Skip to content

Universal 2020:

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 2020:

Original
All languages have words linking feelings with (i) the thought that “something bad can happen to me”, (ii) the thought that “I want to do something”, and (iii) the thought that “people think something bad about me”, that is words overlapping (though not identical) in meaning with the English words afraid, angry, and ashamed.
Standardized
There are words linking feelings with (i) the thought that “something bad can happen to me”, (ii) the thought that “I want to do something”, and (iii) the thought that “people think something bad about me”, that is words overlapping (though not identical) in meaning with the English words afraid, angry, and ashamed.
Keywords
emotion, sensation
Domain
lexicon
Type
unconditional
Status
achronic
Quality
absolute
Basis
“working hypothesis … on evidence gleaned from both cross-linguistic and cross-cultural studies”
Source
Wierzbicka 1999: 276, 286-294
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    The three recurring themes of emotion terms: words like ‘fear’, ‘anger’, ‘shame’.Cognitive scenarios as such are not universal, but certain “components” appear to be universal as reference points for emotion concepts.

    1. May 2020

Comments are closed.