Understanding cultures through their key words : English, Russian, Polish, German, and Japanese / Anna Wierzbicka.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wierzbicka, Anna, author.

Series:

Oxford studies in anthropological linguistics ; 8.

Oxford scholarship online.

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Language and culture.

Lexicology--Social aspects.

Lexicology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (328 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, 2023.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book develops the dual themes that languages can differ widely in their vocabularies, and are also sensitive indices to the cultures to which they belong. Wierzbicka seeks to demonstrate that every language has ""key concepts,"" expressed in ""key words,"" which reflect the core values of a given culture. She shows that cultures can be revealingly studied, compared, and explained to outsiders through their key concepts, and that the analytical framework necessary for this purpose is provided by the ""natural semantic metalanguage,"" based on lexical universals, that the author and colleag

Contents:

Contents; 1. Introduction; 2. Lexicon as a Key to Ethno-Sociology and Cultural Psychology: Patterns of ""Friendship"" Across Cultures; 3. Lexicon as a Key to Ethno-Philosophy, History, and Politics: ""Freedom"" in Latin, English, Russian, and Polish; 4. Lexicon as a Key to History, Nation, and Society: ""Homeland"" and ""Fatherland"" in German, Polish, and Russian; 5. Australian Key Words and Core Cultural Values; 6. Japanese Key Words and Core Cultural Values; Notes; References; Index

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 1997.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 293-307) and index.

Derived record based on print version record and publisher information.

ISBN:

0-19-020843-0

0-19-772273-3

0-585-28951-4

1-280-44295-6

0-19-535849-X

1-60129-972-9

OCLC:

475956725