Browsing results for Semantic primes

(2019) Arabic, Hebrew – NSM primes

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

Habib, Sandy (2019). NSM substantives: the Arabic and Hebrew exponents of six simple, universal concepts. International Journal of Arabic Linguistics, 5(2), 188-207.

Open access

Abstract:

Of all the substantives, only six are regarded by the NSM approach as being simple and universal. These six substantives are realized in English by means of the words I, you, someone, something, people, and body. While proving their simplicity is evidenced by the fact that they cannot be defined further using simpler terms, proving their universality requires identifying them in as many languages as possible. This paper aims to do so in three Semitic languages, which are Jish Arabic, Standard Arabic, and Hebrew, and demonstrates that these six concepts indeed have exponents in these three languages.

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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

(2019) Dene – NSM primes

Published on January 8, 2019. Last updated on February 20, 2020.

Holden, Josh (2019). Semantic primes in Denesųłiné: In search of some lexical “universals”. International Journal of American Linguistics, 85(1), 75-121.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/700319

Abstract:

This study examines whether the semantic primes of NSM are attested in Denesųłiné (Athabaskan, Northern Canada; aka Dene). It argues that some of them are problematic, including (BE) SOMEWHERE, BAD, MOMENT, FEEL, KIND, and PART. Dene seems not to express partonymy and typonymy via abstract lexical items. This article suggests improvements to NSM in light of the Dene data and reflects on how semantic decomposition approaches like NSM can improve the documentation and analysis of this language.

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Sound application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner

(2019) NSM primes – Possession

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

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(2019) NSM Primes — Consciousness

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

(2020) Amharic – NSM primes

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

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(2020) Standard Arabic, Jish Arabic, Hebrew — NSM primes

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

(2021) Danish – Syntax

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.

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(2021) Japanese — Pronouns

Published on January 10, 2022. Last updated on January 10, 2022.

Yee, Timothy Bing Lun & Wong, Jock. (2021).  Japanese first-person singular pronouns revisited: A semantic and cultural interpretation. Journal of Pragmatics, 181(2021), pp 139-161. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2021.05.025

 

Abstract:

Japanese pronouns have been the subject of scrutiny in many studies. The contexts of their use have thus often been discussed. However, although we know from literature that some pronouns are more ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’, or more formal or informal than others, it does not appear that we have reached a deep understanding of their inherent meanings. For example, we do not fully understand, from an insider perspective, why some Japanese first-person singular pronouns are said to be more masculine or feminine than others. We do not know why, for example, ore is said to be strongly masculine whereas atashi is seen as strongly feminine. Above all, we do not know which one of these pronouns is the Japanese exponent of the semantic prime I, i.e., the one that is indefinable. The present study aims to address these research gaps. However, due the constraints of space, it only analyzes the meanings of the six most common first-person singular pronouns: ore, watashi, jibun, boku, atashi, and uchi. It further proposes that the Japanese exponent of the semantic prime I is jibun. The study uses Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) to articulate meaning in terms that are maximally clear and minimally ethnocentric.

 

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

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(2021) Molecules — Body parts

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

Goddard, Cliff, and Wierzbicka, Anna. (2021). ‘HEAD’, ‘EYES’, ‘EARS’: Words and meanings as clues to common human thinking, « ‘TÊTE’, ‘YEUX’, ‘OREILLES’ : mots et sens comme indices de la pensée humaine commune », Cahiers de lexicologie, n° 119, 2021 – 2, Lexique et corps humain , p. 125-150

Written in English

Résumé

Y a-t-il une manière de penser le corps partagée par tous ? Nous proposons des explications sémantiques et conceptuelles basées sur la MSN pour trois mots de parties du corps qui pourraient être considérés comme universaux sémantiques en prenant en compte la polysémie et d’autres particularités. L’analyse montre que la compréhension conceptuelle du corps est plus riche qu’on ne le pense, impliquant des relations entre les parties, la position, la taille, les relations spatiales et la fonction

Abstract

Are there any ways of thinking about the body that are shared by people everywhere? We propose NSM semantic-conceptual explications for three body-part words and argue that they are plausible language universals, once polysemy and other complications are taken into account. The analysis shows that conceptual understanding of the body and its parts is much richer than often recognised, involving whole-part relations, position, size, spatial relationships, and functional affordances.

 


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

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