Cultural semantics and social cognition : a case study on the Danish universe of meaning / by Carsten Levisen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Levisen, Carsten.

Series:

Trends in Linguistics. Studies and Monographs [TiLSM]

Trends in linguistics. Studies and monographs, 1861-4302 ; 257

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Semantics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (354 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berlin : De Gruyter Mouton, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Presenting original, detailed studies of keywords of Danish, this book breaks new ground for the study of language and cultural values. Based on evidence from the semantic categories of everyday language, such as the Danish concept of hygge (roughly meaning, 'pleasant togetherness'), the book provides an integrative socio-cognitive framework for studying and understanding language-particular universes. It is argued that the worlds we live in are not linguistically and conceptually neutral, but rather that speakers who live by Danish concepts are likely to pay attention to their world in ways suggested by central Danish keywords and lexical grids. By means of a sophisticated semantic methodology, the author accounts for the meanings of even highly culture-specific and untranslatable linguistic concepts. The book offers new tools for comparative research into the diversity of semantic and cultural systems in contemporary Europe. Additionally, it contributes to the emerging discipline of cultural semantics, and to the ongoing debates of linguistic diversity, metalanguage, and the use of linguistic evidence in studies of culture and social cognition.

Contents:

Front matter

Preface

Acknowledgments

Contents

Figures and tables

Conventions and symbols

Chapter 1. Danish as a universe of meaning

Chapter 2. The NSM approach to linguistic and cultural analysis: Key issues in contemporary cultural semantics

Chapter 3. Roots of Danish sociality: Hygge as a cultural keyword and core cultural value

Chapter 4. "It's all about being tryg": Danish society, socialization and ethnopsychology

Chapter 5. The dark side of the Danes? A semantic and discursive analysis of janteloven 'the Jante Law'

Chapter 6. Danish cognitive values in a cross-cultural perspective: Evidence from the cognitive verbs synes and mener

Chapter 7. Are Danes truly the happiest people on earth? Semantics meets "happiness research"

Chapter 8. Conclusion

Appendix. Explications and Cultural Scripts in Danish NSM

Notes

References

Author index

General index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

9783110294651

3110294656

OCLC:

826483020