Semantics, Culture, and Cognition: Universal Human Concepts in Culture-Specific Configurations

Not Everything That Can Be Said In One Language Can Be Said In Another. The Lexicons Of Different Languages Seem To Suggest Different Conceptual Universes. Investigating Cultures From A Universal, Language-independent Perspective, This Book Rejects Analytical Tools Derived From The English Language And Anglo-culture And Proposes Instead A Natural Semantic Metalanguage Formulated In English Words But Based On Lexical Universals. The Outcome Of Two And A Half Decades Of Research, The Metalanguage Is Made Of Universal Semantic Primitives In Terms Of Which All Meanings, Including The Most Culture-specific Ones, Can Be Described And Compared In A Precise And Illuminating Way. Integrating Insights From Linguistics, Cultural Anthropology, And Cognitive Psychology, And Written In Simple, Non-technical Language Semantics, Culture, And Cognition Isaccessible Not Only To Scholars And Students, But Also To The General Reader Interested In Semantics And The Relationship Between Language And Culture.--cover Page 4. [pt.] 1. Linguistic Evidence For Ethnopsychology And Ethnophilosophy. Soul, Mind, And Heart -- Fate And Destiny -- [pt.] 2. Emotions Across Cultures. Are Emotions Universal Or Culture-specific? -- Describing The Indescribable -- [pt.] 3. Moral Concepts Across Cultures. Apatheia, Smirenie, Humility -- Courage, Bravery, Recklessness -- [pt.] 4. Names And Titles. Personal Names And Expressive Derivation -- Titles And Other Forms Of Address -- [pt.] 5. Kinship Semantics. Lexical Universals And Psychological Reality -- 'alternate Generations' In Australian Aboriginal Languages -- [pt.] 6. Language As Mirror Of Culture And 'national Character.' Australian English -- The Russian Language. Anna Wierzbicka. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.