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Detail of contribution

Auteur: Agnieszka MIKOŁAJCZUK

Titre:
On benefits and problems of research into the cross-linguistic (and cross-cultural) conceptualization of emotions (using SHAME/WSTYD as an example)


Abstract/Résumé: The focus of this paper is to present – from a linguistic point of view – various needs and benefits, as well as theoretical and practical problems involved in research on the cross-linguistic (and cross-cultural) conceptualization of emotions. The methodological basis for the investigations presented in this paper derives from both structuralist studies, inspired by Ferdinand de Saussure’s linguistic theory, and cognitivist works, which concentrate on the relationship between cognition and language. Semantic relations between lexical units in lexical fields on the one hand and cognitive models, conceptual metaphors and conceptual metonymies on the other hand (with their linguistic expressions registered not only in lexicographic data, but also in corpus databases and in various texts) were analyzed previously in studies on the conceptualization of SHAME (WSTYD) in Polish and English, selected for this paper as an example. Consideration is given to the results of my own investigations (see: Mikołajczuk 2012) and the research of other linguists (e.g. Apresjan 2011, Jędrzejko 2000, Kövecses 1998; Wierzbicka 1999). The key issues raised in this paper are: 1) Who needs the kind of knowledge our investigations might potentially give, and why? 2) What is the nature of the object under investigation, in the context of the relationship between linguistic phenomena, cultural factors, mental constructs and psychological reality? 3) What kinds of data merit analysis and what limitations and possibilities are connected with them (especially regarding corpus-based studies)? 4) What qualities of researchers are particularly valuable in cross-linguistic and cross-cultural studies? 5) How might various approaches to analysis and interpretation of data affect the results of investigations? References Apresjan V.J., 2011, Opyt klasternogo analiza: russkie i anglijskie emocional’nye koncepty. “Voprosy Jazykoznanija” 2011, 2, p. 63-88. Jędrzejko E., 2000, O językowych wykładnikach pojęcia WSTYD w różnych koncepcjach opisu, [in:] Język a Kultura, vol. 14: Uczucia w języku i tekście, ed. by I. Nowakowska-Kempna, A. Dąbrowska, J. Anusiewicz, Wrocław, p. 59-77. Kövecses Z., 1998, Are there emotion-specific metaphors? [in:] Speaking of Emotions. Conceptualisation and Expression, ed. by A. Athanasiadou, E. Tabakowska, Berlin, New York, p. 127-151. Mikołajczuk A., 2012, Konceptualizacja wstydu w polszczyźnie (na tle porównawczym), [in:] Odkrywanie znaczeń w języku, ed. by A. Mikołajczuk, K. Waszakowa, Warszawa, p. 124-145. Wierzbicka A., 1999, Emotions across Languages and Cultures: Diversity and Universals, Cambridge.