Patterns of semantic variation differ across body parts: evidence from the Japonic languages

IF 1.8 1区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Cognitive Linguistics Pub Date : 2021-09-01 DOI:10.1515/cog-2020-0079

John L. A. Huisman, R. van Hout, A. Majid

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引用次数: 5

Abstract

Abstract The human body is central to myriad metaphors, so studying the conceptualisation of the body itself is critical if we are to understand its broader use. One essential but understudied issue is whether languages differ in which body parts they single out for naming. This paper takes a multi-method approach to investigate body part nomenclature within a single language family. Using both a naming task (Study 1) and colouring-in task (Study 2) to collect data from six Japonic languages, we found that lexical similarity for body part terminology was notably differentiated within Japonic, and similar variation was evident in semantics too. Novel application of cluster analysis on naming data revealed a relatively flat hierarchical structure for parts of the face, whereas parts of the body were organised with deeper hierarchical structure. The colouring data revealed that bounded parts show more stability across languages than unbounded parts. Overall, the data reveal there is not a single universal conceptualisation of the body as is often assumed, and that in-depth, multi-method explorations of under-studied languages are urgently required.

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不同身体部位的语义变化模式不同:来自日本语言的证据

摘要人体是无数隐喻的核心，因此，如果我们要理解其更广泛的用途，研究身体本身的概念化至关重要。一个重要但研究不足的问题是，语言在命名身体部位时是否有所不同。本文采用多种方法研究单一语系中的身体部位命名法。使用命名任务（研究1）和着色任务（研究2）从六种日语中收集数据，我们发现日语中身体部位术语的词汇相似性有显著差异，语义上也有明显的相似变化。聚类分析在命名数据上的新应用揭示了面部部分相对平坦的层次结构，而身体部分则以更深的层次结构组织。着色数据显示，有界部分在语言中比无界部分表现出更高的稳定性。总的来说，数据表明，身体并不像人们通常认为的那样有一个普遍的概念，迫切需要对研究不足的语言进行深入、多方法的探索。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Cognitive Linguistics Multiple-

CiteScore

3.30

自引率

17.60%

发文量

期刊介绍： Cognitive Linguistics presents a forum for linguistic research of all kinds on the interaction between language and cognition. The journal focuses on language as an instrument for organizing, processing and conveying information. Cognitive Linguistics is a peer-reviewed journal of international scope and seeks to publish only works that represent a significant advancement to the theory or methods of cognitive linguistics, or that present an unknown or understudied phenomenon. Topics the structural characteristics of natural language categorization (such as prototypicality, cognitive models, metaphor, and imagery); the functional principles of linguistic organization, as illustrated by iconicity; the conceptual interface between syntax and semantics; the experiential background of language-in-use, including the cultural background; the relationship between language and thought, including matters of universality and language specificity.