The language of emotion Research Papers (original) (raw)

This article deals with Slovene and German idioms which reflect one of the following bodily reactions associated with anger: increased temperature, a feeling of steaming or exploding, disorders of inner organs, changes in facial color (other than red), muscle contraction, respiratory disorders, and losing inner (psychological and physical) homeostasis leading to an illness. Bearing in mind that conventional figurative expressions reflect a folk theory of emotion, the authors discuss their psychophysiological basis and attempt to answer the question of whether a folk theory of anger and its bodily effects has scientific value. The authors conclude that many of the idioms analysed in this paper embody reactions caused by anger which are recognized in biological and neurobiological works. Consequently, these idioms have not only cultural value but they also depict the scientific understanding of anger.

- by and +1
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- German Language, Language and Culture, Cognitive Lexical Semantics, The language of emotion
- by Cale Johnson
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- Assyriology, Psych verbs, Akkadian Lexicography, Dative Experiencer

This article describes the semantic values of reduplication in Barunga Kriol – an English-based creole of northern Australia –, with a focus on its expressive functions. Barunga Kriol reduplication has two types of functions. Its most frequent meaning is aspectual atelicity. In addition, it has a number of expressive meanings and connotations: hypocoristic usages; descriptions of children's games and imitations; and a softening role in imperatives and reprimands. Contrary to the aspectual value of reduplication which is iconically motivated, expressive values are motivated by the pragmatic association of reduplication with children. Expressive uses of reduplication are rarer and less regular than its grammaticalized aspectual uses, which are very frequent. Aspectual reduplication is optional most of the time, so that explaining its actual distribution in discourse is a complicated matter. This article shows that this distribution can often be explained in the view of the expressive values of reduplication (some of them also conveyed by affixal evaluative morphology in the Australian languages that have been replaced by this creole). Thus, taking into account the expressive dimension of reduplication contributes significantly to the linguistic analysis of the grammaticalized aspectual function of reduplication.

- by Maïa Ponsonnet
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- Discourse Analysis, Emotion, Pragmatics, Australian Indigenous languages

This article presents a preliminary typology of emotional connotations in evaluative morphology, starting with diminutives and augmentatives. I inventory the emotional meanings and connotations found in a sample of nineteen languages for diminutives, and nine languages plus a few additional regional studies for augmentatives. Given the small size of the samples, this typology can only remain preliminary, but it does highlight a number of points. Across languages and continents, diminutives can express positive emotions such as compassion, love and admiration, as well as negative emotions such as contempt. The emotional connotations of augmentatives are more limited, but do display a blend of positive and negative emotions including contempt and repulsion, admiration and respect, endearment and compassion. Diminutives and augmentatives do not contrast sharply with respect to emotional valence (positive or negative), but while diminutives are anchored in intimacy, the emotions conveyed by augmentatives more often relate to broader social contexts.