Chapter 8. A frame-semantic approach to Japanese taste terms
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Kei Sakaguchi
Abstract
This chapter offers a frame-semantic account of the meanings of Japanese taste terms, analyzing 5,620 instances of collocations, consisting of an adjectival taste term and a noun, such as shibui kao ‘lit. astringent face’. It first defines the literal sense of the taste terms, identifying what frame is evoked by not only using but also adjusting the definitions and set of arguments from FrameNet (an English resource) to fit the case of Japanese. It then considers the sense extensions. The findings include the following: both the literal and the extended senses can imply (un)desirability; the semantic change can be accounted for by identifying frames of both literal and figurative uses that prop up the lexical meanings.
Abstract
This chapter offers a frame-semantic account of the meanings of Japanese taste terms, analyzing 5,620 instances of collocations, consisting of an adjectival taste term and a noun, such as shibui kao ‘lit. astringent face’. It first defines the literal sense of the taste terms, identifying what frame is evoked by not only using but also adjusting the definitions and set of arguments from FrameNet (an English resource) to fit the case of Japanese. It then considers the sense extensions. The findings include the following: both the literal and the extended senses can imply (un)desirability; the semantic change can be accounted for by identifying frames of both literal and figurative uses that prop up the lexical meanings.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Abbreviations vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Introduction to the volume 1
-
Section I. Overview
- Chapter 1. The language of food in Japanese through a linguistic lens 27
-
Section II. Mimetics and sound-symbolism in food names and food descriptions
- Chapter 2. Analysis of the use of Japanese mimetics in the eating and imagined eating of rice crackers 55
- Chapter 3. The sound-symbolic effects of consonants on food texture 79
- Chapter 4. Innovative binomial adjectives in Japanese food descriptions and beyond 111
-
Section III. Change in the language of food
- Chapter 5. Verbs of eating 135
- Chapter 6. Naturalization of the Japanese loanword sushi in English 161
-
Section IV. Taste terms
- Chapter 7. Clear is sweet 191
- Chapter 8. A frame-semantic approach to Japanese taste terms 231
-
Section V. Motion and force in the language of food
- Chapter 9. Verbs of seasoning in Japanese, with special reference to the locative alternation in English 263
- Chapter 10. Motion expressions in Japanese wine-tasting descriptions 293
- Chapter 11. Applying force dynamics to analyze taste descriptions in Japanese online columns 319
- Index 345
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Abbreviations vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Introduction to the volume 1
-
Section I. Overview
- Chapter 1. The language of food in Japanese through a linguistic lens 27
-
Section II. Mimetics and sound-symbolism in food names and food descriptions
- Chapter 2. Analysis of the use of Japanese mimetics in the eating and imagined eating of rice crackers 55
- Chapter 3. The sound-symbolic effects of consonants on food texture 79
- Chapter 4. Innovative binomial adjectives in Japanese food descriptions and beyond 111
-
Section III. Change in the language of food
- Chapter 5. Verbs of eating 135
- Chapter 6. Naturalization of the Japanese loanword sushi in English 161
-
Section IV. Taste terms
- Chapter 7. Clear is sweet 191
- Chapter 8. A frame-semantic approach to Japanese taste terms 231
-
Section V. Motion and force in the language of food
- Chapter 9. Verbs of seasoning in Japanese, with special reference to the locative alternation in English 263
- Chapter 10. Motion expressions in Japanese wine-tasting descriptions 293
- Chapter 11. Applying force dynamics to analyze taste descriptions in Japanese online columns 319
- Index 345
