NSM in a nutshell

The Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach, originated by Anna Wierzbicka, is based on evidence that there is a small core of basic, universal meanings, known as semantic primes, that are lexicalized (either as words or as other linguistic expressions) in most (possibly all) languages of the world. This common core of meaning can be used as a tool for linguistic and cultural analysis: it allows us to describe the meanings of complex and culture-specific words and grammatical constructions (using semantic explications), and to articulate culture-specific values and attitudes (using cultural scripts). Explications and scripts are formulated in language that is clear, precise, cross-translatable, non-Anglocentric, and intelligible to people without specialist linguistic training.
 

The NSM approach has been applied to several dozen languages from all parts of the world and has numerous applications in intercultural communication, lexicography (dictionary making), language teaching, the study of child language acquisition, legal semantics, and various other areas. It can lay claim to being the most well-developed, comprehensive and practical approach to cross-linguistic and cross-cultural semantics on the contemporary scene.
 

For more information, see the Natural Semantic Metalanguage homepage at Griffith University, or look out for some state-of-the-art publications.
 

Recently published NSM books

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