Towards a semantic lexicon of body part terms
-
Iwona Kraska-Szlenk
Abstract
This chapter focuses on recurring patterns of semantic extension of body part terms taking into account two major factors which lie at the heart of the phenomenon, one being the so-called embodied cognition, the other – shared culture. While these two factors lead to considerable resemblance among unrelated languages, they encounter the counterbalance of language-specific features resulting from non-shared culture and different language usage practices. The question posed is whether a systematic research program can examine polysemy of body part terms from a cross-linguistic perspective and what kinds of difficulties this kind of research would have to overcome.
Abstract
This chapter focuses on recurring patterns of semantic extension of body part terms taking into account two major factors which lie at the heart of the phenomenon, one being the so-called embodied cognition, the other – shared culture. While these two factors lead to considerable resemblance among unrelated languages, they encounter the counterbalance of language-specific features resulting from non-shared culture and different language usage practices. The question posed is whether a systematic research program can examine polysemy of body part terms from a cross-linguistic perspective and what kinds of difficulties this kind of research would have to overcome.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part 1. General and Contrastive Studies
- Linguistic embodiment in linguistic experience 11
- Polysemic chains, body parts and embodiment 31
- Body-part terms as a linguistic topic and the relevance of body-parts as tools 53
- Towards a semantic lexicon of body part terms 77
- Body part terms in musical discourse 99
-
Part 2. Grammaticalization Studies
- ‘Body’ and the relationship between verb and participants 117
- On the grammatical uses of the ‘head’ in Wolof 133
- Multifaceted body parts in Murui 169
-
Part 3. Lexical Case Studies
- The metonymic folk model of language in Turkish 195
- Keeping an eye on body parts 215
- The conceptualization of ido ‘eye’ in Hausa 247
- Conceptualisations of entrails in English and Polish 269
- Cultural conceptualisations of nawsk ‘belly/stomach’ in Kurdish 291
- Index 309
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part 1. General and Contrastive Studies
- Linguistic embodiment in linguistic experience 11
- Polysemic chains, body parts and embodiment 31
- Body-part terms as a linguistic topic and the relevance of body-parts as tools 53
- Towards a semantic lexicon of body part terms 77
- Body part terms in musical discourse 99
-
Part 2. Grammaticalization Studies
- ‘Body’ and the relationship between verb and participants 117
- On the grammatical uses of the ‘head’ in Wolof 133
- Multifaceted body parts in Murui 169
-
Part 3. Lexical Case Studies
- The metonymic folk model of language in Turkish 195
- Keeping an eye on body parts 215
- The conceptualization of ido ‘eye’ in Hausa 247
- Conceptualisations of entrails in English and Polish 269
- Cultural conceptualisations of nawsk ‘belly/stomach’ in Kurdish 291
- Index 309
