[Lexicog] lexicography can be draining

[Wayne Leman]

Today's fun discovery in our Cheyenne lexical work was that the verb stem
for 'drain' has a specific morpheme meaning 'into.' As far as I know,
speakers of English conceptualize draining as something which liquid does
"out of" some container. Cheyennes apparently view the process differently.
I would guess that they perceive of the liquid going from one container
"into" another or into another space, such as into the drain pipe. The
difference between how English 'drain' and Cheyenne 'drain' are lexicalized
reminds me of the interesting diagrams that Prof. Langacre of UCSD has
promoted which display semantic conceptualizations.

Have any of the rest of you found interesting lexical differences like this
in languages you work with, demonstrating different conceptual points of
view?

Wayne
-----
Wayne Leman
Cheyenne website: http://www.geocities.com/cheyenne_language



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