A semantic typology of emotion nouns in Australian Indigenous languages
Résumé
In this article, we analyze lexicographic material for emotion nouns in a sample of 57 Australian Indigenous languages, with a view to understanding the lexical prevalence of different emotions. Several prominent semantic clusters can be identified in the sample, centred around the notions: ANGER; FEELING; SHAME; LOVE; FEAR; and SORROW. After presenting the semantics and shared features of these clusters, we look to colexifications between emotional and non-emotional meanings. Two prominent patterns of colexification arise in the data: behavioural metonymies; and associations with internal body parts. Taking the view that colexifications can be indicative of diachronic semantic change, we suggest these patterns reflect semantic pathways of
emergence. We also consider what principles may explain why a given emotion category is prevalent cross-linguistically. Semantic pathways may represent an underlying factor in the selection of categories, where an emotion is associated with significant social behaviours; or figuratively with an abdominal body part (seat of
emotion). It is unclear whether the “primary” status or cultural salience of certain emotions has some impact on the prevalence of emotion nouns in Australian languages. These initial results pave the way for future research into the emergence and spread of emotion vocabulary across languages and across word classes.
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