Explorations in Applied Ethnolinguistics

This volume contributes to the growing body of cutting-edge research into the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach in linguistics. It explores the broad range of possible applications enabled by the NSM approach, from linguistic studies of semantics and culture to cross-cultural studies, psychology and childhood education. The volume builds on previous studies, bringing a diversity of voices to this area, and covering sixteen languages. The volume celebrates the life and work of the late Bert Peeters, proponent and pioneer of the NSM approach in French. It comprises contributions from Peeters’ close associates, as well as former and current students, to engage with salient aspects of his work and honour his influence on the field, including conceptualisation of the term ‘applied ethnolinguistics’. The book is divided into four sections which reflect this diversity of applications and Peeters’ work in the field: applications outside of linguistics, semantics inside and outside Europe, and cultural scripts. This book will be of interest to a wide audience of scholars and students in applied linguistics and related fields, with a particular interest for scholars in semantics, pragmatics, cross-cultural communication, (language) education, Minimal English, and NSM.

Lauren Sadow is a Postdoctoral fellow at Aarhus University in Denmark on the Velux Fonden project Danish in the Making which explores applications of the NSM approach and Minimal Languages to language teaching. She publishes in semantics, pragmatics, ethnopragmatics, language teaching, intercultural communication, education, lexicography, and health communication. 

Kerry Mullan is Convenor of Languages at RMIT University, Australia where she teaches French language and culture and applied linguistics. Her main research interests are cross-cultural communication, intercultural pragmatics, discourse analysis, language teaching, and humour in French and Australian social interactions. 

Cliff Goddard is Professor of Linguistics at Griffith University, Australia. He is a leading proponent of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach to semantics and its sister theory, the cultural scripts approach to pragmatics. He has published widely in descriptive and theoretical semantics, language description and typology, pragmatics and ethnopragmatics, and intercultural communication.