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(2019) Chinese (Cantonese) – Discourse particles

Wakefield, John C.; Lee, Hung Yuk (2019). The grammaticalization of indirect reports: The Cantonese discourse particle wo5. In Alessandro Capone, Manuel García-Carpintero, & Alessandra Falzone (Eds.), Indirect reports and pragmatics in the world languages (pp. 333-344). Cham: Springer.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78771-8_16

Abstract:

This paper proposes a definition for the Cantonese sentence-final discourse particle wo5, which marks the proposition contained within a clause as an indirect report that does not belong to the speaker. The methodology for defining wo5 is based on NSM theory and draws on a general model for the investigation of discourse markers, the goal of which is to come up with a formula that would make sense in all the contexts in which the discourse particle can occur, and that could also explain why in some contexts it cannot be used at all. The proposed definition we propose is discussed in light of what other authors have said about wo5, and is tested against a number of examples within which wo5 can and cannot appear.

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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

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(2006) German, Polish – Cultural scripts

Deka, Sebastian (2006). O metodzie wyodrębniania skryptów kulturowych i kilku skryptach niemieckich i polskich [About the method of extracting cultural scripts, with several German and Polish scripts]. Oblicza Komunikacji, 1, 164–179.

More information:

Written in Polish.

(2019) Reported speech

Goddard, Cliff, & Wierzbicka, Anna (2019). Reported speech as a pivotal human phenomenon: Commentary on Spronck and Nikitina. Linguistic Typology, 23(1), 167-175.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/lingty-2019-0006

Abstract:

The authors take issue with the target paper on a number of theoretical and methodological matters. The most significant of these is the need to de-Anglicize linguistic terminology. The use of complex, poorly-defined, English-bound terms, including technical terms such as semiotic, ‘demonstratedness’, epistemic, modality, and representation, as well as ordinary, but equally English-bound, words such as report(ed), message, discourse, and utterance is unnecessary. Instead, people’s speech practices should be described in terms that are accessible to the people concerned.

Rather than trying to bring everything that may be counted as “reported speech” under a single, extremely abstract characterization, the authors favour an approach that analyses these diverse constructions one at a time, so to speak, linking them all to the prototypical direct speech construction in a family resemblance fashion. To make this more concrete, they briefly analyse the Yankunytjatjara quotative particle kunyu and the English say that… construction.

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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

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(2018) Cultural key words, cultural scripts, Minimal English

Gladkova, Anna, & Larina, Tatiana (2018). Anna Wierzbicka, language, culture and communication. Russian Journal of Linguistics, 22(4), 717-748.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22363/2312-9182-2018-22-4-717-748 / Open access

Abstract:

This introduction to the second part of a special issue of the Russian Journal of Linguistics marking Anna Wierzbicka’s 80th birthday focuses on her research in the area of language and culture. It surveys some of the fundamental concepts of Wierzbicka’s research program in cultural semantics and ethnopragmatics, in particular cultural key words and cultural scripts, both of which she unpacks using the universal human concepts of NSM. The article also discusses the concept of Minimal Language as a recent development in the NSM program and presents associated research in a variety of fields.

More information:

Simultaneously published in English and Russian. The Russian version follows the English one.

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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

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(2016) Indonesian – Physical qualities

Erinita, Dwi Agus (2016). Analisis ranah rasa dengan pendekatan Natural Semantic Metalanguage [An analysis of the domain of taste using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach]. Sirok Bastra, 4(2), 129-136.

DOI: 10.26499/sb.v4i2.82 / Open access

Abstract:

This paper analyses the lexical domain related to the human sense of taste, with special reference to Indonesian. It is shown that, in Indonesian, apart from the four main tastes (corresponding to the English words sweet, sour, salty, and bitter), there are several more tastes, including two words for ‘spicy’, another word reminiscent of ‘bitter’, and furthermore words for ‘savory’, ‘bland’ and ‘tasteless’. All can be explicated with reference to ingredients, fruit, and other food items, i.e. categories that are present in nature and daily life.

More information:

Written in Indonesian.

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

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(2019) English – Ethnopsychology and personhood

Peeters, Bert (2019). The English ethnopsychological personhood construct mind “deconstructed” in universally intelligible words. Critical studies in languages and literature, 1(1), 61-77.

Open access

Abstract:

The dominance of English as the international lingua franca has led to rampant Anglocentrism and the reification of concepts that are in fact culture-specific. One such concept, often thought to refer to a universal human ‘attribute’, is the ethnopsychological personhood construct mind. This paper argues that the best weapon to combat Anglocentrism is the English language itself — or rather, a metalanguage such as NSM based on what English shares with all other languages of the world. The paper shows how far NSM practitioners have come in their efforts to demonstrate that the word mind is a cultural construct that has nothing universal about it and that cannot be used to define the ethnopsychological personhood constructs of other languages. Instead, it is just as culture-specific as any other ethnopsychological personhood construct and does not deserve any special status.

More information:

This paper builds on:

Peeters, Bert (2019). Delving into heart- and soul-like constructs: Describing EPCs in NSM. In Bert Peeters (Ed.), Heart- and soul-like constructs across languages, cultures, and epochs (pp. 1-29). New York: Routledge.

The DOIs quoted on the journal’s web site and in the PDF are incorrect [20 June 2019].

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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

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(2019) Akan – Interjections

Thompson, Rachel (2019). Tweaa! – A Ghanaian interjection of “contempt” in online political comments. Ampersand, 6.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amper.2019.100047 / Open access

Abstract:

This study examines the use of tweaa [tɕʏɪaa], an Akan emotive interjection that expresses contempt for a person, in the Corpus of GhanaWeb Comments in Ghana’s 2016 Election (CGCGE16). CGCGE16 comprises reader comments posted in the build-up to Ghana’s presidential elections in December 2016 on www.ghanaweb.com, a news website that guarantees freedom of speech and ensures citizen participation in online sociopolitical discussions. The study employs NSM to unpack the meaning of tweaa and give a fuller understanding of its rhetorical power in online political discourse. It points out that tweaa is derogatory and expresses lack of respect for the user’s target, thus, according to traditional Ghanaian values, its use is unacceptable, especially during asymmetrical interactions. Citizens, however, hide behind the shield of anonymity guaranteed by online platforms, and their ability to circumvent traditional gatekeepers of acceptable speech forms during online discourse, and freely use tweaa to vent their feelings against authority figures.

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

See also: ,

(2018) Polish, Portuguese – HOME

Bułat Silva, Zuzanna (2018). The concept of HOME in Polish and Portuguese — distant cultures, similar concepts. Studia Linguistica [Wrocław], 37, 7-23.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.19195/0137-1169.37.1 / Open access

Abstract:

The aim of the present paper is to investigate the concept of HOME in Polish and Portuguese language and culture. The methodology that suits this purpose best and allows to compare words from different languages without an ethnocentric bias is the NSM approach. On the basis of lexical and textual data, the meaning of Polish dom is explicated and compared with its Portuguese equivalent, casa. Despite differences in the way public and private space are treated in Polish and Portuguese cultures, the notions of HOME in these two languages have many things in common: both dom and casa are multidimensional concepts referring not only to ‘people living together in a place’ but they are also related to emotions such as love, tenderness and homesickness, and to feelings of security and warmth.

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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

See also: ,

(2019) What Christians believe [BOOK]

Wierzbicka, Anna (2019). What Christians believe: The story of God and people in minimal English. New York: Oxford University Press.

Abstract:

Many people today, both Christians and non-Christians, are confused about or unaware of the essentials of Christian faith. In this book, Anna Wierzbicka takes a radically new approach to the task of communicating “what Christians believe” to the widest possible audience. “The Story of God and People”, the heart of the book, sets out the core tenets of Christian faith in narrative form using simple language that is accessible to anyone, even those with no familiarity with Christianity or Christian vocabulary. The Story is not only simple but also universal: though written in English, it is not phrased in full English — English as we know it today, shaped by history, culture, and tradition — but in “Minimal English”. Minimal English contains only those 400 or so English words that can be translated into any other language; essentially, it corresponds to the shared core of all languages.

In the introduction to the book, Wierzbicka explains Minimal English and minimal languages in general, and in “The Story of God and People” that follows, she demonstrates the effectiveness of Minimal English as a tool for global understanding. At the same time, the use of Minimal English allows her not only to retell the Christian story in a strikingly new way, but also to rethink its meaning, bringing into relief its internal cohesion, logic and beauty.

Table of contents:

I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

  1. Who are ‘Christians’?
  2. God and cross-cultural communication
  3. God and language
  4. Minimal English

II. THE STORY OF GOD AND PEOPLE

III. BRIEF COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAPTERS OF PART II

APPENDICES

  1. On the word “forgiveness”
  2. On the word “love”
  3. On the word hilastērion

Additional resources:

Anna Wierzbicka – Speech given at the launch of What Christians Believe, 16 May 2019

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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

(2019) English – Cultural values

Wong, Jock (2019). Respecting other people’s boundaries: A quintessentially Anglo cultural value. In Alessandro Capone, Marco Carapezza, & Franco Lo Piparo (Eds.), Further advances in pragmatics and philosophy: Vol. 2. Theories and applications (pp. 449-467). Cham: Springer.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00973-1_25

Abstract:

A challenge that culturally non-Anglo speakers of English face is that of understanding what respecting boundaries, an Anglo cultural value, is about. This cultural value is unfamiliar to many cultures, especially so-called ‘group-orientation’ or ‘collectivist’ cultures. This means that even if culturally non-Anglo speakers of English have a good mastery of English grammar, they may not be able to connect with culturally Anglo people if they do not respect boundaries. Understanding what respecting people’s boundaries is about can also help cultural outsiders understand related Anglo values such as personal rights and personal autonomy.

This paper explores what respecting boundaries means to culturally Anglo speakers of English and what its cultural implications are. Meanings and cultural values are represented by semantic explications and cultural scripts. For the purposes of writing semantic explications and cultural scripts, Minimal English is used. The paper has implications for intercultural communication, cultural adaptation and language pedagogy.

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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

See also: , , ,

(2019) Chinese (Cantonese, Hong Kong) – Ethnopragmatics

Wong, Jock, & Liu, Congyi (2019). Two ways of saying ‘thank you’ in Hong Kong Cantonese: m-goi vs. do-ze. In Alessandro Capone, Marco Carapezza, & Franco Lo Piparo (Eds.), Further advances in pragmatics and philosophy: Vol. 2. Theories and applications (pp. 435-447). Cham: Springer.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00973-1_24

Abstract:

While in English there is only one main way of thanking someone, using the phrase thank you or one of its variants (e.g. thanks, ta), in Hong Kong Cantonese there are two phrases, 唔該 m4-goi1 and 多謝 do1-ze6, both of which could be translated in English as thank you. Whereas in some instances it is clear which one of the two Hong Kong Cantonese phrases one should use, in other situations both could be used. This suggests that the two Hong Kong Cantonese phrases have different meanings and that learners of Hong Kong Cantonese could be confused. However, the meanings of and differences in meaning between the two phrases have hitherto not been articulated with any degree of clarity, making it rather difficult for learners of Hong Kong Cantonese to understand precisely how they are used in native Hong Kong Cantonese culture. The objective of this paper is thus to articulate the meaning of each of these two phrases using a maximally clear and minimally ethnocentric metalanguage (NSM).

Rating:


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

See also: , , ,

(2019) Old Norse-Icelandic – Ethnopsychology and personhood

Mackenzie, Colin (2019). Exploring Old Norse-Icelandic personhood constructs with the Natural Semantic Metalanguage. In Bert Peeters (Ed.), Heart- and soul-like constructs across languages, cultures, and epochs (pp. 116-145). New York: Routledge.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315180670-5

Abstract:

Old Norse-Icelandic is the only early medieval language to contain lengthy vernacular accounts of the mythology and pre-Christian practices obliquely evidenced in other Germanic languages. Because of this, Old Norse-Icelandic evidence has been used to reconstruct the nature of the ancestral Germanic psychological system and to inform interpretations of personhood constructs in other Germanic languages, whose surviving literatures are far more Christianized. Old Norse-Icelandic material has also been approached from the standpoint of circumpolar shamanistic beliefs; it has been argued that some features of Germanic psychology are the product of early contact with these circumpolar traditions.

This chapter presents a semantic explication of hugr, the principal personhood construct in Old Norse-Icelandic, and is based on linguistic constructions used in Old Norse-Icelandic texts. The explication is framed in NSM to facilitate comparisons with personhood constructs in contemporary languages and cultures, free from the obfuscating terminology of present-day English. It is shown that hugr has less in common with circumpolar personhood constructs than proponents of Old Norse-Icelandic shamanism advocate and that it differs in a number of ways from its Old English analogue mōd.

Rating:


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

See also: , , , , ,

(2019) Thai – Ethnopsychology and personhood

Svetanant, Chavalin (2019). Tracing the Thai ‘heart’: The semantics of a Thai ethnopsychological construct. In Bert Peeters (Ed.), Heart- and soul-like constructs across languages, cultures, and epochs (pp. 82-115). New York: Routledge.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315180670-4

Abstract:

This chapter sheds light on the semantic journey of chai ใจ, a key cultural concept in Thai culture. Chai is a person’s innermost secret part, linked to the body, with a dynamic capacity to move around and change its shape, size, colour, and even temperature, depending on the circumstances.

The chapter surveys the lexical meaning and multiple ways in which chai is used in contemporary Thai, then takes a historical turn to examine the semantic development of the word from its earliest attested uses to the present day, relying on data from a wide range of classical and contemporary sources. The analysis reveals that the primary conceptuality of the personhood construct embedded in the word chai ใจ has remained relatively stable since its first appearance in the 13th century, when it was used to refer to a person’s disposition, representing a ‘locus’ where psychological activity occurs. The literary data in the later periods demonstrates massive growth in cognitive and cultural salience with its occurrence in a steadily increasing number of metaphorical expressions and idioms. The chapter concludes with the explication of the modern folk concept of chai ใจ, using English and Thai NSM to avoid cultural bias.

Rating:


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

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(2019) Longgu – Ethnopsychology and personhood

Hill, Deborah (2019). Longgu: Conceptualizing the human person from the inside out. In Bert Peeters (Ed.), Heart- and soul-like constructs across languages, cultures, and epochs (pp. 58-81). New York: Routledge.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315180670-3

Abstract:

The Longgu people (Solomon Islands) conceptualize the human person as consisting of two parts, suli (‘body’) and anoa (roughly, ‘spirit’). Understanding the concept of anoa requires an understanding of other concepts, including agalo ‘ancestor spirit’ and Marapa, the place of ancestor spirits. This chapter discusses and explicates these culture-specific terms in Minimal English. The author argues that the conceptualization of the human person in Longgu can be described as seeing a human person ‘from the inside out’: rather than conceptualizing the human person as something visible (a body), with something invisible inside, Longgu people think in terms of what is inside (a ‘spirit’), and then as what can be seen on the outside (a body).

Rating:


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

See also: , , ,

(2019) Japanese – Ethnopsychology and personhood

Asano-Cavanagh, Yuko (2019). Inochi and tamashii: Incursions into Japanese ethnopsychology. In Bert Peeters (Ed.), Heart- and soul-like constructs across languages, cultures, and epochs (pp. 30-57). New York: Routledge.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315180670-2

Abstract:

Japanese has several personhood terms that lack equivalents in other languages. Two such terms are inochi and tamashii, neither of which has been investigated. In English, inochi is usually translated as life. However, this poses significant issues since the modern English word life is polysemous. Many of its meanings cannot be translated into Japanese by means of the word inochi, which has its own and contextually different meanings. Similarly, tamashii is often translated as soul but this term also has multiple interpretations in the source language.

This chapter explores the meaning of inochi and tamashii using NSM. The results of the analysis indicate a core component of inochi is ‘this something can be a part of someone one time, not many times’. The results also show that a fundamental meaning of tamashii is ‘this something can be a part of someone many times’ and ‘this something cannot die’.

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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

See also: , ,

(2019) Ethnopsychology and personhood

Peeters, Bert (2019). Delving into heart- and soul-like constructs: Describing EPCs in NSM. In Bert Peeters (Ed.), Heart- and soul-like constructs across languages, cultures, and epochs (pp. 1-29). New York: Routledge.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315180670-1

Abstract:

This introduction to a collection of four thematically related studies addresses the perennial problem of Anglocentrism and reification in scholarly discourse, where English continues to set the tone and its constructs continue to be used as yardsticks in the description of cultural diversity, thereby elevating the English language to a status it does not deserve, no matter how important it may be on a world scale. Use of NSM is put forward as a way out of the problem. In addition, to illustrate the idea that “every explication is an experiment”, the author reconstructs the various stages that explications of the English ethnopsychological personhood construct mind have gone through since the first attempt was made in the late 1980s.

More information:

A more recent publication building on this one is:

Peeters, Bert (2019). The English ethnopsychological personhood construct mind “deconstructed” in universally intelligible words. Critical studies in languages and literature, 1(1), 61-77.

Rating:


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

See also: , , ,

(2019) Heart- and soul-like constructs across languages, cultures, and epochs [BOOK]

Peeters, Bert (Ed.) (2019). Heart- and soul-like constructs across languages, cultures, and epochs. New York: Routledge.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315180670

Abstract:

All languages and cultures appear to have one or more ‘mind-like’ constructs that supplement the human body. Linguistic evidence suggests they all have a word for someone, and another word for body, but that does not mean that whatever else makes up a human being (i.e. someone) apart from the body is the same everywhere. Nonetheless, the (Anglo) mind is often reified and thought of in universal terms. This volume adds to the literature that denounces such reification. It looks at Japanese, Longgu (an Oceanic language), Thai, and Old Norse-Icelandic, spelling out, in NSM, how the ‘mind-like’ constructs in these languages differ from the Anglo mind.

Table of contents:

  1. Delving into heart- and soul-like constructs: Describing EPCs in NSM (Bert Peeters)
  2. Inochi and tamashii: Incursions into Japanese ethnopsychology (Yuko Asano-Cavanagh)
  3. Longgu: Conceptualizing the human person from the inside out (Deborah Hill)
  4. Tracing the Thai ‘heart’: The semantics of a Thai ethnopsychological construct (Chavalin Svetanant)
  5. Exploring Old Norse-Icelandic personhood constructs with the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (Colin Mackenzie)

Each chapter has its own entry, where additional information is provided.

Reviewed by:

Marini, Maria Giulia (2019). thepolyphony.org

Rating:


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

(2005) Quest for meaning

Goddard, Cliff (2005). The quest for meaning… Communication, culture and cognition. Armidale: University of New England (inaugural public lecture).


Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

(2020) Mental states

Goddard, Cliff (2020). Overcoming the linguistic challenges for ethno-epistemology: NSM perspectives. In Masaharu Mizumoto, Jonardon Ganeri and Cliff Goddard (Eds.), Ethno-epistemology: New directions for global epistemology (pp. 130-153). New York: Routledge.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003037774-7

Abstract:

Scholars working in ethno-epistemology need to tread carefully in how they formulate their discussions in order to circumvent or minimize several dangers, such as conceptual imposition from English or other home languages, relying too heavily on some semantic subtlety peculiar to their own language, and misinterpreting unfamiliar patterns of polysemy or metaphor in another language. The NSM approach to meaning offers a well developed framework for overcoming these dangers. Based on a decades-long program of conceptual analysis and cross-linguistic empirical research, NSM is the only comprehensive approach to meaning that confronts the challenges of Anglocentrism and Eurocentrism head on, by seeking to base its representations on simple words with equivalents in all languages. It offers the prospect of authentically modelling the thoughts and meanings of ordinary native speakers, insofar as it uses non-technical words that are accessible to speakers in their own language. It also provides procedures for dealing with ambiguity and vagueness of words, including how to distinguish lexical polysemy (distinct-yet-related meanings) from semantic generality. This presentation overviews the NSM program, summarizing the research base behind it and exemplifying its key concepts and methods with examples relevant to ethno-epistemology. The paper contends that the NSM program can provide a metalanguage for ethno-epistemology.

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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners