Browsing results for SOMETHING/THING

(1989) NSM primes

Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on June 16, 2020.

Wierzbicka, Anna (1989). Semantic primitives – The expanding set. Quaderni di semantica, 10(2), 309-332.

Abstract:

The set of hypothetical semantic prim(itiv)es proposed in earlier works is shown to be in need of considerable expansion. This outcome is due primarily to the work of Cliff Goddard. The present paper surveys a set of 28 elements, including – in addition to survivals from earlier sets – several elements proposed by Goddard, and some by Andrzej Bogusławski.

Rating:


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

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(2006) Historical English – NSM primes

Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on October 25, 2018.

Martín Arista, Javier, & Martín de la Rosa, María Victoria (2006). Old English semantic primes: Substantives, determiners and quantifiers. Atlantis, 28(2), 9-28.

The aim of this journal article is to apply the methodology of semantic primes to Old English. In this preliminary analysis the semantic primes grouped as Substantives, Determiners and Quantifiers are discussed: I, YOU, SOMEONE, PEOPLE, SOMETHING/THING, BODY, THIS, THE SAME, OTHER, ONE, TWO, SOME, ALL and MUCH/MANY. After an analysis of several instances of portmanteaus, allolexy and non-compositional polysemy, the conclusion is reached that even though the nature of the linguistic evidence that is available does not allow for native speaker judgements, semantic primes represent a powerful theoretical and methodological tool for the lexical and syntactic study of Old English.


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

(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.

Rating:


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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