Cultural Semantics and Social Cognition

Levisen, Carsten

doi:10.1515/9783110294651

Cited by 77 publications

(25 citation statements)

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“…Malay †, Mbula †, Longgu, Samoan Goddard (2001aGoddard ( , 2001b, Bugenhagen (2001Bugenhagen ( , 2002, Hill (1994), Mosel (1994) Indo-European Spanish †, Danish †, French †, Polish †, Russian † Travis (2002Travis ( , 2004Travis ( , 2006, Levisen (2012), Peeters (2006Peeters ( , 2010, Wierzbicka (2002), Gladkova (2007Gladkova ( , 2010 Goddard (1991Goddard ( , 1994, Bromhead (2011a), Harkins & Wilkins (1994), Harkins (2001) Non-Pama-Nyungan (Australia)…”

Section: Language Family/type Language(s) Sources (Not Necessarily Exmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The term "key words" refers to particularly culture-rich and translation-resistant words that occupy focal points in cultural ways of thinking, acting, feeling, and speaking (Wierzbicka 1997). Examples from well described languages include: English fairness and mind, Russian duša (roughly "soul") and sud'ba (roughly "fate, destiny"), Japanese wa (roughly "harmony, unity") and omoiyari (roughly, "empathy"), Malay setia (roughly, "loyal") and hati (roughly "heart, mind"), Danish hygge (roughly "cosy sociality") and tryg (roughly, "security, safety") (Wierzbicka 1997(Wierzbicka , 2006Goddard 2001aGoddard , 2001bLevisen 2012). The concept of a cultural key word is a qualitative one and somewhat inexact in the sense that it is not always possible to draw a strict line between cultural key words, other culturally important words, less important but still culture-related words, and so on.…”

Section: 2mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2006;Goddard ed. 2008;Goddard 2011a;Ye 2007Ye , 2010Gladkova 2010;Bromhead 2009Bromhead , 2011aBromhead , 2011bWong 2005Wong , 2010Levisen 2012;and other works). See also: the NSM Homepage [http://www.griffith.edu.au/humanities-languages/school-languages-linguistics/research/natural-semantic-metalanguage-homepage/publications].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Semantic fieldwork and lexical universals

Goddard

Wierzbicka²

2014

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The main goal of paper is to show how NSM findings about lexical universals (semantic primes) can be applied to semantic analysis in little-described languages. It is argued that using lexical universals as a vocabulary for semantic analysis allows one to formulate meaning descriptions that are rigorous, cognitively authentic, maximally translatable, and free from Anglocentrism. A second goal is to shed light on methodological issues in semantic fieldwork by interrogating some controversial claims about the Dalabon and Pirahã languages. We argue that reductive paraphrase into lexical universals provides a practical procedure for arriving at coherent interpretations of unfamiliar lexical meanings. Other indigenous/endangered languages discussed include East Cree, Arrernte, Kayardild, Karuk, and Maori. We urge field linguists to take the NSM metalanguage, based on lexical universals, into the field with them, both as an aid to lexicogrammatical documentation and analysis and as a way to improve semantic communication with consultants.

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Section: Language Family/type Language(s) Sources (Not Necessarily Exmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: 2mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Semantic fieldwork and lexical universals

Goddard

Wierzbicka²

2014

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“…The Anglo-international discourse of 'the mind' is also in dire need of cross-linguistic confrontation. Not only does the Anglo English concept of 'the mind' not translate (directly) into European languages such as French, German, Danish, or Russian (Wierzbicka 1992(Wierzbicka , 2013Levisen 2012Levisen , 2014; recent studies in Japanese, Malay, Korean, and Thai personhood constructs have further questioned the Anglophone stronghold of 'the mind' (Hasada 2000;Goddard 2001Goddard , 2008Yoon 2006Yoon , 2008Svetanant 2013). 2 American English, Australian English, etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Trinidadian ‘Theory of Mind’

Levisen

Jogie

2015

IJoLC

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In this paper, we study the cultural semantics of the personhood constructmindin Trinidadian creole.We analyze the lexical semantics of the word and explore the wider cultural meanings of the concept in contrastive comparison with the Anglo concept. Our analysis demonstrates that the Anglo concept is a cognitively oriented construct with a semantic configuration based on ‘thinking’ and ‘knowing’, whereas the Trinidadianmindis a moral concept configured around perceptions of ‘good’ and ‘bad’. We further explore the Trinidadian moral discourse ofbad mindandgood mind, and articulate a set of cultural scripts for the cultural values linked with personhood in the Trinidadian context. Taking a postcolonial approach to the semantics of personhood, we critically engage with Anglo-international discourses ofthe mind, exposing the conceptual stranglehold of the colonial language (i.e., English) and its distorting semantic grip on global discourse. We argue that creole categories of values and personhood — such as the Trinidadian concept ofmind— provide a new venue for criticalmindstudies as well as for new studies in creole semantics and cultural diversity.

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“…See, for instance,Ameka and Breedveld (2004: 173),Peeters (2007: 90),Levisen (2012: 233), Ye (2017, andWierzbicka (2018: 29).…”

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confidence: 99%

The English ethnopsychological personhood construct mind deconstructed in universally intelligible words

Peeters¹

2019

CSLL

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The dominance of English as the international lingua franca has led to rampant Anglocentrism and the reification of concepts that are in fact culturespecific. One such concept, often thought to refer to a universal human "attribute," is the ethnopsychological personhood construct mind. In this paper, I argue that the best weapon to combat Anglocentrism is the English language itself-or rather, a metalanguage based on what English shares with all other languages of the world. That metalanguage, which has existed for some time, is known as the "Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM)". This 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.

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Cultural Semantics and Social Cognition

Cited by 77 publications

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Semantic fieldwork and lexical universals

Semantic fieldwork and lexical universals

The Trinidadian ‘Theory of Mind’

The English ethnopsychological personhood construct mind deconstructed in universally intelligible words

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Cultural Semantics and Social Cognition

Cited by 77 publications

References 0 publications

Semantic fieldwork and lexical universals

Semantic fieldwork and lexical universals

The Trinidadian ‘Theory of Mind’

The English ethnopsychological personhood construct mind deconstructed in universally intelligible words

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The English ethnopsychological personhood construct mind deconstructed in universally intelligible words