Semantic Class of Emission Situation Vocabulary: a Contrastive-Typological Perspective

Abstract

The paper focuses on the semantic class of vocabulary denoting emission situations (sound and smell emission) from a contrastive-typological perspective. The aim of the study is to characterize the conceptual organization, argument structure, and directions of semantic derivation of emission verbs in English, German, French, Polish, and Ukrainian. The methodological framework of the research is based on descriptive, componential, and contrastive methods, as well as elements of cognitive-semantic analysis. The study shows that the emission situation is structured as a multidimensional concept comprising an internal domain (invariant perceptual features) and an external domain (situational, evaluative, locative, gradational, and other parameters). The analysis identifies specific constituents of both the internal and external domains of the concept for each subclass of emission vocabulary, reflecting the properties of the respective perceptual channels. Emission verbs display considerable derivational potential and realize regular semantic shifts toward the domains of state, behavior, mental activity, and evaluation. A cross-linguistic comparison of the selected languages reveals the presence of universal principles underlying the organization of emission vocabulary alongside language-specific realizations of particular semantic components. Thus, emission vocabulary emerges as a multidimensional system reflecting the interaction between human perceptual experience and the linguistic worldview, and it demonstrates significant potential for further typological research.