Culture, Body, and Language

Culture, Body, and Language PDF Author: Farzad Sharifian
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110199106
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 445

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Book Description
One of the central themes in cognitive linguistics is the uniquely human development of some higher potential called the "mind" and, more particularly, the intertwining of body and mind, which has come to be known as embodiment. Several books and volumes have explored this theme in length. However, the interaction between culture, body and language has not received the due attention that it deserves. Naturally, any serious exploration of the interface between body, language and culture would require an analytical tool that would capture the ways in which different cultural groups conceptualize their feelings, thinking, and other experiences in relation to body and language. A well-established notion that appears to be promising in this direction is that of cultural models, constituting the building blocks of a group's cultural cognition. The volume results from an attempt to bring together a group of scholars from various language backgrounds to make a collective attempt to explore the relationship between body, language and culture by focusing on conceptualizations of the heart and other internal body organs across a number of languages. The general aim of this venture is to explore (a) the ways in which internal body organs have been employed in different languages to conceptualize human experiences such as emotions and/or workings of the mind, and (b) the cultural models that appear to account for the observed similarities as well as differences of the various conceptualizations of internal body organs. The volume as a whole engages not only with linguistic analyses of terms that refer to internal body organs across different languages but also with the origin of the cultural models that are associated with internal body organs in different cultural systems, such as ethnomedical and religious traditions. Some contributions also discuss their findings in relations to some philosophical doctrines that have addressed the relationship between mind, body, and language, such as that of Descartes.

Culture, Body, and Language

Culture, Body, and Language PDF Author: Farzad Sharifian
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110199106
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 445

Get Book Here

Book Description
One of the central themes in cognitive linguistics is the uniquely human development of some higher potential called the "mind" and, more particularly, the intertwining of body and mind, which has come to be known as embodiment. Several books and volumes have explored this theme in length. However, the interaction between culture, body and language has not received the due attention that it deserves. Naturally, any serious exploration of the interface between body, language and culture would require an analytical tool that would capture the ways in which different cultural groups conceptualize their feelings, thinking, and other experiences in relation to body and language. A well-established notion that appears to be promising in this direction is that of cultural models, constituting the building blocks of a group's cultural cognition. The volume results from an attempt to bring together a group of scholars from various language backgrounds to make a collective attempt to explore the relationship between body, language and culture by focusing on conceptualizations of the heart and other internal body organs across a number of languages. The general aim of this venture is to explore (a) the ways in which internal body organs have been employed in different languages to conceptualize human experiences such as emotions and/or workings of the mind, and (b) the cultural models that appear to account for the observed similarities as well as differences of the various conceptualizations of internal body organs. The volume as a whole engages not only with linguistic analyses of terms that refer to internal body organs across different languages but also with the origin of the cultural models that are associated with internal body organs in different cultural systems, such as ethnomedical and religious traditions. Some contributions also discuss their findings in relations to some philosophical doctrines that have addressed the relationship between mind, body, and language, such as that of Descartes.

Metaphor and Emotion

Metaphor and Emotion PDF Author: Zoltán Kövecses
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521541466
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
Are human emotions best characterized as biological, psychological, or cultural entities? Many researchers claim that emotions arise either from human biology (i.e., biological reductionism) or as products of culture (i.e., social constructionism). This book challenges this simplistic division between the body and culture by showing how human emotions are to a large extent "constructed" from individuals' embodied experiences in different cultural settings. The view proposed here demonstrates how cultural aspects of emotions, metaphorical language about the emotions, and human physiology in emotion are all part of an intergrated system and shows how this system points to the reconciliation of the seemingly contradictory views of biological reductionism and social constructionism in contemporary debates about human emotion.

The Chinese HEART in a Cognitive Perspective

The Chinese HEART in a Cognitive Perspective PDF Author: Ning Yu
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110213346
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 487

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Book Description
This book is a cognitive semantic study of the Chinese conceptualization of the heart, traditionally seen as the central faculty of cognition. The Chinese word xin, which primarily denotes the heart organ, covers the meanings of both "heart" and "mind" as understood in English, which upholds a heart-head dichotomy. In contrast to the Western dualist view, Chinese takes on a more holistic view that sees the heart as the center of both emotions and thought. The contrast characterizes two cultural traditions that have developed different conceptualizations of person, self, and agent of cognition. The concept of "heart" lies at the core of Chinese thought and medicine, and its importance to Chinese culture is extensively manifested in the Chinese language. Diachronically, this book traces the roots of its conception in ancient Chinese philosophy and traditional Chinese medicine. Along the synchronic dimension, it not only makes a systematic analysis of conventionalized expressions that reflect the underlying cultural models and conceptualizations, as well as underlying conceptual metaphors and metonymies, but also attempts a textual analysis of an essay and a number of poems for their metaphoric and metonymic images and imports contributing to the cultural models and conceptualizations. It also takes up a comparative perspective that sheds light on similarities and differences between Western and Chinese cultures in the understanding of the heart, brain, body, mind, self, and person. The book contributes to the understanding of the embodied nature of human cognition situated in its cultural context, and the relationship between language, culture, and cognition.

Embodiment Via Body Parts

Embodiment Via Body Parts PDF Author: Zouheir A. Maalej
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027223858
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
This volume is based on the theme session titled 'Embodiment via Body Parts', organized by Zouheir Maalej, Farzad Sharifian, and Ning Yu at the 10th International Cognitive Linguistics Conference held in Krakow, Poland, in July 2007.

Body Part Terms in Conceptualization and Language Usage

Body Part Terms in Conceptualization and Language Usage PDF Author: Iwona Kraska-Szlenk
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027261660
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
The volume focuses on body part terms as the vehicle of embodied cognition and conceptualization. It explores the relationship between universal embodiment, language-specific cultural models and linguistic usage practices. The chapters of the volume add to the previous research in a novel way. The presentation of original data from previously undescribed languages spoken by small communities in Africa and South America allows to discover unknown aspects of embodiment and to propose new interpretations. Well-known languages are analyzed from a new perspective relying on the benefits of linguistic corpora. Contrastive and theoretically oriented studies help to pinpoint similarities and differences among languages, as well as tendencies in conceptualization patterns and semantic development of the lexis of body part terms. The volume contributes to the field of linguistics, but also to cognitive science, anthropology and cultural studies.

From Body to Meaning in Culture

From Body to Meaning in Culture PDF Author: Ning Yu
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789027232632
Category : Chinese language
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
From the perspective of Cognitive Semantics and Conceptual Metaphor Theory, this collection of papers looks at the relationship between language, body, culture, and cognition. In particular, it looks into the embodied nature of human language and cognition as arising from and situated in the cultural environment. The papers in this collection all attempt to demonstrate, from different angles, the language-body connections that may reflect, to some extent, the mind-body connections as manifested in the interaction between the body and the physical and cultural world. They study language in a systematic way as a window into the human mind. As a collection of papers that focuses on the study of Chinese with a comparative viewpoint on English, it sheds light on the bodily basis of human meaning and understanding in particular cultural contexts.

The Body in Language

The Body in Language PDF Author: Matthias Brenzinger
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004274294
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 396

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Book Description
The Body in Language: Comparative studies of Linguistic Embodiment provides new insights into the theory of linguistic embodiment in its universal and cultural aspects. The contributions of the volume offer theoretical reflections on grammaticalization, lexical semantics, philosophy, multimodal communication and - by discussing metaphorization and metonymy in figurative language - on cognitive linguistics in general. Case studies contribute first-hand data on embodiment from more than 15 languages and present findings on the body in language in diverse cultures from various continents. Embodiment fundamentally underlies human conceptualization and the present discussions reveal a wide range of target domains in conceptual transfers with the body as the source domain.

Speaking from the Body

Speaking from the Body PDF Author: Angie Chabram
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 0816544506
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
In compelling first-person accounts, Latinas speak freely about dealing with serious health episodes as patients, family caregivers, or friends. They show how the complex interweaving of gender, class, and race impacts the health status of Latinas—and how family, spirituality, and culture affect the experience of illness. Here are stories of Latinas living with conditions common to many: hypertension, breast cancer, obesity, diabetes, depression, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, dementia, Parkinson’s, lupus, and hyper/hypothyroidism. By bringing these narratives out from the shadows of private lives, they demonstrate how such ailments form part of the larger whole of Latina lives that encompasses family, community, the medical profession, and society. They show how personal identity and community intersect to affect the interpretation of illness, compliance with treatment, and the utilization of allopathic medicine, alternative therapies, and traditional healing practices. The book also includes a retrospective analysis of the narratives and a discussion of Latina health issues and policy recommendations. These Latina cultural narratives illustrate important aspects of the social contexts and real-world family relationships crucial to understanding illness. Speaking from the Body is a trailblazing collection of personal testimonies that integrates professional and personal perspectives and shows that our understanding of health remains incomplete if Latina cultural narratives are not included.

Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications

Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications PDF Author: David Matsumoto
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 1412999308
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
This book examines state-of-the-art research and knowledge regarding nonverbal behaviour and applies that scientific knowledge to a broad range of fields. It presents a true scientist-practitioner model, blending cutting-edge behavioural science with real-world practical experience.

The Body, Culture and Society

The Body, Culture and Society PDF Author: Phillip Hancock
Publisher: Open University Press
ISBN: 9780335204137
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 146

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Book Description
"Academics and undergraduates alike will welcome this accessible guide to a rich variety of body-related matters. . . an informed and stimulating introduction to the subject." - Chris Shilling, University of Portsmouth * How and why has the body come to the forefront of sociology? * How is the body conceptualized in relation to issues of culture and identity? * What are the limitations of current work on the sociology of the body? Over the past two decades, a concern with the human body has grown steadily within the social sciences. This timely volume, written by a team of lecturers actively researching and teaching in the field, provides a clear introduction to the significance of the corporeal dimension of life within contemporary sociological thought. It outlines many of the reasons behind this increased sociological fascination with the body, identifying it with a series of broader developments within the current cultural sensibility. Succeeding chapters, each individually authored, examine the place of the body within a range of substantive areas of sociological research - for example disability, consumption, work and old age - developing, in turn, a critical analysis of current research in these areas. With the use of jargon kept to a minimum, and with each chapter providing suggestions for further reading, The Body, Culture and Society is an accessible and lively introduction to the body from a sociological perspective.