Psychology

Culture, words and understanding

Document Type

Article

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 form 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.

Publication Title

Culture and Psychology

Publication Date

1-1-1997

Volume

3

Issue

2

First Page

183

Last Page

194

ISSN

1354-067X

DOI

10.1177/1354067X9700300205

Keywords

discourse, emotion talk, perspective, semantic universals, words

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