linguistic representation and conceptual structure

This study explored the organization of the semantic field and the conceptual structure of moving experiences by investigating German-language expressions referring to the emotional state of being moved. We used present and past participles of eight psychological verbs as primes in a free word-association task, as these grammatical forms place their conceptual focus on the eliciting situation and on the felt emotional state, respectively. By applying a taxonomy of basic knowledge types and computing the Cognitive Salience Index, we identified joy and sadness as key emotional ingredients of being moved, and significant life events and art experiences as main elicitors of this emotional state. Metric multidimensional scaling analyses of the semantic field revealed that the core terms designate a cluster of emotional states characterized by low degrees of arousal and slightly positive valence, the latter due to a nearly balanced representation of positive and negative elements in the conceptual structure of being moved

Situating language register across the ages, languages, modalities, and cultural aspects: Evidence from complementary methods

In the present review paper by members of the collaborative research center “Register: Language Users' Knowledge of Situational-Functional Variation” (CRC 1412), we assess the pervasiveness of register phenomena across different time periods, languages, modalities, and cultures. We define “register” as recurring variation in language use depending on the function of language and on the social situation. Informed by rich data, we aim to better understand and model the knowledge involved in situation- and function-based use of language register. In order to achieve this goal, we are using complementary methods and measures. In the review, we start by clarifying the concept of “register”, by reviewing the state of the art, and by setting out our methods and modeling goals. Against this background, we discuss three key challenges, two at the methodological level and one at the theoretical level: (1) To better uncover registers in text and spoken corpora, we propose changes to established analytical approaches. (2) To tease apart between-subject variability from the linguistic variability at issue (intra-individual situation-based register variability), we use within-subject designs and the modeling of individuals' social, language, and educational background. (3) We highlight a gap in cognitive modeling, viz. modeling the mental representations of register (processing), and present our first attempts at filling this gap. We argue that the targeted use of multiple complementary methods and measures supports investigating the pervasiveness of register phenomena and yields comprehensive insights into the cross-methodological robustness of register-related language variability. These comprehensive insights in turn provide a solid foundation for associated cognitive modeling.Peer Reviewe

Storytelling and retelling in Bulgarian: a contrastive perspective on the Bulgarian adaptation of MAIN

Bulgarian belongs to the South Slavic language group but exhibits specific linguistic features shared with the non-Slavic languages of the Balkan Sprachbund. In this paper, we discuss linguistic and cultural aspects relevant for the Bulgarian adaptation of the revised English version of The Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (LITMUS-MAIN). We address typological properties of the verbal system pertaining to a differentiated aspectual system and to a paradigm of verbal forms for narratives grammaticalized as renarrative mood in Bulgarian. Further, we consider lexical, derivational and discourse cohesive means in contrast to the English markers of involvement and perspective taking in the MAIN stories

Cluster analysis dendrograms and MDS plots for Study 2 and Study 3.

<p>(A) Cluster analysis dendrogram for Study 2. (B) MDS Plot of the Procrustes analysis of MDS solutions of the eight emotion terms common to Study 2 and Study 3; the starting points of the arrows represent the emotion terms according to the MDS of Study 2, while the end points of the arrows represent the emotion terms according to the MDS of Study 3; the dotted lines represent the BAWL-R-based variables valence and arousal, fitted into the plot. (C) Cluster analysis dendrogram for all 23 emotion terms of Study 3. (D) MDS plot for all emotion terms of Study 3; symbols represent the seven clusters found by the cluster analysis (see main text for details).</p

Descriptive statistics and comparison of the subsamples of Study 2.

<p>The χ² values are depicted in the lower left triangle; smaller values indicate a greater similarity between the subsamples. Overlapping coefficients (OVLs) are depicted in the upper right triangle; higher values indicate a greater similarity between the subsamples. Particip. = participants; Val. = Valence (seven point scale from −3 up to +3); Arsl. = Arousal (five point scale from 1 up to 5).</p><p>^ab) Means within a column with different superscripts are significantly different.</p><p>* <i>p</i> < .05;</p><p>** <i>p</i> < .01;</p><p>*** <i>p</i> < .001 (Bonferroni-corrected for <i>n</i> = 28 tests).</p><p>Descriptive statistics and comparison of the subsamples of Study 2.</p

Overview of the subsamples of Study 3 with the means of the factor scores for the five dimensions of the EFA for each emotion concept.

<p>Overview of the subsamples of Study 3 with the means of the factor scores for the five dimensions of the EFA for each emotion concept.</p

A sketch of a psychological construct of being moved.

<p>A sketch of a psychological construct of being moved.</p

Tabulation of event descriptions by event types and subtypes for Study 1.

<p>Tabulation of event descriptions by event types and subtypes for Study 1.</p

Towards a psychological construct of being moved.

The emotional state of being moved, though frequently referred to in both classical rhetoric and current language use, is far from established as a well-defined psychological construct. In a series of three studies, we investigated eliciting scenarios, emotional ingredients, appraisal patterns, feeling qualities, and the affective signature of being moved and related emotional states. The great majority of the eliciting scenarios can be assigned to significant relationship and critical life events (especially death, birth, marriage, separation, and reunion). Sadness and joy turned out to be the two preeminent emotions involved in episodes of being moved. Both the sad and the joyful variants of being moved showed a coactivation of positive and negative affect and can thus be ranked among the mixed emotions. Moreover, being moved, while featuring only low-to-mid arousal levels, was experienced as an emotional state of high intensity; this applied to responses to fictional artworks no less than to own-life and other real, but media-represented, events. The most distinctive findings regarding cognitive appraisal dimensions were very low ratings for causation of the event by oneself and for having the power to change its outcome, along with very high ratings for appraisals of compatibility with social norms and self-ideals. Putting together the characteristics identified and discussed throughout the three studies, the paper ends with a sketch of a psychological construct of being moved