Culture, words and understanding

Journal/Book: Cult Psychol. 1997; 3: 6 Bonhill Street, London, England EC2A 4PU. Sage Publications Ltd. 183-194.

Abstract: Goddard's (1997) comparative analysis of English and Malay surprise words is critically evaluated. While his major aim to overcome ethnocentric semantic comparisons is generally laudable, the methodological tool in the farm of a universal inventory of lexical items is argued to prove unable to perform this job. First, in its explication of surprise scenarios, the natural semantic metalanguage falls short of delivering more or better insights than traditional interpretative approaches to human actions and texts. Second, the discursive orientations and perspectives within which emotion terms are put to use in actual talk are washed out. Consequently, in order to achieve some richer understanding of emotion terms, particularly those of a foreign language, fuller contours of emotion talk need to be taken into account.

Note: Article Bamberg M, Clark Univ, Dept Psychol, Worcester,MA 01610 USA

Keyword(s): discourse; emotion talk; perspective; semantic universals; words

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