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(1994) Kalam – NSM primes

Pawley, Andrew (1994). Kalam exponents of lexical and semantic primitives. In Cliff Goddard, & Anna Wierzbicka (Eds.), Semantic and lexical universals: Theory and empirical findings (pp. 387-422). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI: 10.1075/slcs.25.19paw

For most of the proposed primitives it is not hard to find one or more Kalam equivalents. Most concepts on the list of primitives have one or more translation equivalents. However, there are a few problematic cases, namely those in which: (a) Kalam has two partial equivalents (WANT); (b) Kalam has a translation equivalent but this term has a more general meaning which subsumes the putative primitive (‘mental predicates’, especially KNOW, FEEL, and SAY; IF). The question arises in these cases whether the general meaning is properly analysed into a number of distinct senses, one of which coincides with the primitive, or whether it is better left unanalysed with specific interpretations determined by pragmatic factors.


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

(2006) English, Japanese – ‘Tear’

Otomo, Asako, & Torii, Akiko (2006). An NSM approach to the meaning of tear and its Japanese equivalents. In Keith Allan (Ed.), Selected Papers from the 2005 Conference of the Australian Linguistic Society. http://www.als.asn.au/proceedings/als2005.html. PDF (open access)

This paper undertakes a contrastive analysis of verbs relating to the action of ‘tearing’ in English and Japanese; it employs the framework of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (hereafter, NSM) developed by Anna Wierzbicka and her colleagues.

Generally speaking, there is no exact semantic correspondence between the verbs of different languages. This holds true for verbs relating to the action of ‘tearing’ in English and Japanese. Tear has more than one rough equivalent in Japanese: saku, chigiru and yaburu all mean ‘tear’, but they differ in some respects. The Japanese verbs exhibit a more specialised meaning than English tear, in that they vary in object, manner, and projected result. This paper will demonstrate the difference in cognitive structure between these verbs.

We will use NSM to fully explicate the meanings of these words and to reveal the shared semantic structures and distinctive aspects of each verb under investigation. The NSM methodology, based on semantic primes and a grammar of combinability, enables us to explicate language-specific concepts in a precise manner, while at the same time remaining free of ethno-cultural and/or linguistic bias.
This analysis provides evidence that as far as the concept of ‘tearing’ is concerned, Japanese and English cause their respective speakers to develop and use language-specific cognitive structures.

(1990) English – Emotions

Osmond, Meredith (1990). Unravelling the meaning of English emotion terms: Evidence from syntax. MA thesis, Australian National University. PDF (open access)

This thesis examines the meaning of various English terms of emotion , and attempts to show that aspects of their meaning can be related to their syntactic behaviour.


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

See also: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

(1997) English – Prepositions in emotion construal

Osmond, Meredith (1997). The prepositions we use in the construal of emotion: Why do we say fed up with but sick and tired of? In Susanne Niemeier, & René Dirven (Eds.), The language of emotions: Conceptualization, expression, and theoretical foundation (pp. 111-133). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI: 10.1075/z.85.09osm

On the basis of my findings I submit that the prepositions used in the construction X is adj./past part. ___ Y are indeed meaningful. The eight prepositions represent eight ways of construing a situation in which an emotion is related to its appraised object. The conditions under which combinations of emotion term, preposition, and following nominal are predictable, are conceptual, not structural.

While there is some NSM in this paper, it does not contain any fully developed explications.


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

(1994) Japanese – NSM primes

Onishi, Masayuki (1994). Semantic primitives in Japanese. In Cliff Goddard, & Anna Wierzbicka (Eds.), Semantic and lexical universals: Theory and empirical findings (pp. 361-386). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI: 10.1075/slcs.25.18oni

It is said that, in Japanese, a clear stylistic difference between male and female speakers is observed. Usually, lexeme choice and use of certain discourse devices are considered to be the symptoms of that difference. However, recent literature seems to suggest that at least some of the ‘gender-specific’ features can be analysed simply in terms of general conversational constraints, which reflect the power relationship of speakers in Japanese society. This issue is crucially important in the discourse of NSM mini-sentences and the choice of Japanese exponents for certain primitives sensitive to pragmatic contexts – notably I and YOU, but also many others. A somewhat neutralized version of the so-called male familiar style is used as the basic style of the mini-sentences, with plain forms of predicates and no sentence-final particles. In general, lexemes felicitously used in this style are chosen as the exponents of the primitives. Throughout this paper, the language of mini-sentences used for the identification of the Japanese exponents of the primitives is based on the Tokyo uptown dialect.


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

(1997) Japanese – NSM syntax (mental predicates)

Onishi, Masayuki (1997). The grammar of mental predicates in Japanese. Language Sciences, 19(3), 219-233. DOI: 10.1016/S0388-0001(96)00061-7

The current NSM theory regards six mental predicates – THINK, KNOW, WANT, SEE, HEAR and FEEL – as indefinable semantic universals. This paper examines the syntax of their Japanese exponents (omou, sit-te iru, -tai/hosii, miru, kiku and kimoti). Special attention is paid to the syntax and semantics of major complementation types (S no, S koto and S to) found with the majority of these predicates. It is shown that each primitive predicate has a specific set of syntactic frames in which the primitive meaning is expressed, and that the extended meanings that may be expressed in other syntactic environments are specifiable by reductive paraphrase explications.


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

(2003) English – Emotions (pain, suffering)

Nicholls, Sophie (2003). The semantics of pain and suffering. BA(Hons) thesis, University of New England.

What exactly do we mean when we say ‘it hurts’, complain of ‘aches and pains’, or speak of ‘suffering’ and ‘agony’? Despite their importance to physiology and to philosophy, surprisingly little lexical semantic analysis has been done on the English “lexicon of pain”. Common problems in defining these terms include: the negotiation of any division between ‘emotional’ and ‘physical’ pain, and also the creation of a hermeneutical cycle by defining ‘pain’ concepts in terms of each other. It is also clear that “pain-like” concepts differ significantly across languages, but to study cross-linguistic variation with precision, we first need clear and precise definitions of the English terms.

My aim is to present and justify explications for English word pain and a set of fourteen related words , ache, sore, hurt, suffering, agony, sharp pain, shooting pain, burning pain, stinging pain, twinge of pain, headache, toothache, stomachache, and earache. I will do this working within the Natural Semantic Metalanguage framework developed by Anna Wierzbicka and colleagues. For each of these terms I will examine current definitions and etymology, and I will present examples of usage and discussion of each proposed explication. The discussion will be used to compare semantic components of the explications, and to clearly expound the meanings and functions of these words.

(2013) Roper Kriol – Social cognition and social interaction

Nicholls, Sophie (2013). Cultural scripts, social cognition and social interaction in Roper Kriol. Australian Journal of Linguistics, 33(3), 282-301. DOI: 10.1080/07268602.2013.846456

Interactional style is an under-researched area in the study of Australian Aboriginal languages, yet it is profoundly important in negotiating access to everyday services, such as medical, legal and educational resources. This paper investigates speech routines relevant to person reference and information exchange in Roper Kriol, an Aboriginal creole language spoken in the Northern Territory of Australia. It includes evidence that at least some aspects of pragmatic style in this creole are the result of a continuity of discourse practices from the substrate languages. The data used in this research include recordings from conversations and public meetings, as well as consultation with community Elders. The conclusions are summarized in cultural script style. That is, they are written into stylized frames using simple, easily translatable words to maximize access to an insider perspective, and avoid the pitfalls of Anglocentric terms such as ‘kinship’, ‘information exchange’ and ‘person reference’.

 

(1997) Biblical Hebrew – Emotion words

Myhill, John (1997). What is universal and what is language-specific in emotion words: Evidence from Biblical Hebrew. Pragmatics and Cognition, 5(1), 79-129. DOI: 10.1075/pc.5.1.07myh

This paper proposes a model for the analysis of emotions in which each emotion word in each language is made up of a universal component and a language-specific component; the universal component is drawn from a set of universal human emotions which underlie all emotion words in all languages, and the language-specific component involves a language-particular thought pattern which is expressed as part of the meanings of a variety of different words in the language. The meanings of a variety of emotion words of Biblical Hebrew are discussed and compared with the meanings of English words with the same general meaning; it is shown that a number of the Biblical Hebrew words (though by no means all) directly represent the biblical conception of God and the role of God combined with one or another of the proposed universal emotions.


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

See also: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

(2013) Javanese – Traditional values

Murtisari, Elisabet Titik (2013). Some traditional Javanese values in NSM: From God to social interaction. International Journal of Indonesian Studies, 1, 110-125. PDF (open access)

This paper examines a number of central traditional Javanese values in social interaction and explicates some of them into cultural scripts using the Natural Semantics Metalanguage (NSM). It is shown how intricate Javanese notions, such as narimo ‘accepting’ and ethok-ethok ‘dissimulation’, may be effectively described using simple vocabulary without lacking in rigour, which can be very helpful for outsiders to understand more about Javanese culture.

Note: Murtisari’s explication of ethok-ethok is offered as an improvement on an explication of the same term by Wierzbicka, who spells it as éṭok-éṭok.


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

See also: , , , , , , , ,

(2011) English (Australia), French – Opinions

Mullan, Kerry (2011). Expressing opinions in French and Australian English discourse: A semantic and interactional analysis. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI: 10.1075/pbns.200

Based on the analysis of conversations between French and Australian English speakers discussing various topics, including their experiences as non-native speakers in France or Australia, this book combines subjective personal testimonies with an objective linguistic analysis of the expression of opinion in discourse.

It offers a new perspective on French and Australian English interactional style by examining the discourse markers I think, je pense, je crois and je trouve. It is shown that the prosody, intonation unit position, and the surrounding context of these markers are all fundamental to their function and meaning in interaction. In addition, this book offers the first detailed comparative semantic study of the three comparative French expressions in interaction.

The book will appeal to all those interested in linguistics, French and Australian English interactional style, cross-cultural communication, and discourse analysis. Students and teachers of French will be interested in the semantic analysis of the French expressions, the authentic interactional data and the personal testimonies of the participants.

(1996) Russian – Spatial metaphor

Mostovaia, Anna D. (1996). Spatial metaphor in grammar: Studies in semantics of selected Russian constructions. PhD thesis, Australian National University. PDF (open access)

The present study investigates how the abstract meanings of prepositional phrases, often treated as metaphorically motivated, can be accurately described. The semantics of a number of Russian constructions with the preposition в v ‘in, into’ is considered. The constructions fall into the following categories: (1) constructions where a noun after в v refers to a person’s internal state or an emotion; (2) constructions where a noun after в v refers to a category of property transfer (such as a gift or a reward); (3) constructions where a noun after в v refers to a social role (such as a teacher). For each construction, a number of semantic constraints (additional to the general semantic categories of emotions, transfers and roles) on nouns that can be used after в v ‘in, into’ are described, and a semantic formula in the Natural Semantic Metalanguage corresponding to the meaning of the given construction is proposed. A possible metaphorical motivation for each of the described semantic constraints is also discussed.


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

(1997) Russian – Social roles

Mostovaja, Anna D. (1997). *Social roles as containers in Russian. International Journal of Slavic Linguistics and Poetics, 41, 119-141.

(1998) Russian – Emotions (prepositional constructions)

Mostovaja, Anna D. (1998). On emotions that one can “immerse into”, “fall into” and “come to”: The semantics of a few Russian prepositional constructions. In Angeliki Athanasiadou, & Elzbieta Tabakowska (Eds.), Speaking of emotions: Conceptualisation and expression (pp. 295-330). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI: 10.1515/9783110806007.295

This paper examines the projection of a few spatial relations such as ‘an object being immersed in a deep container’, ‘a person coming to a place’ and ‘an object located in a place’ into the domain of emotions. In this paper I will attempt to describe what kinds of words referring to emotions and inner states can be treated as containers for those experiencing them in four Russian constructions with the preposition
V ‘in/into’ and different verbs. We will see that although all of these constructions present an emotion experienced by a person as if it were a container or a place, semantic constraints on X are different for
each of the four constructions. Differences in semantic constraints associated with the constructions are caused by differences in meaning between verbs used in the constructions.

(1994) Samoan – NSM primes

Mosel, Ulrike (1994). Samoan. In Cliff Goddard, & Anna Wierzbicka (Eds.), Semantic and lexical universals: Theory and empirical findings (pp. 331-360). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI: 10.1075/slcs.25.17mos

Samoan data suggest that any classification of lexical universals into categories similar to word classes such as substantives and determiners may be problematic. A further problem is that the proposed canonical contexts cannot always be easily translated into idiomatic Samoan. In some cases all proposed lexical universals of a given canonical context have exponents in Samoan, but they are not combined to render the meaning of the canonical context in question.

(1997) English – T. S. Eliot

Mooney, Annabella (1997). Poetic primitives: An NSM analysis of the poetry of T. S. Eliot. Master’s thesis, Australian National University.


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

(2011) Courtroom communication

McCaul, Kim (2011). Understanding courtroom communication through cultural scripts. In Le Cheng, & Anne Wagner (Eds.), Exploring courtroom discourse: The language of power and control (pp. 11-28). Farnham: Ashgate.

In this chapter I explore courtroom communication and its origin in legal culture, explicitly avoiding the kind of value judgments that some linguists arrive at when analyzing the seemingly asocial use that barristers often make of language. Instead, I intend to show how such language usage arises naturally from the culture of the law, and highlight a number of usually unstated premises that underpin courtroom communication. In particular, I will explore how the relationship between barrister and witness is determined by the culture of advocacy.

I will use a tool from cross-cultural linguistics called the “cultural script,” which not only helps to develop succinct synopses of those premises, but could also provide a method by which they can be explained to lay people entering the courtroom, including L2 speakers of English and non-English speakers.

(2013) Historical English – NSM primes: TOUCH

Mateo Mendaza, Raquel (2013). The Old English exponent for the semantic prime TOUCH: Descriptive and methodological questions. Australian Journal of Linguistics, 33(4), 449-466. DOI: 10.1080/07268602.2013.857574

The aim of the article is to identify the exponent for the semantic prime TOUCH in Old English. Therefore, this research contributes to the frame of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage Research Programme (NSMRP) by applying it to the study of a historical language. Throughout such an application several descriptive and methodological questions arise. On the descriptive side, it is necessary to propose a cluster of semantic, morphological, textual and syntactic criteria that allow for the identification of the prime at stake, given that the nature of the object of study is not compatible with the translation into the native language generally adopted by the NSMRP. The analysis focuses on the category actions, events, movement and contact, and relies on data retrieved from the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, the Dictionary of Old English Corpus and the lexical database of Old English Nerthus. Although the cluster of criteria evinces a clear candidate for semantic prime it also raises the methodological issue of the distinction between the semantic prime and the hyperonym because some of the criteria used in the search for the former also play a role in the process of identification of the latter. The conclusion is reached that the verb hrīnan is the main exponent for the semantic prime TOUCH in Old English because it satisfies the criteria of meaning, word-formation, textual frequency and syntactic complementation.

 

(2016) Historical English – NSM primes: HAPPEN

Mateo Mendaza, Raquel (2016). The search for Old English semantic primes: The case of HAPPEN. Nordic Journal of English Studies, 15(1), 71-99. PDF (open access).

This journal article aims at contributing to the research line of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage Research Programme by identifying the Old English exponent for the semantic prime HAPPEN. This study applies four different criteria, namely, the morphological, textual, semantic and syntactic one, in order to select the most suitable candidate for prime exponent. The analysis is based on both lexicographical and textual sources. Conclusions are reached on both the descriptive and the methodological side.