By Anna Wierzbicka Published by Cambridge University Press, 1999. Figures, List of abbreviations, Notes, References, Index. They are not, says Professor Wierzbicka. Of course, different languages and cultures share some of the six basic emotions, Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Disgust and Surprise, but it is essential to recognize the diversity of emotions, and abandon the notion of global emotional states.
Happiness is a smile, a laugh or an inner glow.
A diagrammatic explication summarized the discussion of each of these words. The explication is an excellent device for clarifying the difference between words of emotion within a culture and between cultures. But he smiled as he sat by the table, with the smile that was childlike and blank. Feelings matter a great deal, says Professor Wierzbicka, and they are now at the forefront of interdisciplinary investigations. This scholarly work fathoms the depths of feelings in terms of language, culture and cognitive scenarios.