Habib, Sandy (2017). The meanings of ‘angel’ in English, Arabic, and Hebrew. In Zhengdao Ye (Ed.), The semantics of nouns (pp. 89-119). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198736721.003.0004
Abstract:
This chapter explores the meanings of English angels and its Arabic and Hebrew near-equivalents. Using the NSM framework, semantic analysis is carried out, and an explication is constructed for each term. The results show that there are similarities and differences between the three concepts. The similarities include, among other things, the categorization of the three non-human beings and their good nature. The differences appear mainly in the conceptualization of the hierarchy among these beings, their visual representations/appearances, and relation to people. As the explications are constructed from simple, universal human concepts, they are translatable into any language, and thus accessible to cultural outsiders.
Rating:
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
