A Native American view of the mind as seen in the lexicon of cognition in East Cree

Bibliographic Data

ID14872809
EditorsMarie-Odile Junker
Year2003
Volume14
Issue2-3
Pages167-194
Publication date2003-08-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCognitive Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0936-5907 • E-ISSN: 1613-3641
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/cogl.2003.007
OpenAlexW2131781894
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited12

East Cree, an Algonquian language spoken in Northern Quebec, Canada, has a classifier, -eyi- , that indicates mental activity. This morpheme is found in a very large number of cognition words including all verbs for thinking, most for knowing, all for wanting, and several for feeling. A morphosyntactic analysis of over 500 words shows that many common metaphors for thinking are found in the etymology of Cree thinking words as well as culture-specific ones. There are interesting correlations between thinking and feeling and between rational and supernatural processes. The data support the existence of semantic universals for mental predicates, as defined by Goddard and Wierzbicka (1994, 2002), by providing evidence that East Cree has exponents for the semantic primes THINK, WANT, and KNOW. Interviews with elders confirm that the Cree “theory of mind” has both universal and culturespecific aspects, like the ideas of wholeness, a connection with the greater “mind” of creation (the Great Spirit), and respect for others, which is a central value of Cree culture

Cognition · Cognitive linguistics · Cognitive psychology · Cognitive science · Lexicon · Linguistics · Categorization, perception, and language · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Neuroscience · Philosophy · Psychology

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