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
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.
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 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.