Giving horror a name
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Monika Schwarz-Friesel
Abstract
In this paper, the relation between language and emotion is discussed by analyzing the language of Holocaust victims and survivors. Focusing on the role of language in the conceptualization of emotions, it is shown that specific verbal means and structures will reveal much about the nature of emotions in extreme situations. In particular, the metaphoric expressions used in order to express and describe personal feelings disclose characteristics of the underlying emotional structure. Texts of the private domain (diaries, memoirs and letters) of Holocaust literature show that language is the key point in trying to understand the relation between intense affective processing and the rest of the cognitive life. Confronted with degradation, humiliation and elimination, Holocaust victims had to cope with extreme emotions. It was extremely difficult to express such emotions. Only recently, research within linguistics has begun to analyze the “language of the victims” more thoroughly. In this paper, different stages and processes are described concerning the emotional state of Holocaust victims and their attempt to document it linguistically: the desperate attempt to cling to a normal life, shifting moments of despair and fear of death mingled with hope and optimism, and the effort to keep and express normal life feelings on the one hand, and on the other hand, the total emotional indifference in order to cope with the horror. It is shown that the distinction between emotions and feelings plays a crucial role in explaining the state of emotional turmoil in which Holocaust victims found themselves.
Abstract
In this paper, the relation between language and emotion is discussed by analyzing the language of Holocaust victims and survivors. Focusing on the role of language in the conceptualization of emotions, it is shown that specific verbal means and structures will reveal much about the nature of emotions in extreme situations. In particular, the metaphoric expressions used in order to express and describe personal feelings disclose characteristics of the underlying emotional structure. Texts of the private domain (diaries, memoirs and letters) of Holocaust literature show that language is the key point in trying to understand the relation between intense affective processing and the rest of the cognitive life. Confronted with degradation, humiliation and elimination, Holocaust victims had to cope with extreme emotions. It was extremely difficult to express such emotions. Only recently, research within linguistics has begun to analyze the “language of the victims” more thoroughly. In this paper, different stages and processes are described concerning the emotional state of Holocaust victims and their attempt to document it linguistically: the desperate attempt to cling to a normal life, shifting moments of despair and fear of death mingled with hope and optimism, and the effort to keep and express normal life feelings on the one hand, and on the other hand, the total emotional indifference in order to cope with the horror. It is shown that the distinction between emotions and feelings plays a crucial role in explaining the state of emotional turmoil in which Holocaust victims found themselves.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
-
Theory
- The developmental psychology and neuropsychology of emotion in language 3
- Primal emotions and cultural evolution of language: 27
- Emotion on board 49
- The origins of emotion and language from the perspective of developmental neuropsychology 69
- Language and emotion in Merleau-Ponty 99
- Enkinaesthetic polyphony: 113
- Emotion in language 135
- Language and emotion 157
- Prosodic clustering in speech: From emotional to semantic processes 175
- Embodied language and the process of language learning and teaching 191
-
Research
- Research on the relationship between language and emotion - A descriptive overview 211
- Word valence and its effects 241
- The occurrence of idioms in the emotion lexicon of children 257
- "Without language, everything is chaos and confusion ..." 273
- Giving horror a name 289
- Mediated emotions 305
- Silences as a linguistic strategy Remarks on the role of the unsaid in romantic relationships on the internet 325
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Application
- Gradients of plasticity 343
- Mood, aphasia, and affective language comprehension 367
- What words can’t tell: 399
- Affective and internal state language in high-functioning autism 421
- Epilogue 445
- Index 453
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
-
Theory
- The developmental psychology and neuropsychology of emotion in language 3
- Primal emotions and cultural evolution of language: 27
- Emotion on board 49
- The origins of emotion and language from the perspective of developmental neuropsychology 69
- Language and emotion in Merleau-Ponty 99
- Enkinaesthetic polyphony: 113
- Emotion in language 135
- Language and emotion 157
- Prosodic clustering in speech: From emotional to semantic processes 175
- Embodied language and the process of language learning and teaching 191
-
Research
- Research on the relationship between language and emotion - A descriptive overview 211
- Word valence and its effects 241
- The occurrence of idioms in the emotion lexicon of children 257
- "Without language, everything is chaos and confusion ..." 273
- Giving horror a name 289
- Mediated emotions 305
- Silences as a linguistic strategy Remarks on the role of the unsaid in romantic relationships on the internet 325
-
Application
- Gradients of plasticity 343
- Mood, aphasia, and affective language comprehension 367
- What words can’t tell: 399
- Affective and internal state language in high-functioning autism 421
- Epilogue 445
- Index 453
