Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HG-Emo (How sociocultural forces shape the emotion lexicon in hunter-gatherer languages)
Période du rapport: 2018-06-15 au 2020-06-14
Recent years saw a revival of interest in cross-cultural emotion research and—while a Western-centric perspective is being increasingly questioned—there are growing efforts to better understand how culture-specific factors differentially shape emotion across cultures. HG-Emo provides unique insights to this question from hunter-gatherer societies, a rare type of society today, but a dominant one for 95% of human existence, examining emotion through the lens of language.
More specifically, the project addresses the question of how sociocultural characteristics, especially those related to residential mobility in hunter-gatherer societies shape emotion lexica. Although there is compelling evidence that abandonment of mobile lifestyle leads to gradual social change in hunter-gatherer societies, prior to this project there had been no investigations dedicated to emotion in this context. Using insights from linguistics, anthropology, and psychology, HG-Emo documents the emotion lexica in two related Austroasiatic languages of Thailand—Maniq spoken by mobile, and Mlabri recently settled, hunter-gatherer groups—and reveals how aspects of emotion language link to sociocultural factors.
Understanding emotions in different cultures as expressed in different languages is crucial for revealing how much emotion systems vary, and what the critical properties of human emotion are. Such knowledge may deepen our understanding of emotional well-being across different sociocultural contexts and help us respond to rapid social change across the EU and beyond in more informed ways.
The general objectives of the project were to: (1) document emotion vocabulary in two related hunter-gatherer languages, (2) relate the language of emotion in each group to its sociocultural background, (3) extract similarities and differences between groups, identifying possible forces shaping the emotion lexicon in each context.
More specifically, the project addresses the question of how sociocultural characteristics, especially those related to residential mobility in hunter-gatherer societies shape emotion lexica. Although there is compelling evidence that abandonment of mobile lifestyle leads to gradual social change in hunter-gatherer societies, prior to this project there had been no investigations dedicated to emotion in this context. Using insights from linguistics, anthropology, and psychology, HG-Emo documents the emotion lexica in two related Austroasiatic languages of Thailand—Maniq spoken by mobile, and Mlabri recently settled, hunter-gatherer groups—and reveals how aspects of emotion language link to sociocultural factors.
Understanding emotions in different cultures as expressed in different languages is crucial for revealing how much emotion systems vary, and what the critical properties of human emotion are. Such knowledge may deepen our understanding of emotional well-being across different sociocultural contexts and help us respond to rapid social change across the EU and beyond in more informed ways.
The general objectives of the project were to: (1) document emotion vocabulary in two related hunter-gatherer languages, (2) relate the language of emotion in each group to its sociocultural background, (3) extract similarities and differences between groups, identifying possible forces shaping the emotion lexicon in each context.
The project consisted in documentation of the emotion lexicon in Maniq and Mlabri using a combination of experimental methods, linguistic elicitation, and participant observation. Experiments drew on previous cross-cultural methodology, which avoids the bias built into translation, and explores emotion terminology using emotionally evocative stimuli: facial expressions and emotional scenarios adjusted to both cultural settings. The understanding of emotion terminology was further deepened through linguistic and ethnographic interviews and spontaneous observations of language use in context.
Two main foci emerge from the results so far:
1) The general comparison of Maniq and Mlabri shows the two languages are similar in that they lack dedicated terms for certain emotion concepts, e.g. disgust, and participants in both groups to a large extent rely on bodily and situational descriptors when responding to facial expressions of emotion, e.g. nose-scrunching, stink, etc. Maniq and Mlabri nevertheless differ in their inventory of emotion terms, use of metaphor, and their speakers’ appraisals of some emotional scenarios, most notably those reflecting a differing attitude towards material objects. This is likely related to lifestyle differences caused by the adoption of sedentary life by the Mlabri. However, aspects of the emotional world linked to the Mlabri identity of egalitarian people seem resilient to change and—despite gradually emerging inequalities in Mlabri society—continue to reflect the egalitarian ethos placing restrictions on expressing emotions that could be perceived as claiming authority.
2) A specific case study of Mlabri metaphorical expressions reveals how different sociocultural contexts produce diversity in emotional meaning. The investigation reveals a previously unreported type of spatial metaphor of affect. Contrary to the suggestions in the literature that the conceptual metaphor HAPPY IS UP might be universal, Mlabri metaphors show a reverse mapping, as evident in the expressions klol jur ‘be happy, content (lit. heart going down)’ and klol khɯn/klol kɔbɔ jur ‘be unhappy, distressed (lit. heart going up/heart not going down’). Using data from language, gesture, and ethnography, this study component shows the Mlabri metaphors are not idiosyncratic, but reflect the specific sociocultural context of the Mlabri and ideal affect centered on contentment and tranquility. Thus, although humans share certain basic bodily experiences underlying conceptual metaphors of affect, different cultures create metaphorical meaning drawing on the available sensorimotor correlates of emotion in distinct ways.
Two main foci emerge from the results so far:
1) The general comparison of Maniq and Mlabri shows the two languages are similar in that they lack dedicated terms for certain emotion concepts, e.g. disgust, and participants in both groups to a large extent rely on bodily and situational descriptors when responding to facial expressions of emotion, e.g. nose-scrunching, stink, etc. Maniq and Mlabri nevertheless differ in their inventory of emotion terms, use of metaphor, and their speakers’ appraisals of some emotional scenarios, most notably those reflecting a differing attitude towards material objects. This is likely related to lifestyle differences caused by the adoption of sedentary life by the Mlabri. However, aspects of the emotional world linked to the Mlabri identity of egalitarian people seem resilient to change and—despite gradually emerging inequalities in Mlabri society—continue to reflect the egalitarian ethos placing restrictions on expressing emotions that could be perceived as claiming authority.
2) A specific case study of Mlabri metaphorical expressions reveals how different sociocultural contexts produce diversity in emotional meaning. The investigation reveals a previously unreported type of spatial metaphor of affect. Contrary to the suggestions in the literature that the conceptual metaphor HAPPY IS UP might be universal, Mlabri metaphors show a reverse mapping, as evident in the expressions klol jur ‘be happy, content (lit. heart going down)’ and klol khɯn/klol kɔbɔ jur ‘be unhappy, distressed (lit. heart going up/heart not going down’). Using data from language, gesture, and ethnography, this study component shows the Mlabri metaphors are not idiosyncratic, but reflect the specific sociocultural context of the Mlabri and ideal affect centered on contentment and tranquility. Thus, although humans share certain basic bodily experiences underlying conceptual metaphors of affect, different cultures create metaphorical meaning drawing on the available sensorimotor correlates of emotion in distinct ways.
The project has made considerable advances in the present understanding of sociocultural shaping of emotion. It was the first extensive interdisciplinary investigation of the emotion lexicon of egalitarian hunter-gatherers in this context, and the first study to compare emotion terminology in mobile and sedentary groups. The findings speak to the dynamics of emotion systems in transformation and the questions of how culture, society, and the mind jointly shape human emotion, whereas the focus on the cultural niche of egalitarian hunter-gatherers is a step towards extending our knowledge on emotion to become more representative of all humanity.
The research carried out within the project contributes towards European policy objectives in speaking to the societal challenge of inclusive, innovative and reflective societies. The results on the sociocultural shaping of emotion will help foster understanding and greater appreciation of the world’s cultural and linguistic diversity, vital in Europe’s increasingly multicultural societies. In addition, the project’s focus on emotional systems evolving under social transformations can help Europe respond better to ongoing and future challenges related to emotional well-being in times of social change.
The research carried out within the project contributes towards European policy objectives in speaking to the societal challenge of inclusive, innovative and reflective societies. The results on the sociocultural shaping of emotion will help foster understanding and greater appreciation of the world’s cultural and linguistic diversity, vital in Europe’s increasingly multicultural societies. In addition, the project’s focus on emotional systems evolving under social transformations can help Europe respond better to ongoing and future challenges related to emotional well-being in times of social change.