Levisen Cultural Semantics and Social Cognition

A Case Study on the Danish Universe of Meaning
1. Auflage 2012
ISBN: 978-3-11-029465-1
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, Band 257, 353 Seiten

Reihe: Trends in Linguistics. Studies and Monographs [TiLSM]

Presenting original, detailed studies of keywords of Danish, this book breaks new ground for the study of language and cultural values. Based on evidence from the semantic categories of everyday language, such as the Danish concept of hygge (roughly meaning, ‘pleasant togetherness’), the book provides an integrative socio-cognitive framework for studying and understanding language-particular universes. It is argued that the worlds we live in are not linguistically and conceptually neutral, but rather that speakers who live by Danish concepts are likely to pay attention to their world in ways suggested by central Danish keywords and lexical grids. By means of a sophisticated semantic methodology, the author accounts for the meanings of even highly culture-specific and untranslatable linguistic concepts.The book offers new tools for comparative research into the diversity of semantic and cultural systems in contemporary Europe. Additionally, it contributes to the emerging discipline of cultural semantics, and to the ongoing debates of linguistic diversity, metalanguage, and the use of linguistic evidence in studies of culture and social cognition.

Zielgruppe

Research Libraries, Researchers and Advanced Students with an Interest in the Field of Scandinavian Languages

Autoren/Hrsg.

Levisen, Carsten

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Einzelne Sprachen & Sprachfamilien
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Semantik & Pragmatik
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Historische & Vergleichende Sprachwissenschaft, Sprachtypologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Preface;9
2;Acknowledgments;11
3;Figures and tables;17
4;Conventions and symbols;19
5;Chapter 1. Danish as a universe of meaning;21
5.1;1.1 Introduction;21
5.2;1.2 Overview;24
5.3;1.3 Language and cultural values;26
5.4;1.4 Danish identity, culture and language;31
5.4.1;1.4.1 The new concepts dansk ‘Danish’ and sprog ‘language’;33
5.4.2;1.4.2 Grundtvigianism and the peculiarities of Danish enlightenment;37
5.4.3;1.4.3 Scandinavian unity and diversity;40
5.5;1.5 Approaches to Danish cultural values;44
5.5.1;1.5.1 Parameter-based comparative approaches;45
5.5.2;1.5.2 Monographs;48
5.5.3;1.5.3 A critical summary;54
5.6;1.6 Doing linguistically grounded analysis: Caveats and challenges;55
5.6.1;1.6.1 Natural language and linguistic corpora;56
5.6.2;1.6.2 Linguistic and cultural heterogeneity and change;58
5.6.3;1.6.3 Ethnocentrism;59
6;Chapter 2. The NSM approach to linguistic and cultural analysis: Key issues in contemporary cultural semantics;62
6.1;2.1 Introduction;63
6.2;2.2 The NSM metalanguage;63
6.2.1;2.2.1 Semantic primes;64
6.2.2;2.2.2 Metalanguage grammar;67
6.2.3;2.2.3 Issues in Danish NSM;68
6.2.4;2.2.4 Semantic explications;74
6.2.5;2.2.5 Semantic templates;75
6.2.6;2.2.6 Semantic molecules;79
6.3;2.3 Perspectives and discussion;81
6.3.1;2.3.1 Conceptual vs. extensional approaches;81
6.3.2;2.3.2 Reductive paraphrase vs. metaphor mapping;84
6.3.3;2.3.3 Representational vs. critical perspectives;86
6.4;2.4 NSM and cultural values;89
6.4.1;2.4.1 Cultural keywords;90
6.4.2;2.4.2 Cultural scripts;95
6.5;2.5 Concluding remarks;99
7;Chapter 3. Roots of Danish sociality: Hygge as a cultural keyword and core cultural value;100
7.1;3.1 Introduction;100
7.2;3.2 Rolling together hygge: The limitations of English;102
7.3;3.3 Hygge in cross-cultural encounters;105
7.4;3.4 The elaborations of hygge in Danish language;107
7.5;3.5 The semantics of hygge;110
7.5.1;3.5.1 Explaining the rise of the verb hygger;113
7.5.2;3.5.2 Stemning ‘atmosphere’, a hygge-related word;116
7.6;3.6 The ethnopragmatics of hygge;119
7.6.1;3.6.1 Social cognition;120
7.6.2;3.6.2 Communicative style;123
7.6.3;3.6.3 Sensation and symbolism;126
7.7;3.7 How culture-specific is hygge?;130
7.8;3.8 Concluding remarks;133
8;Chapter 4. “It’s all about being tryg”: Danish society, socialisation and ethnopsychology;135
8.1;4.1 Introduction;135
8.2;4.2 Tryghed as a Danish cultural value;137
8.3;4.3 The Cardamom Law;141
8.4;4.4 The semantics of tryg and tryghed;145
8.4.1;4.4.1 A tryg place;146
8.4.2;4.4.2 Tryghed vs. security;150
8.4.3;4.4.3 Feeling tryg;153
8.5;4.5 Towards a Danish ethnopsychology;156
8.5.1;4.5.1 The concept of rammer ‘frames’;157
8.5.2;4.5.2 The importance of “overviewability” and “pedagogy”;159
8.6;4.6 Concluding remarks;164
9;Chapter 5. The dark side of the Danes? A semantic and discursive analysis of janteloven ‘the Jante Law’;165
9.1;5.1 Introduction;165
9.2;5.2 The literary origin of janteloven;167
9.3;5.3 Anti-janteloven discourses in contemporary Denmark;169
9.4;5.4 The semantics of janteloven;175
9.5;5.5 Janteloven’s hidden message of selvværd ‘self-worth’;178
9.6;5.6 Janteloven - a Danish super demon;182
9.7;5.7 Concluding remarks;183
10;Chapter 6. Danish cognitive values in cross-cultural perspective: Evidence from the cognitive verbs synes and mener;185
10.1;6.1 Introduction;185
10.2;6.2 Cognitive verbs and cognitive values;187
10.3;6.3 The semantics of synes;190
10.4;6.4 The semantics of mener;195
10.5;6.5 Danish cognitive values;200
10.5.1;6.5.1 A cultural script against “telling others what to think”;202
10.5.2;6.5.2 The value of selvstændig ‘independent’ thinking;204
10.6;6.6 Danish cognitive style in cross-cultural comparison;206
10.6.1;6.6.1 Danish and Russian verbs and values;206
10.6.2;6.6.2 Danish and Anglo English verbs and values;209
10.7;6.7 Pedagogical scripts;212
10.8;6.8 Concluding remarks;216
11;Chapter 7. Are Danes truly the happiest people on earth? Semantics meets “happiness research”;217
11.1;7.1 Introduction;217
11.2;7.2“Happiness”, meaning and culture;221
11.3;7.3 Explicating lykkelig, glad, and tilfreds;225
11.3.1;7.3.1 The lykkelig of intense emotion;227
11.3.2;7.3.2 The lykkelig of life quality;230
11.3.3;7.3.3 The semantics of glad;234
11.3.4;7.3.4 The semantics of tilfreds;237
11.4;7.4 Comparative, historical and cultural perspectives;240
11.5;7.5 Cultural semantics vs. “happiness research”;246
11.6;7.6 Concluding remarks;248
12;Chapter 8. Conclusion;249
12.1;8.1 Introduction;249
12.2;8.2 Living with Danish concepts;250
12.3;8.3 Achievements and implications;252
12.4;8.4 Suggestions for future research;254
12.5;8.5 Closing remarks;256
13;Appendix;258
14;Notes;271
15;References;286
16;Author index;336
17;General index;342

Über Autor(innen)

Levisen, Carsten
Carsten Levisen, Aarhus University, Denmark.

Carsten Levisen, Aarhus University, Denmark.