Moisejeva, Natalija (2017). The semantic analysis of the English cultural key word ‘right’ and its equivalents in Italian and Lithuanian. S.l.: LAP (Lambert Academic Publishing).
The present research paper aims at providing an insight into the nature of the English cultural key word right and its expression in Italian and Lithuanian as well as into the various cultural scripts underlying this concept. The analysis is based on the theory of Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) and theories of Cultural Key Words and Cultural Scripts elaborated by Anna Wierzbicka and Cliff Goddard in the 1990s. They claim that, apart from common words that are clear to everyone, there exist certain culture-specific concepts fully understandable only to the representatives of a specific culture. The main attention of this study is, therefore, focused on revealing the meaning groups underlying the English word right and their expression in Italian and Lithuanian, as well as on formulating cultural scripts underlying each meaning group using semantic primes from the Natural Semantic Metalanguage. The source of the findings is the original version of George Orwell’s 1984 as well as its two translations.
A 2010 article with a similar title, by the same author but more limited in its scope, does not contain any NSM explications. That earlier article is available online [PDF (open access)].
See also: (E) right
Hoffrén, Tuomas (2018). Minä haluan tehdä näin. Minä ajattelen: tämä on hyvä – Natural Semantic Metalanguage suomenkielisessä S2 – kirjallisuudessa [I want to do this. I think: this is good – Natural Semantic Metalanguage in Finnish L2 literature]. Unpublished MA thesis, University of Tampere, Finland. PDF (open access)
Written in Finnish.
How present are NSM primes in Finnish L2-literature? The relevance of NSM for foreign language teaching – be it of Finnish as a second or a foreign language (S2) or of another language (L2) – is based on the assumption that the semantic primes are: 1) easy to learn, 2) common in language per se, and 3) efficient in situations in which the learner has no knowledge of a word or a concept they want to use in the target language. The research question addressed in the thesis is therefore whether these words are taught to learners already in the early stages of their learning.
The research material consists of one widely used S2-textbook: Hyvin menee! (‘It is going well!’) 1. The material is deemed sufficient in determining certain general rules or principles in the area, but the need for further research involving textbooks as well as other materials used in teaching is acknowledged.
The theoretical framework is provided by the NSM approach, on the one hand, and by Second Language Acquisition research (SLA), on the other. Two major areas of research, linguistics and pedagogy, are thus combined. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used. Aspects that need to be acknowledged when using and studying NSM are presented qualitatively. A precise statistical (and therefore quantitative) analysis is based on these aspects.
The analysis shows that the observed 76 primes (an increased number due to differences between Finnish and English) are somewhat unevenly divided in the book. Some primes are very common, others are not present at all. The earlier chapters have fewer primes in them, but the number of primes, along with their distribution, increases notably as the book proceeds. Texts is where the highest number of primes is displayed, but primes are also largely present in the exercises.
The research sets the scene for the elaboration of a possible method of teaching that relies on semantic primes. It outlines a picture of the present situation, on which new research can be built.
No rating is provided.
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
Wierzbicka, Anna (2015). Karta etyki globalnej w słowach uniwersalnych [A charter of global ethics in universal words]. Teksty Drugie, 2015(4), 257-279.
Open access
Abstract:
The Declaration toward a global ethic adopted by the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1993 and UNESCO’s Earth charter (2000) both hinge on the notion that, in this era of increasing globalization, the world needs a “charter of global ethics”. The author develops this idea, engaging with the Dalai Lama’s suggestion that the “charter of global ethics” should be translated into all the languages of the world. This goal can be achieved if the norms of global ethics are formulated in a Minimal Language based on the universal “alphabet of human thought”, which emerges from several years of empirical study on many of the world’s languages. Two versions of the author’s “charter of global ethics” are printed here – a Polish version and an English one – and it is suggested that they could act as a platform for global dialogue on ethical norms for all of humanity.
More information:
Written in Polish. Revised and translated into English as:
Wierzbicka, Anna (2018). Charter of global ethic in Minimal English. In Cliff Goddard (Ed.), Minimal English for a global world: Improved communication using fewer words (pp. 113-141). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
Reprinted as:
Wierzbicka, Anna (2017). Karta etyki globalnej w słowach uniwersalnych [A charter of global ethics in universal words]. In Jerzy Bartmiński, Stanisława Niebrzegowska-Bartmińska, Marta Nowosad-Bakalarczyk, & Jadwiga Puzynina (Eds.), Etyka słowa: Wybór opracowań. Vol. 1 (pp. 523-538). Lublin: UMCS.
Rating:
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
See also: (S) charter of global ethic, (T) Polish
Wierzbicka, Anna (2017). Trzy zasady etyki słowa [Three principles of ethical speech]. In Jerzy Bartmiński, Stanisława Niebrzegowska-Bartmińska, Marta Nowosad-Bakalarczyk, & Jadwiga Puzynina (Eds.), Etyka słowa: Wybór opracowań. Vol. 1 (pp. 67-76). Lublin: UMCS.
Written in Polish.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Kurteš, Svetlana (2008). An investigation into the pragmatics of grammar: Cultural scripts in contrast. In Martin Pütz, & JoAnne Neff-van Aertselaer (Eds.), Developing contrastive pragmatics: Interlanguage and cross-cultural perspectives (pp. 67-85). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI: 10.1515/9783110207217.1.67
This paper looks at verbal reflexivity and middleness as exemplified in a set of related verbs in Serbo-Croat, known as ‘se-verbs’. The performed analysis is monodirectional and corpus-based, starting from Serbo-Croat and observing the translation equivalents of the ‘se-verbs’ in English. The pragmatic principles underlying the rules of usage of these verbs, often rather neglected in traditional reference grammars and relevant pedagogical materials, need to be established and analysed in the socio-cultural context in which the examined instances were found to be naturally occurring. The author discusses these pragmatic principles and proposes ways of introducing them into language teaching curricula and relevant pedagogical materials. She also argues for a recognition of Wierzbicka’s ‘cultural scripts’ in foreign language teaching enabling the learner to interpret messages in terms of their underlying cultural norms and values. Examples are taken mainly from modern political discourses and public communication.
Approximate application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
See also: (S) self-promotion, (S) self-protection
Roberts, Michael (2011). Doctors, Australians and friends: A semantic analysis of social categories. Master’s thesis, University of New England.
Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Dendenne, Boudjemaa (2017). A cross-cultural study of speech act realisations in Arabic and English: A cultural-scripts approach. Revue académique des études humaines et sociales, Series B: Littérature et Philosophie, 18, 3-15. PDF (Researchgate)
This paper reports on the findings of a cross-cultural pragmatic study into the realization of two speech acts that are common in Arabic and English, namely requests and apologies. Natural Semantic Metalanguage and cultural scripts have been employed for this purpose. The usefulness of the adopted approach lies in the fact that it describes norms, behaviours and cultural meanings in a particular language/culture in a way that is accessible to both insiders and outsiders. Cross-cultural education and intercultural communication both stand to benefit from such an approach.
The ultimate goal behind the use of NSM and cultural scripts is to reduce cultural misunderstandings and conflicts. The author strongly recommends adoption of these tools to re-describe and re-explicate findings that are regarded as empirically well founded in previous cross-cultural studies.
Approximate application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
See also: (S) apologies, (S) requests
Setiawan, Risky Hendra (2017). Semantic analysis on Javanese perception verbs. Lantern, 6(1). PDF (open access)
Based on:
Setiawan, Risky Hendra (2016). Semantic analysis on Javanese perception verbs. BA(Hons) thesis, Diponegoro University, Semarang (Indonesia).
The use and meaning of perception verbs (i.e. verbs of seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and touching) differs from one language to another; these verbs have their own characteristics and uniqueness. This study aims to describe the exact meaning of perception verbs in Javanese. It relies on purposive sampling to retrieve data from Javanese language dictionaries and magazines as well as on the author’s intuition as a native speaker. The prime meanings SEE, THINK, WANT, KNOW, HEAR, DO, and HAPPEN are used to explicate the meaning of each of the verbs.
Approximate application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
See also: (E) katon, (E) ketingal, (E) ketok, (E) mandheng, (E) mirsani, (E) namatake, (E) ndeleng, (E) ndelok, (E) niliki, (E) ningali, (E) niteni, (E) nonton, (E) nyawang, (E) nyekseni, (E) sumerep, (E) weruh
Setiawan, Risky Hendra (2016). Semantic analysis on Javanese perception verbs. BA(Hons) thesis, Diponegoro University, Semarang (Indonesia). PDF (open access)
Partially published as:
Setiawan, Risky Hendra (2017). Semantic analysis on Javanese perception verbs. Lantern, 6(1).
The use and meaning of perception verbs (i.e. verbs of seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and touching) differs from one language to another; these verbs have their own characteristics and uniqueness. This study aims to describe the exact meaning of perception verbs in Javanese. It relies on purposive sampling to retrieve data from Javanese language dictionaries and magazines as well as on the author’s intuition as a native speaker. The prime meanings SEE, THINK, WANT, KNOW, HEAR, DO, and HAPPEN are used to explicate the meaning of each of the verbs.
Approximate application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
See also: (E) ambung-ambungan, (E) gatekake, (E) katon, (E) kepireng, (E) keprungon, (E) keprungu, (E) ketingal, (E) ketok, (E) kraos, (E) krasa, (E) krungu, (E) mambet, (E) mambu, (E) mandheng, (E) mireng, (E) mirengaken, (E) mirsani, (E) namatake, (E) ndeleng, (E) ndelok, (E) ngambet, (E) ngambu, (E) ngambung, (E) ngedhapi, (E) ngganda, (E) ngicipi, (E) ngraosaken, (E) ngrasakake, (E) ngrungokake, (E) niliki, (E) nilingake, (E) ningali, (E) niteni, (E) nonton, (E) nyawang, (E) nyekseni, (E) sumerep, (E) weruh
Tully, Alex (2016). Applications of NSM and Minimal English in second language teaching. Master’s thesis, Australian National University.
This thesis proposes a new approach to second language teaching to adults aiming at developing their “strategic competence”, the ability to use paraphrase to communicate meaning when confronted with gaps in their vocabulary. The importance of this skill has been widely acknowledged, yet in comparison to other aspects of linguistic competence, very little has been published on practical ways to develop it. To do so, this thesis draws the link between the theoretical framework of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) and its expanded version Minimal English, and practical applications involving the use of paraphrase by both learners and teachers. It argues for explicit teaching of the vocabulary of Minimal English (and its equivalents based on other languages), including contrastive analysis of the “mini-grammar” encapsulated in each NSM prime, and illustrates how this can be done.
By doing this, this new approach wholeheartedly rejects methods such as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), which are based on the view that a second language (L2) is “acquired” via an unconscious, implicit process similar to the learning of a first language (L1). The empirical studies underpinning CLT have only been replicated when typological similarities between L1 and L2 enable positive transfer of grammatical features. In contrast, the proposed methodology aims to be applicable to all learners, especially those facing large typological L1-L2 typological differences. In light of the large and growing numbers of speakers of Asian languages learning English, this thesis makes an innovative contribution to current language teaching by moving away from methodologies such as CLT, which have not proven themselves useful or popular outside Europe. Rather, this thesis outlines a theoretical framework that avoids assumptions about positive transfer, and is thus more suitable for the global nature of language teaching in the 21st century.
Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
See also: (E) (causative constructions), (E) afraid, (E) chair, (E) crime, (E) promise, (E) unhappy
Wierzbicka, Anna (2018). How much longer can the Berlin and Kay paradigm dominate visual semantics? English, Russian and Warlpiri seen ‘from the native’s point of view’. In Diana Young (Ed.), Rematerializing colour: From concept to substance (pp. 67-90). Herefordshire: Sean Kingston Publishing.
Abstract:
How does the outsider linguist find out if speakers of another language have colour terms? Using the Australian Aboriginal language Warlpiri as a starting point, the author argues that interpretation of the patterns of names produced in response to stimuli (such as Munsell colour chips) is difficult, and one has to take care not to assign English terms to those patterns. That is, in trying to interpret what a word means, we cannot assume that kardirri means ‘white’, because speakers produced this word when looking at chips with colours that English speakers might call ‘white’. The focus here is on determining the senses (intensions) of words – that is, on finding language-specific categories. The Warlpiri lack a word approximating the English word ‘colour’. It is claimed that, if speakers do not have a word for a category such as colour, it is hard to say that in their minds they see the world in terms of a cognitive category ‘colour’ (which is not to deny that they have colour vision).
Examination of dictionary entries in the Warlpiri-English Dictionary establishes the importance of the properties ‘visual conspicuousness’ (the startling pink prunus trees), ‘things shining somewhere’ (sunlight gleaming on the white cockatoos), ‘visual contrasts within an object’ (the dappled pink and green of the japonica hedge), and creating colour reference by comparison with things in the world around (kunjuru ‘smoke’, kunjuru-kunjuru ‘like smoke’, a term conventionally applied to smoke-coloured things). However, even though the Dictionary is a good starting-place for raising such hypotheses, it cannot help us test them, since it is a collection of all words, with little comment on whether they are used frequently or not, and since the words come from several dialects.
The author argues against using the word ‘colour’ in the English definitions and translations in the dictionary, because this creates or reinforces a belief that the Warlpiri have a linguistic category of ‘colour’.
Rating:
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
See also: (E) kunjuru-kunjuru, (E) sky, (E) yukuri-yukuri, (T) English
Simonović, Marko (2012). “Ik ben toch niet gek!“ – Othering en normativiteit in het Nederlandse en het Servische vertoog [“I’m not crazy! – Othering and normativity in Dutch and Serbian discourse]. In Jelica Novaković-Lopušina, Tamara Britka, Bojana Budimir, Mirko Cvetković, & Lada Vukomanović (Eds.), Lage landen, hoge heuvels: Handelingen Regionaal Colloquium Neerlandicum (pp. 43-59). Belgrado: ARIUS/Filološki fakultet u Beogradu. PDF (pre-publication version on the author’s Academia page)
The goal of this contribution is twofold. On the one hand, it looks at the “normality” continuum in Serbian and Dutch (comparable to crazy > awkward/weird > strange > peculiar > normal > common in English), in an attempt to identify the main similarities and differences using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage. On the other hand, it proposes to move away from the comparison paradigm. Instead, it develops an account approaching languages diffractively (à la Karen Barad), as an ongoing intra-action. Under such an approach, the role of the practices of the (broadly defined) bilingual speaker changes radically: the speaker is invited to live the difference productively and to overcome the ideology of sameness and representationalism. The bilingual speaker is always consigned to being more-than-normal and accountable for how she speaks the constitutive boundary.
But there is more. The goal of this contribution is to spoil othering/normativity/universality for the reader, strategically using the insight that not only are different things “crazy” in different discourses, but also the very scale of measuring “crazy” is discourse/language-specific and ever-becoming. In this sense, there is no transcendental norm(ality) to measure against, only what we make of what has been entrusted to us.
Approximate application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
See also: (E) gek, (E) lud, (E) normaal, (E) normalan
Karaaslan, Hatice (2017). A contrastive analysis of English anger-fury and Turkish kızgınlık-öfke. Karadeniz, 36, 119-136.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17498/kdeniz.357575 / Open access
Abstract:
This study investigates one particular area within the emotion lexicon of English and Turkish, focusing on two anger-related emotion terms in each of the two languages. It explores how the terms relate to each other intra-linguistically and whether, from a contrastive point of view, their cognitive scenarios match. The core meanings of the target concepts are claimed to show a high degree of correspondence; differences in immediacy and intensity do not (according to the author) appear to prompt the need for differentiation. The English emotion concept anger is said to match the Turkish emotion concept kızgınlık, and likewise for fury and öfke. Accordingly, the same reductive paraphrases can be used for the English words and for their Turkish counterparts.
 |
The claims contained in this paper need to be approached with caution: the so-called “high degree of correspondence” may not be high enough to warrant identical explications across the two languages. |
blablabla
Rating:
Crude application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner
See also: (E) angry, (E) furious, (E) kızgınlık, (E) öfke
Peeters, Bert (2018). (White) lies and (pieux) mensonges: Ethnolinguistic elaborations on not telling the truth. Etnolingwistyka, 30, 169-188. DOI: 10.17951/et.2018.30.169. PDF (open access)
The fact that most European languages have a word similar to the verb lie has led many to believe that lying is a universal cognitive category, that all human beings have an intuitive understanding of what it means to lie, and that all forms of discourse involving a lack of truth can be analysed as forms of lying, wherever they occur. This is a myth. Within Europe itself, there are differences, and these become more outspoken once we move further away. Even a Melanesian creole such as Bislama, in spite of being English-based, has no strict equivalent to the verb lie; the closest it gets is by means of the verb giaman, which, unlike lie, refers to a fairly common, sometimes even a necessary course of action.
On the other hand, whereas, at least from an Anglo point of view, lying is mostly felt to be morally reprehensible, there are instances that are not as straightforward. In English, lies that are deemed less bad than others are often referred to as white lies. Other terms exist, but this one is by far the commonest and has a high degree of cultural salience. Does the concept exist in other languages, e.g. French? The phrase pieux mensonge comes to mind. White lies and pieux mensonges are shown to be overlapping categories, but carry different connotations, which are spelled out using a tool known as the Natural Semantic Metalanguage.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
See also: (E) lie, (E) pieux mensonge, (E) white lie, (S) truth and untruth
Wierzbicka, Anna (2018). A ‘sense of entitlement’ encoded in English grammar. Etnolingwistyka, 30, 133-143. DOI: 10.17951/et.2018.30.133. PDF (open access)
This study claims that in English there is a grammatical construction, or even a family of constructions, that expresses the notion of a ‘sense of entitlement’. In sentences like Can I have my apple and cheese, please?, this notion is expressed with the pronoun my. To describe the meaning of this construction in a way that would be understandable not only to speakers of English but also to those whose languages do not contain a word for ‘entitlement’, Natural Semantic Metalanguage is used.
The ‘sense of entitlement’ is expressed when everyday rituals are violated, which disturbs the speaker, e.g. Would you leave me finish my breakfast?. The assumption here is that everyone has the right and wants to perform these regular, ritualistic activities. The range of potential obstacles has not been established at this stage of research but can be captured in the formula “I cannot do now what I always do at this time; this is bad; everybody can know this”.
The meaning of a ‘sense of entitlement’ is connected with such words and expressions as have the right to, be entitled to, personal space, privacy, violate/disturb/interfere, which express some of the major assumptions and concerns of contemporary Anglo-culture. Especially interesting is the connection between the ‘sense of entitlement’ and justice because both are grounded in the existence of voluntarily obeyed principles. It appears that English grammar contains an implicit understanding that everybody has the right to their personal routine that involves having breakfast (my breakfast) or dinner (my dinner) in a particular way, or e.g. reading (my newspaper). It is bad when the routine is disturbed by others.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
See also: (E) sense of entitlement, (T) English
Wierzbicka, Anna (2009). The language of “bullying” and “harassment”. Quadrant, 53(12), 102-107.
While there is no shortage of various attempted definitions of bullying, they are usually lacking in clarity, precision and explanatory value. This is partly because to provide an adequate definition of bullying one needs to consider closely not only human behaviour but also the meanings of words and ways in which these meanings can be accurately defined and intelligibly explained.
What matters here is not how the word should be used, or what it should mean, but rather, what it actually means as it is normally used by “ordinary people”. It is this plain meaning manifested in “ordinary people’s” use of the word which functions as part of the shared conceptual
currency of speakers of English. To identify this meaning accurately and intelligibly we need a workable methodology. Such a methodology can be found in the so-called “NSM” (from “Natural Semantic Metalanguage”) approach. Using this approach, we can overcome the inadequacies of traditional models of definition, and we can actually explain the meaning of words, in ways which can be both cognitively accurate and socially and educationally useful.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
See also: (E) bully, (E) bullying, (E) harassment
Nicholls, Sophie (2011). Referring expressions and referential practice in Roper Kriol (Northern Territory, Australia). PhD thesis, University of New England.
In this thesis I describe aspects of referring expressions and referential practice in an English-lexified creole language spoken in the Ngukurr
Aboriginal community, in the Northern Territory of Australia. Kriol has substrate influences from seven traditional Aboriginal languages. Dialects of Kriol are spoken in Aboriginal communities across the Top End of Australia; with estimates suggesting more than 20,000 people speak it as a first language. The language has a low status and in many contexts, such as health, medical and legal contexts, it frequently goes unrecognized as a legitimate language requiring interpreters. There is no comprehensive grammar of Kriol and as yet, there have been few in-depth studies into its structure and use.
I investigate referential expressions in Kriol from various perspectives, using tools from a range of theoretical frameworks and research traditions, including descriptive linguistics, discourse analysis, information structure, and ethnopragmatics. The thesis provides an integrated description of how referential expressions are structured and how they are used in spontaneous talk to meet communicative needs. A further goal of this thesis is to demonstrate that there is significant continuity of referring strategies from Kriol’s Aboriginal substrate languages. The data used in this study consists of a corpus of spontaneous discourse between two or more speakers, elicited material, and consultation with Elders on cultural issues relevant to language use.
Each chapter in the thesis contributes original description of the Kriol language. By combining a number of theoretical perspectives, the thesis offers an integrated description of the structure and function of referring expressions.
Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Levisen, Carsten (2018). The grammar of violence: Insights from Danish ethnosyntax and the Wierzbicka-Pinker debate. Etnolingwistyka, 30, 145-167. DOI: 10.17951/et.2018.30.145. PDF (open access)
This paper explores the Danish key word vold ‘violence, abuse’ and scrutinizes its associated ethnosyntax, which is hidden in compound morphology. Focusing on the compounds hustruvold ‘wife vold’ and politivold ‘police vold’, it explores the conceptual syntax embedded in such coinages. Exploring more recent constructs, such as forældrevold ‘parent vold’, the author argues that Danish ethnosyntax embodies a view of the world in which traditional authority figures (men, police, parents) are coded as aggressors, whereas women, citizens and children are coded as victims.
In more general terms, the paper aims to open a new ethnolinguistic research agenda for the study of negative sociality constructs and the positive value system hidden in them. It does so by drawing attention to the differences and similarities of violence-related concepts in ethnolinguistic communities, and to the key role played by ethnosyntax in the elaboration of violence, vold, and similar concepts.
The paper also proposes an explication for the Bislama word faetem ‘punch, fight physically’.
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
See also: (E) faetem, (E) vold, (S) domestic violence against women, (S) police violence, (T) Danish
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
See also: (E) maintik, (E) maliek, (E) mamareso, (E) mamparatian, (E) mancenek, (E) mancigok, (E) manjanguak, (E) manonton, (E) sedih, (T) Indonesian