The concentric architecture of the Basque weather lexicon: A cognitive-cultural analysis
The concentric architecture of the Basque weather lexicon: A cognitive-cultural analysis ABSTRACT: This article analyses the Basque ethnometeorological lexicon as a motivated system, challenging the view of language as arbitrary signs. Using an integrated framework of Embodied Cognition, Cultural Cognition, Usage-Based Linguistics and the Concentric Theory of Lexical Creation, it examines how this vocabulary arises from perception, culture and communication. A cognitive-structural analysis reveals a highly organised lexicon structured in six concentric circles of metaphorical creation, radiating from the human body to material culture, food, animals, mythology and religion. The lexicon is profoundly iconic, featuring extensive onomatopoeia, and exhibits high granularity, reportedly distinguishing over twelve types of rain. These findings support a moderate linguistic relativity, suggesting that the lexicon actively shapes a community’s environmental perception. We conclude...