data collection. The Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach was used for the description of the different meanings of verbs of seeing in the language. Based on the data analysis, it was found that, in Minangkabau, apart from the local exponent of the prime (MANCALIAK), there are a number of other verbs of seeing, including maliek, mancigok, manjanguak, maintik, manonton, mancenek, mamareso and mamparatian. Explications for these verbs are formulated in Indonesian NSM.
More information:
The article (written in Indonesian) also includes the Indonesian version of an earlier English explication of the word sad, translated into Indonesian as sedih.
Sound application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
Tags: (E) maintik, (E) maliek, (E) mamareso, (E) mamparatian, (E) mancenek, (E) mancigok, (E) manjanguak, (E) manonton, (E) sedih, (T) Indonesian
Published on June 8, 2018. Last updated on September 1, 2018.
Wierzbicka, Anna (2018). I know: A human universal. In Stephen Stich, Masaharu Mizumoto, & Eric McCready (Eds.), Epistemology for the rest of the world (pp. 215-250). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Published on December 20, 2017. Last updated on August 21, 2018.
Wierzbicka, Anna, & Goddard, Cliff (2018). Talking about our bodies and their parts in Warlpiri. Australian Journal of Linguistics, 38(1), 31-62. DOI: 10.1080/07268602.2018.1393862
Linguists generally assume that all languages have some words for parts of the human body such as ‘head’, ‘hands’, ‘mouth’, and ‘legs’, but it is not so widely agreed that speakers of all languages can speak – or even consciously think – of the designata of such words as ‘parts of the body’. NSM researchers have long maintained that PART(S) is a universal semantic prime, i.e., an indefinable meaning expressible by words or phrases in all human languages. However, it has been claimed that the Australian language Warlpiri, for instance, lacks any suitable lexical equivalent of ‘part(s)’. Using data from the Warlpiri English Encyclopedic Dictionary, this study contests this claim, arguing that the relevant sense of ‘part’ exists in Warlpiri as one sense of the polysemous closed-class item yangka (whose main meaning can be stated, roughly, as ‘that one, you know the one’). The study also considers broader issues to do with semantic theory, polysemy and translation.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
