Patterns of semantic variation differ across body parts: evidence from the Japonic languages

The human body is central to myriad metaphors, so studying the conceptualisation of the body itself is critical if we are to understand its broader use. One essential but understudied issue is whether languages differ in which body parts they single out for naming. This paper takes a multi-method approach to investigate body part nomenclature within a single language family. Using both a naming task (Study 1) and colouring-in task (Study 2) to collect data from six Japonic languages, we found that lexical similarity for body part terminology was notably differentiated within Japonic, and similar variation was evident in semantics too. Novel application of cluster analysis on naming data revealed a relatively flat hierarchical structure for parts of the face, whereas parts of the body were organised with deeper hierarchical structure. The colouring data revealed that bounded parts show more stability across languages than unbounded parts. Overall, the data reveal there is not a single universal conceptualisation of the body as is often assumed, and that in-depth, multi-method explorations of understudied languages are urgently required.

Automated summary

This study examined body part naming across six Japonic languages using a multi-method approach, revealing significant differences in terminology and semantics. The research also found a flatter hierarchical structure for parts of the face compared to parts of the body, and greater stability in bounded body parts across languages. The data suggest that there is not a universal conceptualization of the body across languages, highlighting the need for further in-depth explorations of understudied languages.