Anna Wierzbicka
Encyclopedia
Anna Wierzbicka ˈanna vʲɛʐˈbʲitska (born in 1938 in Poland
) is a linguist
at the Australian National University
. She also lectures at Warsaw University and Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin
, Poland
. She studied at Warsaw University. From 1972 she moved from Poland
to Australia
.
Wierzbicka is famous for her work in semantics
, pragmatics
, and cross-cultural linguistics
. She is especially known for Natural Semantic Metalanguage
, particularly the concept of semantic primes
. This is a research agenda resembling Leibniz's original "alphabet of human thought", which Wierzbicka credits her colleague, linguist Andrzej Bogusławski
, with reviving in the late 1960s.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) is a linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
at the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
. She also lectures at Warsaw University and Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. She studied at Warsaw University. From 1972 she moved from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Wierzbicka is famous for her work in semantics
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
, pragmatics
Pragmatics
Pragmatics is a subfield of linguistics which studies the ways in which context contributes to meaning. Pragmatics encompasses speech act theory, conversational implicature, talk in interaction and other approaches to language behavior in philosophy, sociology, and linguistics. It studies how the...
, and cross-cultural linguistics
Anthropological linguistics
Anthropological linguistics is the study of the relations between language and culture and the relations between human biology, cognition and language...
. She is especially known for Natural Semantic Metalanguage
Natural semantic metalanguage
The Natural semantic metalanguage is a linguistic theory and a practical, meaning-based approach to linguistic analysis. The theory is based on the conception of Polish professor Andrzej Bogusławski...
, particularly the concept of semantic primes
Semantic primes
Semantic primes means the suggestion that we have as part of our inherited human faculties a basic set of innate 'concepts', or perhaps more precisely, a non-conscious propensity and eagerness to acquire those concepts and encode them in sound-forms...
. This is a research agenda resembling Leibniz's original "alphabet of human thought", which Wierzbicka credits her colleague, linguist Andrzej Bogusławski
Andrzej Bogusławski
Andrzej Stanisław Bogusławski is a Polish linguist, former professor of Warsaw University, a collaborator with Anna Wierzbicka on Natural semantic metalanguage research, credited by her with reviving the notion of Leibniz's "alphabet of human thought", or Lingua Mentalis.He was imprisoned in the...
, with reviving in the late 1960s.
Books
- Experience, Evidence, and Sense: The Hidden Cultural Legacy of English (2010). ISBN 0195368010
- English: Meaning and culture (2006). ISBN 0195174747
- What Did Jesus Mean? Explaining the Sermon on the Mount and the Parables in simple and universal human concepts (2001).
- Emotions Across Languages and Cultures: Diversity and universals (1999).
- Understanding Cultures Through Their Key Words: English, Russian, Polish, German, Japanese (1997).
- Semantics: Primes and Universals (1996).
- Semantics, Culture and Cognition: Universal human concepts in culture-specific configurations (1992).
- Cross-cultural pragmatics: The semantics of human interaction (1991).
- The Semantics of Grammar (1988).
- English Speech Act Verbs: A semantic dictionary (1987).
- Lexicography and Conceptual Analysis (1985).
- The Case for Surface Case (1980).
- Lingua Mentalis: The semantics of natural language (1980).
- Semantic Primitives (1972).