Gary B. Palmer and Debra J. Occhi (eds.), Languages of sentiment: Cultural constructions of emotional substrates. Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1999. Pp. vi, 272. Pb $34.95.

Abstract

One of the reasons why the area of language and emotion attracts many of us lies in the continuing endeavor – whether implicitly or explicitly conducted – to overcome our own persistent assumptions concerning such dichotomies as nature vs. culture, individuality vs. society, and emotion vs. cognition. In other words, our focus on language and its constitutive role in the creation of what seems to be so “natural” and “individual” has led to the deconstruction of our own epistemology, as well as contributing to our better understanding of how people's emotive meanings are situated in the midst of complex social relations and interactions. Languages of sentiment can be located within this long intellectual engagement. Although its contributors particularly explore Asian languages of sentiment, illustrated by Tamil, Bangla, Javanese, Japanese, and Tagalog cases, the aim of the book is not to essentialize “the” Asian sentiment. Instead, all the chapters try to capture the pragmatics of language and emotion that interact with global politics as well as with local social relations and interactions.