Natural Semantic Metalanguage Framework Research Articles

‘It's mine!’. Re-thinking the conceptual semantics of “possession” through NSM

This study has two main parts. It begins with a conceptual and semantic analysis in the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) framework (Wierzbicka, 1996; Peeters, 2006) Goddard and Wierzbicka, 2002, 2014a) of what linguists term “true possession” or “ownership”. The requirements of the NSM framework force the analysis to be conducted using very simple expressions that are available not only in English, but (ideally) in all languages. The main proposal is that true possession is anchored in a semantic prime with an egocentric perspective that occurs in a predicative construction, i.e. (is) mine. It is argued that expressions like ‘This is mine’ are semantically irreducible and (very likely) universally expressible across the diversity of the world's languages. In the second part of the study, three semantically and grammatically complex “possession verbs” are examined: steal, give, and own. Intricate (but coherent) explications for the English versions of these words are proposed, using (is) mine and a range of other semantic components. Though no claim is made that all languages possess precisely these meanings, this study hopes to help pave the way for a lexical semantic typology of “ownership-related” concepts in the languages of the world.

Semantic primes in Atlantic Iberoromance-based Creoles

Much of the literature on Creole languages has focused on their genesis. In this study, we take the Natural Semantic Metalanguage framework as a starting point for yet another genesis-oriented comparative study of f ive Iberoromance-based Creoles, Kabuverdianu, São-Tomense, Angolar, Papiamentu and Palenquero. The proposal of the NSM framework is to establish a natural semantic metalanguage consisting of aset of semantic primes common to and translatable into all languages. Whether these semantic primes consist of items retained from the lexifier language, or whether they have been taken from the sub- and/or adstrate can be argued to be of certain interest to the debate on the origin and nature of Creole languages. Our results confirm our initial hypothesis that the semantic primes of Creole languages are in their majority derived from the corresponding lexifier language. Differences in the exact amount of non-lex i fi e r- d e r ived primes roughly correspond to the amount of non-lex i fi e r items in the Creole’s lexicon at large.

The particles of Singapore English: a semantic and cultural interpretation

The Singapore English particles constitute one of the most distinctive features of this cultural dialect. These highly interactive particles play a major role in the integrity and cohesiveness of the Singapore English speech community and offer invaluable insights into Singapore culture. The semantic study of these particles could therefore pave the way for a better understanding of this culture. This study investigates the meanings of several of these particles—three particles la which come in different lexical tones (but are otherwise homophones), the particle wut (commonly spelt as what), and the particle meh—within the Natural Semantic Metalanguage framework. The meaning of each of these particles is stated in the form of a reductive paraphrase couched in simple and universal human concepts so that it can be readily understood by both insiders and cultural outsiders. This study shows that the Singapore English particles are loaded with interactional or pragmatic meanings. It also suggests that the high frequency of use of some particles, including wut and the particles la, is motivated by a cultural norm of interaction.

The semantics of coming and going

It is often assumed that the English motion verbs come and go can be glossed as motion towards-the-speaker and ‘motion not-towards-the-speaker’, respectively. This paper proposes alternative semantic analyses which are more complex, but also, it is argued, more descriptively adequate and more explanatory. The semantic framework is the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach developed by Anna Wierzbicka, in which meanings are stated as explanatory paraphrases (explications) couched in a small, standardised and translatable metalanguage based on natural language. A single explication is advanced for come, and it is shown that this unitary meaning is compatible with the broad range of ‘appropriateness conditions’ on its use (cf. Fillmore 1966, 1975, 1983). The same applies to go. A novel feature of the proposed analysis for come is that it does not rely on the conventional notion that ‘deictic projection’ is a pragmatic phenomenon. Instead the potential for ‘deictic projection’ is analysed as flowing directly from the lexical semantics of come. This approach, it is argued, enables an improved account of semantic differences between near equivalents for come and go in various languages. The paper is structured as follows. §1 gives general background on the NSM theory. §2 reviews some problems with the semantics of motion, and gives orientation on how they are approached within the NSM framework. §3 and §4 address the semantics of English go and come, respectively. Concluding remarks form §5.