The conceptualisation of primary emotions in the Serbian language (The case of verbs expressing joy, sadness, fear and anger)
The paper analyses the conceptual mechanisms underlying the development of secondary emotional meanings of “non-emotional” verbs (in relation to their primary meaning). Being abstract, psychological entities, emotions are formalised and expressed by linguistic means using emotional lexis....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute for the Serbian Language, Belgrade
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Južnoslovenski Filolog |
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| Online Access: | http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-185X/2021/0350-185X2101163M.pdf |
| Summary: | The paper analyses the conceptual mechanisms underlying the development of
secondary emotional meanings of “non-emotional” verbs (in relation to their
primary meaning). Being abstract, psychological entities, emotions are
formalised and expressed by linguistic means using emotional lexis.
Emotional verbs represent a type of this lexis: they denote emotions,
emotional relationships and processes, emotional expression and an emotional
situation as a whole. The research material consists of 92 verbs which are
classified according to two criteria: a. the semantic role of the
experiencer, i.e. whether the verbs denote experiencing or provoking an
emotion (emotionally-active and emotionally-passive verbs) and b. the
criterion of the primary emotion, i.e. whether the verbs belong to the
emotional domain of joy, sorrow, fear or anger. The analysis showed that
emotions are conceptualised by specific emotional metaphors, based on the
pleasure: discomfort distinction. The primary metaphor MAN IS THE CONTAINER
FOR EMOTIONS and the general metonymic rule PHYSIOLOGICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF
EMOTIONS ARE THE EMOTION ITSELF, represent general mechanisms for the
conceptualisation of secondary emotional meanings of verbs. It has also been
shown that a certain type of a verb’s primary meaning potentially develops a
certain secondary emotional meaning; in other words, each primary emotion
has an intrinsic source domain which concretises its abstract meanings. |
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| ISSN: | 0350-185X 2406-0763 |