Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables
- Preface
- 1 Languages and emotions: What can a multilingual perspective contribute?
- 2 Emotions in the study of multilingualism: Framing the questions
- 3 Vocal level: Is the lady angry?
- 4 Semantic and conceptual levels: The bilingual mental lexicon
- 5 Discursive level: I feel zhalko tebia bednogo
- 6 Neurophysiological level: His coeur is where his feelings dwell
- 7 Social cognition: I no longer wanted to speak German
- 8 Emotions and multilingualism: An integrated perspective
- Appendix A Bilingualism and emotions webquestionnaire
- Appendix B Transcription conventions
- References
- Author Index
- Subject Index
2 - Emotions in the study of multilingualism: Framing the questions
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 November 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables
- Preface
- 1 Languages and emotions: What can a multilingual perspective contribute?
- 2 Emotions in the study of multilingualism: Framing the questions
- 3 Vocal level: Is the lady angry?
- 4 Semantic and conceptual levels: The bilingual mental lexicon
- 5 Discursive level: I feel zhalko tebia bednogo
- 6 Neurophysiological level: His coeur is where his feelings dwell
- 7 Social cognition: I no longer wanted to speak German
- 8 Emotions and multilingualism: An integrated perspective
- Appendix A Bilingualism and emotions webquestionnaire
- Appendix B Transcription conventions
- References
- Author Index
- Subject Index
Summary
Languages not only inspire loyalty, they also provoke fear, hatred, resentment, jealousy, love, euphoria – the entire gamut of human emotion. From the undergraduate whose difficulties with ser and estar make him complain that he “hates Spanish”, to the exile who clasps her mother tongue in a tight embrace, tongue ties are every bit as knotty as our other affections.
(Pérez Firmat, 2003: 3)In his beautiful literary treatise on bilingual Spanish and Hispanic writers, Pérez Firmat, a bilingual writer himself, raises several questions that are crucial to a full understanding of the phenomenon of bilingualism and yet are unexamined in the scholarly field that studies it. What is the nature of the emotional bonds that tie individuals to their languages? How do these ties influence self-expression? What are the consequences of living in exile, away not only from one's country but also from one's language? What happens when one falls in love across a language boundary?
These questions resonate profoundly with me, a Russian Jewish immigrant who has lived for more than a decade in the United States. The words of my native language, Russian, brim with intimacy and familiarity. They are permeated with memories of my childhood and youth, friendships and intimate relationships, happiness and disappointments. For me, Russian has no neutral words – each one channels voices, each one inspires feelings.
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- Chapter
- Information
- Emotions and Multilingualism , pp. 22 - 43Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006