Shaping Identities through the Affects

RELEVANCE: This chapter examines a supposedly tenth-century stanza preserved in the thirteenth-century poetical treatise Skáldskaparmál, arguing that its conceptual model for “breast” exhibits clear signs of originating in the twelfth century or later. While kenning types for “breast” may initially seem stable and consistent throughout the skaldic corpus, this study demonstrates that a closer analysis of context and diction reveals significant variation in their conceptual models between pre- and post-Christian verse. Moreover, it traces their evolution from the ninth to the fourteenth centuries.

KEY AREAS: Old Norse, Conceptual Metaphor, Cultural Linguistics, Kenning, Body-parts, Contrastive Linguistics.

RELEVANCE: In this chapter, we contrast SADNESS in Old English and Old Norse, reconstructing their lexical fields with historical and cognitive linguistic methods. Both languages favour literal expressions, but figurative ones differ: Old English sees sadness as a low-control emotion, while Old Norse links it with anger, framing it as more controllable, often through revenge. We also find differing views of the mind: securely enclosed in Anglo-Saxon texts versus permeable boundaries in Old Norse.

KEY AREAS: Old English, Old Norse, Conceptual Metaphor, Cultural Linguistics, Sadness, Contrastive Linguistics.

RELEVANCE: In this article, I examine identity construction and negotiation through face work in a Portuguese Inquisition trial, focusing on the case of Catarina de Orta. Analyzing both the inquisitor’s questions and the defendant’s responses, I show how impoliteness and self-politeness coexist in courtroom discourse. The inquisitor uses impoliteness to assert power, provoke negative emotions, and undermine the defendant’s credibility. In contrast, the defendant employs self-politeness to protect her face against these attacks. This interplay shapes the competing narratives of accuser and defendant, evolving with each interrogation.

KEY AREAS: Portuguese, Inquisitions, Jewish Studies, Negative Emotions, Courtroom Discourse, (Im)politeness.

RELEVANCE: The study of metaphor variation and change presents unique challenges for systematic linguistic analysis. Recent developments in cognitive sociolinguistic theory emphasize the importance of understanding conceptual differences across linguistic varieties. Our research contributes to this field by using statistical analysis of large dialectal data sets to explore lexical variation and change in World English. We focus on why certain emotion conceptualizations are more common in some varieties. Our findings show that local socio-cultural models of emotions influence lexical variation and change at the dialectal level, highlighting the relevance of socio-cultural contexts in shaping language.

KEY AREAS: Cognitive Sociolinguistics, Emotion Metaphor, Cultural Linguistics, Geopolitics of Emotions, Sociology.

RELEVANCE: This research analyzes onomasiological variation in Old English texts by Ælfric, focusing on how shame and guilt are expressed across genres. By examining all relevant expressions in the Ælfrician corpus, we propose a network of literal and figurative conceptualizations for these emotions. Our analysis reveals the tension between literal, metonymic, and metaphoric expressions. We show that the introduction of Augustinian psychology in Anglo-Saxon England led to (i) the decline of the Germanic view of shame and guilt as social control tools, (ii) the spread of new values, and (iii) the rise of embodied metaphors like SHAME IS A COVER and GUILT IS A BURDEN, reflecting a shift toward self-directed emotional evaluation in line with Christianization.

KEY AREAS: Old English, Conceptual Variation, Intra-writer Variation, Shame, Guilt.

RELEVANCE: In this chapter, we analyze the evolution of the concept of shame in two distinct Germanic languages: Old English and Old Norse. Our primary goal is to trace the gradual transition from a shame-based society, where public humiliation functions as a tool for social control, to a guilt-based society, where personal recognition of wrongdoing and fear of divine punishment are central. This shift reflects a broader cultural change from collective to individual emotional experiences, which had profound implications for the linguistic expression of shame. Through the analysis of literal, metonymic, and metaphorical expressions of shame in our corpora of Old English and Old Norse texts, we aim to demonstrate how these languages reflect the evolving societal attitudes towards shame, highlighting the progressive individualization of this emotion in both cultures.

KEY AREAS: Old English, Old Norse, Metaphors, Shame, Cognition, Germanic Linguistics.

RELEVANCE: This research sheds light on the cultural significance of emotions in late Old English society through an analysis of emotion-related personal names recorded in the Domesday Book. By examining naming practices, including gender distribution and lexical combinations of emotion themes, the study reveals insights into societal values, emotional metaphors, and the evolution of language in post-Conquest England.

KEY AREAS: Old English, Name-giving, History of Emotions, Gender, Domesday Book.

RELEVANCE: In this article, we analyze metaphorical expressions of jealousy in American English and Peninsular Spanish. Using the Corpus of Contemporary American English and the Corpus de Referencia del Español, we examined occurrences of jealousy and celo(s) (and their derivatives) to identify metaphorical source domains for this emotion. These domains were grouped and compared both quantitatively and qualitatively across the two languages, with a focus on the role of sensory perception in shaping metaphors of jealousy. Our findings highlight the centrality of touch in both languages, alongside a broader variety of sensory-related metaphors in American English.

KEY AREAS: American English, Spanish Jealousy, Sensory Perception, Comparative Linguistics, Metaphor.