Thinking across languages and cultures: Six dimensions of variation

This article surveys cross-linguistic variation in ways of talking about ‘thinking’. It begins by summarizing research indicating that there is a universal semantic prime THINK which can provide a stable reference point for cross-linguistic comparison. Six different dimensions of variability are then canvassed: different patterns of lexical polysemy, different degrees and modes of lexical elaboration, different ethnotheories of the person, different ways in which think-related messages can be encoded morphosyntactically, different cultural scripts which may encourage or discourage particular ways of thinking, and differing patterns of usage in discourse. The article is framed within the natural semantic metalanguage theory.

[1]  Janet Barnes.  Evidentials in the Tuyuca Verb , 1984, International Journal of American Linguistics.

[2]  N. J. Enfield,et al.  Combinatoric properties of natural semantic metalanguage expressions in Lao , 2002 .

[3]  N. J. Enfield,et al.  Ethnosyntax: Explorations in Grammar and Culture , 2002 .

[4]  R. D'Andrade.  A Cognitivist’s View of the Units Debate in Cultural Anthropology , 2001 .

[5]  Andrew Pawley,et al.  15 Kalam Exponents of Lexical and Semantic Primitives , 1994 .

[6]  Eve Sweetser,et al.  From Etymology to Pragmatics: Preface , 1990 .

[7]  Felix K. Ameka,et al.  The grammatical packaging of experiencers in ewe: A study in the semantics of syntax , 1990 .

[8]  Zhengdao Ye.  Different modes of describing emotions in Chinese: Bodily changes, sensations and bodily images , 2002 .

[9]  Anthony V.N. Diller,et al.  “Full hearts” & empty Pronominals in Thai , 1990 .

[10]  G. Persson.  Think in a panchronic perspective , 1993 .

[11]  G. Cinque.  Adverbs and Functional Heads: A Cross-Linguistic Perspective , 1999 .

[12]  F. Palmer,et al.  Mood and modality , 1986 .

[13]  Jean Harkins,et al.  Introduction [to Emotions in Cross Linguistic Perspective] , 2001 .

[14]  C. Goddard,et al.  BAD ARGUMENTS AGAINST SEMANTIC PRIMITIVES , 1998 .

[15]  Cliff Goddard,et al.  Cultural values and ‘cultural scripts’ of Malay (Bahasa Melayu)☆ , 1997 .

[16]  В.А. Плунгян,et al.  Рец. на кн.: Goddard, Cliff; Wierzbicka, Anna (eds). Semantic and lexical universals: Theory and empirical findings. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 1994 , 1996 .

[17]  A. Wierzbicka,et al.  Introduction: the body in description of emotion , 2002 .

[18]  James A. Matisoff.  Hearts and minds in South-East asian languages and english : an essay in the comparative lexical semantics of psycho-collocations , 1986 .

[19]  C. Goddard.  Lexico-Semantic Universals: A Critical Overview , 2001 .

[20]  S. Thompson,et al.  A quantitative perspective on the gramaticization of epistemic parentheticals in English , 1991 .

[21]  J. Perry.  Epistemic verb forms in Persian of Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan , 2000 .

[22]  Stephen H. Levinsohn,et al.  Functional sentence perspective in Inga , 1975, Journal of Linguistics.

[23]  J. Nuyts.  Epistemic Modality, Language, and Conceptualization: A cognitive-pragmatic perspective , 2001 .

[24]  Lars Johanson,et al.  Evidentials : Turkic, Iranian and neighbouring languages , 2000 .

[25]  Mengistu Amberber.  Testing emotional universals in Amharic , 2001 .

[26]  G. Lazard.  Mirativity, evidentiality, mediativity, or other? , 1999 .

[27]  Eve Sweetser.  From Etymology to Pragmatics: Subject index , 1990 .

[28]  Masayuki Onishi.  The Grammar of Mental Predicates in Japanese. , 1997 .

[29]  The Whorf theory complex: A critical reconstruction by Penny Lee (review) , 2015 .

[30]  Cliff Goddard,et al.  Hati: A key word in the Malay vocabulary of emotion , 2001 .

[31]  Eve Sweetser.  From Etymology to Pragmatics: List of abbreviations , 1990 .

[32]  Robbins Burling.  Learning A Field Language , 1984 .

[33]  Karin Aijmer,et al.  I think — an English modal particle , 1997 .

[34]  Scott Delancey,et al.  Mirativity: The grammatical marking of unexpected information , 1997 .

[35]  B. L. Whorf.  Language, Thought, and Reality: Selected Writings of Benjamin Lee Whorf , 1956 .

[36]  Nicholas Evans,et al.  In the Mind's Ear: The Semantic Extensions of Perception Verbs in Australian Languages. , 2000 .

[37]  F. Ameka.  Interjections: The universal yet neglected part of speech , 1992 .

[38]  Michael Fortescue,et al.  Thoughts about thought , 2001 .

[39]  Richard A. Shweder,et al.  Cultural Psychology: Who Needs It? , 1993 .

[40]  A. Wierzbicka,et al.  The body in description of emotion , 2002 .

[41]  Geoffrey Sampson,et al.  The single mother condition , 1975, Journal of Linguistics.

[42]  S. Romaine,et al.  The Use of like as a Marker of Reported Speech and Thought: A Case of Grammaticalization in Progress , 1991 .

[43]  A. Wierzbicka.  Semantic Primes and Linguistic Typology , 2002 .

[44]  F. D. Haan.  Review of “Evidentials: Turkic, Iranian, and neighbouring languages” by Lars Johanson and Bo Utas (eds) , 2002 .

[45]  Anna Wierzbicka.  The semantics of grammar , 1988 .

[46]  Penny E. Lee,et al.  The Whorf Theory Complex: A Critical Reconstruction , 1996 .

[47]  J. Lucy.  Color categories in thought and language: The linguistics of “color” , 1997 .

[48]  Anna Wierzbicka,et al.  Semantic and lexical universals : theory and empirical findings , 1994 .

[49]  C. Goddard.  Cultural scripts and communicative style in Malay (Bahasa Melayu) , 2000 .