Cross-cultural conceptions of happiness

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the linguistic studies of cross-cultural con ceptualisations of “happiness”, focussing on methodological issues and research findings. It first gives a general, contextual account of recent multidisciplinary approaches to global happiness studies and how this field of research has become a new science. It then discuss es the critical role of language and self-reporting in “happiness” research, and examines methodological problems arising from cross-linguistic studies of “happiness”, and from studies of the universals and culture-specificity of emotion in general. The chapter also discusses possible solutions. In this context, the culture-independent Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach is introduced, with illustrative examples drawn from Eng lish and Chinese. Commonalities and differences between the NSM approach and the Con ceptual Metaphor Approach to emotion are also discussed. Three detailed NSM-based case studies of conceptualisations of “happiness” in English, Chinese, and Danish are dis cussed, as well as the role of culture in such conceptualisations. The conclusion stresses the role of language and metalanguage in discovering people’s beliefs about “happiness”. Show more