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
1 - Languages and emotions: What can a multilingual perspective contribute?
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
I had studied Fula for two years … but despite this indispensable apprenticeship I needed a year of life with the Fulani before I spoke fluently; today I continue to make many mistakes, and up until the last moment of our stay I was always learning new words and turns of speech. When I think of all that I have still to learn, I wonder how I could have written the pages which follow.
(Riesman, 1977: 3)Jenny B. is a young, charming and enthusiastic doctoral student in linguistics, interested in the language of emotions. This year she was awarded a grant to conduct her field research in Karani, a language that has not been extensively studied before. After lots of bureaucratic complications, she had finally gotten her visa and airplane ticket, survived the flight (or rather an endless series of flights and rides), and at long last arrived in The Village, located at the heart of the Karani-speaking community. It took her a few days to settle in and then she was ready to begin her research in earnest.
Based on a few previous studies of languages related to Karani and on the remarks of anthropologists who had worked with Karani speakers before, Jenny hypothesized that Karani emotion terms might differ from their English counterparts. Prior to the trip she had taken an intensive, summer-long Karani course; upon arrival, she immediately began listening to conversations around her and taking notes.
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- Information
- Emotions and Multilingualism , pp. 1 - 21Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006