Key publications

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: Using Conceptual Metaphor Theory, I examine how Japanese speakers express aesthetic emotions by analyzing a corpus of 1,100 TripAdvisor reviews focused on iconic landmarks like Mount Fuji and the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome. My study categorizes aesthetic emotions into four types—pleasure, contemplation, amazement, and respect—and explores the metaphors and embodied experiences shaping these expressions. This research highlights the cultural influences on aesthetic reactions, challenging the assumption that such responses are universal and offering insights into the interplay between language, emotion, and culture.

KEY AREAS: Japanese, Aesthetic Emotions, Tourism, Embodiment, Culture.

RELEVANCE: This study deepens our understanding of how language captures and conveys aesthetic emotions across different Spanish dialects. By analyzing travelers’ reviews of the Giza Pyramids, I identify meaningful connections between linguistic expressions and somatic reactions, shedding light on how people articulate their emotional responses to art and cultural heritage. The research includes a state-of-the-art review of cultural variation in the expression of aesthetic emotions and is the first study to specifically target these expressions and emotions in the Spanish language. This contribution not only advances the study of linguistic expression of emotions but also offers insights into the interplay between language, culture, and aesthetic experience, paving the way for future research on the topic.

KEY AREAS: Spanish, Aesthetic Emotions, Embodiment, Conceptual Variation.

RELEVANCE: In this study I explore how temperature metaphors shape our understanding of emotions, focusing on Old English texts (850–1100). While high body temperature is typically linked to negative emotions like anger, my analysis reveals its use in describing positive emotions as well. This challenges the idea that temperature metaphors are purely universal and highlights their cultural variability, contributing to the broader debate on metaphor and embodiment.

KEY AREAS: Old English, TEMPERATURE metaphor, Universality vs. Cultural Specificity; History of Emotions, Conceptual Metaphor and Metonymy.

RELEVANCE: In this article, I examine the shift from concrete to abstract meanings in Old English adjectives describing physical textures (e.g., roughness, smoothness). Using Old English dictionaries, I explore how these adjectives evolved to express physical, sensory, and emotional sensations. I categorize the secondary meanings into physical (e.g., weakness), sensory (e.g., sounds, sights), and emotional (e.g., grief, anger). I analyze these changes through metonymic, synesthetic, and metaphorical extensions. My study supports the idea that abstract concepts are rooted in physical experience and concludes by discussing the cultural influence of the Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England on these semantic shifts.

KEY AREAS: Old English, Emotion Metaphor, Cultural Linguistics, Sensorial Perception, Touch.

RELEVANCE: My research focuses on how speakers express aesthetic emotions, an area less explored compared to utilitarian emotions. Aesthetic emotions were once thought to lack specific patterns of metaphoric and metonymic representation, making expressions for art-related feelings seem arbitrary. However, recent studies show that many aesthetic emotions have characteristic embodiment. I analyzed a corpus of traveler reviews written by native speakers of Japanese and English. The findings reveal that both groups often use similar conceptual patterns, but also highlight cultural differences in how these emotions are described. Additionally, some emotions are expressed only in one sub-corpus, suggesting a cultural tendency to experience certain emotions in specific contexts. Overall, this research enhances our understanding of how culture influences the expression of aesthetic emotions.

KEY AREAS: Psychology, Japanese, English, Aesthetic Emotions, Theoretical Frameworks and Disciplines.

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: This chapter reveals that the domain of tactile perception was a frequent source domain for Old English emotion metaphors, shedding light on their conceptualization of touch. It raises key questions about the role of touch in Anglo-Saxon communication and how tactile their culture was overall. Exploring their position on the high/low contact spectrum and its impact on everyday interactions requires interdisciplinary collaboration, offering new insights into the history of the senses and emotional expression in the past.

KEY AREAS: Old English, History of Emotions, Physical Perception, Touch.

RELEVANCE: This chapter explores the evolving cultural meanings of happiness in Western Europe between 1100 and 1700, offering a fresh perspective through the lens of Cognitive Linguistics. This work examines how metaphor and metonymy shaped the semantic evolution of happiness in historical varieties of English. By reconstructing these semantic changes, it uncovers shifts in cultural models of happiness, tracing the transition from medieval views of happiness as unattainable to its redefinition as a vital pursuit. This analysis contributes to our understanding of how language reflects and drives cultural transformations.

KEY AREAS: History of Emotions, Multimodal Metaphor, Situated Emotions, Cultural Artifacts, Canterbury Cathedral.

RELEVANCE: This research explores the profound impact of emotions on human existence, cognition, and behavior, emphasizing their role as a driving force in shaping attitudes and perceptions. By examining how cultural artifacts, crafted within specific ecological and socio-cultural contexts, elicit emotions across time and space, the study sheds light on the enduring connection between material culture and emotional experiences. This understanding has implications for various fields, including psychology, cultural studies, and communication.

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

RELEVANCE: This chapter is relevant as it examines the interconnectedness of sensory perception, language, and cognition, challenging the dominance of vision in Western thought. By exploring metaphorical links between physical and internal sensations in Old English texts, it highlights the nuanced roles of other senses, offering insights into the cultural and cognitive dynamics of Anglo-Saxon language and culture.

KEY AREAS: Old English, Polysemy, Metaphors, Vision, Touch, Cognition, Ocularcentrism.

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 highlights the evolution of the conceptualization of shame in Old English, demonstrating the transformative impact of Christianity on emotional language and cultural values. By analyzing literal, metonymic, and metaphoric expressions, it reveals how embodied models of shame emerged alongside the adoption of Christian moral frameworks, reflecting a shift from honor-based to subjective experiences of emotion.

KEY AREAS: Old English, Shame, Embodiment, History of Emotions, Christianization.

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: This article examines the linguistic expression of shame and guilt in Old English. Through an analysis of expressions in a corpus of Old English texts, I propose a network of literal and figurative conceptualizations for each emotion. I argue that body-related expressions play a secondary role in the Anglo-Saxon imagery of shame and guilt. With the Christianization of England, new values and embodied metaphors emerged, such as SHAME IS REDNESS IN THE FACE and SHAME IS SOMETHING COVERING A PERSON, reflecting a shift towards internal self-evaluation rather than external judgment. These onomasiological changes offer insights into the lexical choices and sociolinguistic factors that shaped emotional expression in Anglo-Saxon England.

KEY AREAS: Historical Sociolinmguistics, Old English, Shame, Guilt, History of Emotions, Christianization.

RELEVANCE: This research underscores the shared conceptual frameworks underlying verbal and visual representations of emotions in Old English culture. By analyzing the Bayeux Tapestry, it reveals how Anglo-Norman artists systematically employed visual stimuli to convey emotions, highlighting differences in embodied and non-embodied representations across modalities. The study bridges linguistic and visual narratives, providing valuable insights into medieval emotion representation and communication.

KEY AREAS: Old English, Visual Metaphor, Textiles, Bayeux Tapestry, History of Emotions, Pictorial Runes.

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.

RELEVANCE: In this article, I explore the extent to which shared cognitive schemas underlie the expression of emotions in Old English through both language and visual media. Recent research has shown that verbal idioms for emotions are rooted in conceptual metaphors and metonymies tied to embodied experiences. Building on this, I analyze Old English expressions for fear and their visual representations in the Bayeux Tapestry. My findings reveal that Anglo-Norman artists employed a structured set of visual stimuli to represent fear, reflecting patterns consistent with linguistic expressions of the emotion.

KEY AREAS: Old English, Conceptual Change, Fear, History of Emotions, Bayeux Tapestry, Imagery, Embodied Cognition.

RELEVANCE: In this article, I examine cultural conceptualizations of fear in Old English texts. My study follows three main steps: defining and organizing fear terms within their semantic space, assessing their relative significance, and analyzing their degrees of literalness along the continuum of literal meaning, metonymy, and metaphor. Through a detailed analysis of fear-related words and expressions in Anglo-Saxon texts, I aim to reconstruct and describe the cultural model of fear reflected in the language of this period.

KEY AREAS: Old English, Emotions, Metaphor, Fear, Cultural Models, Conceptualization.

RELEVANCE: In this chapter, I analyze the diffusion of scientific metaphors in a corpus of Middle English medical texts. By examining metaphorical expressions within these specialized writings, I aim to trace how scientific ideas were communicated and adapted in medieval medical discourse. My research combines corpus analysis with historical linguistics to uncover the role of metaphor in shaping the language of science during this period, providing insights into the vernacularization of learned concepts and their dissemination across different audiences.

KEY AREAS: Middle English, Scientific Metaphor, Medical Texts, Vernacularization, Latin.

RELEVANCE: In this article, I examine the diachronic development, form, and function of metaphors in Old English language, literature, society, and iconography. Focusing on metaphors as drivers of diachronic change, I explore the early stages of the English language, using the Mind-as-Body metaphor as a framework. By analyzing perception verbs in Old English, I aim to reconstruct semantic connections made by Anglo-Saxon speakers, revealing how these metaphors reflect culturally significant aspects of their society.

KEY AREAS: Old English, Conceptual Metaphor, Mind-as-Body Metaphor, Knowledge.

RELEVANCE: In this study, I investigate the relationship between image schemata and the concept of light across diachronic lexical domains in English. By tracing how light-related terms have evolved over time, I aim to uncover the underlying cognitive structures shaping their semantic development. This research highlights the role of image schemata in organizing meaning and provides insights into the interplay between embodied cognition and linguistic change throughout the history of English.

KEY AREAS: Old and Middle English, Image schemata, Semantic Change, Light, Aesthetic Beauty.

RELEVANCE: This work contributes to historical lexicography by examining the lexical organization of the subdimension of TOUCHING in Old English. Using the Functional-Lexematic Model (FLM), I analyze the structure of this field. The FLM highlights how paradigmatic and syntagmatic information in a lexical entry are interconnected, with a verb’s combinatory possibilities and syntactic patterns being semantically motivated. This approach sheds light on the interrelation between lexical structure and meaning in early English.

KEY AREAS: Old English, Functional-Lexematic Model, Sensorial Perception, Touch, Linguistic Reconstruction, Etymology.