The Syntax and Semantics
of the emotion lexicon
References
 Maia, (1994/6
 A large number of grammars and books on linguistics –
available on request!
Overview
 Semantic Case
 General introduction
 Halliday’s Senser and Phenomenon
 Semantics of the Verbs of Emotion
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General introduction
Stative v. dynamic verbs
Syntax of emotion verbs
Emotion adjectives
Relationship to cognitive verbs
 Semantics of the Nouns of Emotion
Semantic Case
 Many languages have systems of Case – e-g. using suffixes
to mark nouns as nominative, accusative, dative, genitive
etc. – although the meta-language will differ.
 The English case system is minimal – e.g. I / me, or they /
them
 English semanticists therefore argued long over possible
implicit case structures – Agent /Actor, Object / Patient; etc.
 Situation with emotion and cognition verbs - complex
From Maia – Chap. 5
Senser
 The Senser is:
 Usually a human being
 Sometimes an animal
 Occasionally an object that has been anthropomorphized
by the speaker
A Phenomenon can be..
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Unknown, or unspecified in the immediate context.
Self, or permanent quality of SENSER
State or situation of SENSER
Emotion, perception or cognitive processes of
SENSER
Action by SENSER
The Other
State or situation of the Other
Emotion, perception or cognitive processes of the
Other
Action by the Other
A non-human object, concrete or abstract.
A complex proposition about the world
Semantic case
and emotion – Sfoc verbs
 Senser – refers to person who has the emotion
 Phenomenon – whatever leads to this emotion
 John (Senser) loves Mary (Phenomenon)
 John (Senser) loves that painting by Picasso
(Phenomenon)
 John (Senser) fears the UK will vote against the EU
(Phenomenon)
 Classification of love and fear as Sfoc verbs
Semantic case
and emotion – Pfoc verbs
 Senser – refers to person who has the emotion
 Phenomenon – whatever leads to this emotion
 The TV news presenter (Phenomenon) irritated John
(Senser)
 Mary’s exam results (Phenomenon) delighted her
mother (Senser)
 Classification of irritate and delight as Pfoc verbs
Semantic case
and emotion - Pfoc verbs
 BUT – the following sentence structures are more
common – for contextual and psychological reasons:
John (Senser) was irritated by The TV news presenter
Phenomenon)
 Mary’s mother (Senser) was delighted with her exam
results (Phenomenon)
Emotion verbs
 Semantic Classes of Emotion verbs
 Syntax of Emotion verbs
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Use of active and passive
Non-use of imperative with emotion verbs
Progressive aspect
Copulas + adjective / past participle
 Other copulas
 Language specific differences
 Be and ser/estar/ficar
 Be afraid / ter medo
 -Se passive use
Dowty (1979: 66-7)
semantics + syntax
I.
STATES
C. Transitive and Two-Place phrasal adjectives :
2. proud, jealous and fond of
D. Transitive verbs
1.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Animate subjects : (including ) love, hate, dislike
Physical perception verbs : (including) feel
Cognitive verbs with propositional objects: (including) regret
Psych-Movement Verbs dismay, worry, please, surprise, astonish
Non-extensional Objects : need, want, desire, fear
E. Two-place phrasal verbs
2. Psych-movement: be pleased/astonished/dismayed at NP:like NP.
Quirk et al.'s (1985: 201)
Stative verbs
a)
Intellectual states - e.g. know, believe or suppose;
b)
States of emotion or attitude - e.g. like. pity or
want;
c)
States of perception - e.g. see, hear or feel
d)
States of bodily sensation - e.g. hurt, tickle or feel
cold.
Active and Passive
and Sfoc verbs
 Sfoc verbs like love, hate, fear, hope nearly always use
Active voice
 Examples
 John loved Mary v. ?Mary was loved by John
 Some children fear the dark v. ?The dark is feared by
some children
 They hope for peace v. ?Peace is hoped for (by them)
 They hope that peace will come soon v. ?That peace will
come soon they hope.
 Exceptions: King John was hated by all who knew him
Active and Passive
and Pfoc verbs
 Pfoc verbs irritate, annoy, delight, distress, disgust
prefer a Passive type structure
 Examples
 John was annoyed with Mary
 They were distressed by the lack of medical attention
their mother received
 They were delighted with their exam results
 He was disgusted by the poor sanitation system at the
migrants’ camp.
Discussion
 Consider possible contexts for the following:
 Jane worries me v. I am worried about Jane
 Jane’s tendency to leave everything to the last minute
worried me v. I was worried about Jane’s tendency to
leave everything to the last minute.
 Your attitude annoys /disgusts me v. I am annoyed
/disgusted at the way you treat your children
Possible explanation
 When expressing a situation of emotion, the
psychological focus – in context – is usually more on
the person who feels it, rather than on the situation that
causes it
Imperative
and Emotion verbs
 Several authors refer to the almost impossibility of
using the Imperative with emotion verbs
 Examples:
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*Love Mary!
*Hate the way he speaks to you!
*Irritate him!
*Distress your mother!
BUT Love thy neighbour (different lexical or situational
usage?)
Progressive aspect
and emotion
 Another argument for the stative – non-volitional – nature of
Emotion verbs is their rejection of the progressive aspect
(typical of action verbs)
 Consider:
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The parents love their children
*The parents are loving their children.
Mary hates coffee
*Mary is hating coffee
They fear the volcano will erupt soon.
*they are fearing the volcano will erupt soon
 Notable exception – McDonald’s ‘I’m loving it!’
Copulas
 According to Quirk et al. (1985 : 16.21):
 "a verb is said to have COPULAR complementation
when it is followed by a subject complement or a
predication adjunct and when this element cannot be
dropped without changing the meaning of the verb".
 Significant difference between English and Portuguese:
 English – BE
 Portuguese – SER and ESTAR
Other copulas and Emotion
 English:
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APPEAR
BECOME
FEEL
GROW
LOOK
SEEM
SOUND
Zero copula
 Portuguese
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ANDAR
FICAR
IR
PARECER
SENTIR
SENTIR-SE
VIR
Zero copula
Discussion
 If emotion – and certain cognition - verbs reject the
Imperative, the progressive aspect and favour certain
copulas
 Can we talk of ‘free will’ and ‘volition’ in relation to
emotion?
 Does this reflect embedded ideas in language from our
past (present?) about the lack of control that we have
over our emotions?
 Can we actively annoy /irritate /distress someone – if that
person is actually indifferent to or unaware of what we are
trying to do?
Copulas and
-ed forms ? past participles
 Consider
 I am worried
 He seemed worried
 Ben stood staring at her across the garden, a puzzled,
worried expression on his face. (BNC)
 And
 Mary is distressed
 Mary looks distressed
 When the woman had gone Anna was left in a very
distressed state but she declined to say what had
passed between her and the visitor. (BNC)
SFoc Adjectives
 English
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(Un)Happy – for/about
Glad
Ecstatic
Sad
Afraid
Hopeful
Anxious
Proud
Sorry
Portuguese
 Feliz
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Infeliz
Triste
Esperançoso
Ansioso
Orgulhoso
Receoso
PFoc Adjectives
 English
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Irritating
Pleasing
Surprising
Shocking
Enviable
Disappointing
Satisfying
 Portuguese
 Irritante
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Chocante
Invejável
Desilusionante
Satisfatório
Ambivalence and
 Fearful
 To be fearful / a fearful + noun
 Loving
 A loving wife
 Hopeful / hopeless
 He looked hopeful / hopeless
 A hopeful / hopeless situation
Emotion nouns
 Usually uncountable – not used in plural
 Can act as names – literary genres
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"Friendship is Love without his wings" (Byron)
"Fear is the parent of cruelty". (Froude)
"Love conquers all". (Virgil)
"Anger is a short madness". (Horace)
 More frequent in Portuguese – ter medo, vergonha etc.
Comparing languages
 English speakers – are afraid, embarrassed, hopeful,
aware of, … (BE + adjective)
 Portuguese speakers – TEM medo, vergonha,
esperança, conhecimento de (Have + noun)
 Portuguese – like other languages – has a –Se
(reflexive) passive
 E.g. He became angry > Zangou-se