Tim Lomas: Positive Lexicography
Tim Lomas is a lecturer in positive psychology whose research often combines wellbeing with lexicography and the psychology of words (I have also read and annotated a few of his essays in relation to this subject). On his website he has a growing database of 'untranslatable words', e.g. words that aren't directly translatable in the english language.
Each 'theme' is sorted into three main categories: words on relationships, character and on feelings. There are then a few subcategories, such as (for feelings) positive and complex. Once you've established the category you want to explore, you are then able to select a specific english word, such as 'melancholic', in order to view all the 'similar' words Lomas has discovered from other languages around the world, that may relate to the feeling of melancholy, but are either to describe emotions much more specific or complex.
Personally, for my project, I wanted to specifically focus on the emotional aspect of these words- the 'feelings' category. Since I'm fascinated by the notion of indescribable feelings, and the use of words in other languages that attempt to pin down these ambivalent emotions, I also wanted to narrow my research down again to the subcategory 'complex feelings', even more specifically 'ambivalent' equivalents on the database.
This could then form the basis of my project so that, moving forwards, I have a much clearer path to follow that still relates to my initial idea and the broader concept of language and design.
Access the positive lexicography database here:
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