Semantics, Culture, and Cognition: Universal Human Concepts in Culture-Specific Configurations
Author(s): Anna Wierzbicka (Author)
- Publisher: Oxford University Press
- Publication Date: 10 Dec. 1992
- Language: English
- Print length: 498 pages
- ISBN-10: 0195073266
- ISBN-13: 9780195073263
Book Description
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 up 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 is accessible not only to scholars and students, but also to the general reader interested in semantics and the relationship between language and culture.
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Excellent cross-linguistic, cross-cultural penetration into how the mind works. Fascinating analysis of language as a mirror into the workings of the human soul."--Richard L. Wright, Howard University
"An excellent reader in semantics."--Harold Battersby, SUNY-Geneseo
"A strong contribution to today's emphasis on multicultural studies. I recommend it strongly to all students of language and culture."--Dr. Gil Clardy, East Texas State Univ.
"Semantics, Culture, and Cognition is a welcome addition to Wierzbicka's inexhaustible semantic explications."--Australian Journal of Linguistics
Review
"Excellent cross-linguistic, cross-cultural penetration into how the mind works. Fascinating analysis of language as a mirror into the workings of the human soul."--Richard L. Wright, Howard University
"An excellent reader in semantics."--Harold Battersby, SUNY-Geneseo
"A strong contribution to today's emphasis on multicultural studies. I recommend it strongly to all students of language and culture."--Dr. Gil Clardy, East Texas State Univ.
"Semantics, Culture, and Cognition is a welcome addition to Wierzbicka's inexhaustible semantic explications."--Australian Journal of Linguistics
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