Semantic primitive
The term semantic primitives is a linguistic expression that deals with a semantic phenomenon of language typological or contrastive linguistics . These are empirically proven, universal linguistic concepts .
Linguistic concepts
A linguistic concept is the way in which people divide the linguistic and extra-linguistic world into categories for differentiation and labeling. These concepts often differ greatly between languages and cultures. A good example of divergent linguistic concepts is the German verb sein , which is formed in Spanish by the verbs ser , estar or haber (hay) depending on the specific occasion . In Arabic, however, there are no auxiliary verbs like sein .
Simple ideas
The notion of, and the search for, universal concepts shared by all known languages is old. Philosophers such as the German polyhistor Leibniz or the French thinker Descartes described them as simple ideas or the alphabet of human thought . The technical term semantic primitives is the current name for this phenomenon and was introduced by the linguist Anna Wierzbicka .
Metalanguage
Approx. 60 semantic primitives from different groups have already been found, which, put together like a kind of atom of meaning , can express more complex thoughts. With their help, Anna Wierzbicka created a metalanguage , the Natural Semantic Metalanguage , which is supposed to enable language-neutral exchange of differences and similarities between languages.
The semantic primitives
| group | Concepts | German translations |
|---|---|---|
| Nouns | I, YOU, SOMEONE, PEOPLE, SOMETHING / THING, BODY | I, you, someone, people, something / thing, body |
| Determiners | THIS, THE SAME, OTHER | This, the same, another |
| Quantity | ONE, TWO, SOME, ALL, MANY / MUCH | One, two, some, all, many |
| rating | GOOD, BAD | Good Bad |
| description | BIG, SMALL, (LONG) | Big, small, (long) |
| intensity | VERY | Very |
| Mental activities | THINK, KNOW, WANT, FEEL, SEE, HEAR | Thinking, knowing, wishing, feeling, seeing, hearing |
| language | SAY, WORD, TRUE | Say, word, true |
| Actions | DO, HAPPEN, MOVE | Do, happen, move |
| Existence and possession | THERE IS, HAVE | There is, have |
| life and death | LIVE THAT | Live, die |
| time | WHEN / TIME, NOW, BEFORE, AFTER, A LONG TIME, A SHORT TIME, FOR SOME TIME, MOMENT | When / time, now, before, after, long time, short time, for a while, moment |
| room | WHERE / PLACE, HERE, ABOVE, BELOW; FAR, NEAR; SIDE, INSIDE; TOUCHING | Where / Place, Here, Over, Under, Far, Near, Side, Inside, Touch |
| Logical concepts | NOT, MAYBE, CAN, BECAUSE, IF | Not, Maybe, Can, Because, If |
| Increase, increase | MORE | More |
| Classification | KIND OF, PART OF | A kind of, a part of |
| similarity | LIKE | How |
See also
literature
- Ralf Pörings, Ulrich Schmitz (Ed.): Language and Linguistics. A cognitively oriented introduction ( fool study books ). 2nd revised and updated edition. Narr, Tübingen 2003, ISBN 3-8233-6036-1 (with an introduction to the problem area of comparative cultural semantics ).
- Anna Wierzbicka: Semantic Primitives . Koch, Planegg 1992, ISBN 3-7997-4822-9 .