The Image of Basic Emotion «disgust» in the Cartoon «inside Out» (case Study of English and German Versions)
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Emotions, particularly the basic emotion of disgust, are universal components of the human mind with biological origins and protective functions.This characteristic ensures the recurrence and relevance of this emotion in cross-cultural contexts, undergoing only minor modifications in cultures that share related languages within the same branch of language family -such as English and German.However, the ways in which emotions are verbalized vary significantly depending on cultural and linguistic settings.The relevance of this study lies in its focus on identifying linguistic means of expressing the emotion of disgust in English and German to enhance intercultural communication.The research material consisted of the English and German versions of the cartoon "Inside Out".The study employed qualitative content analysis, semantic analysis, and comparative linguistic analysis.Special attention was given to syntactic and lexical constructions, as well as non-verbal manifestations of disgust in the character's utterances.The character's speech is marked by a high concentration of negative vocabulary and exclamatory sentences, and is grammatically complex: it displays both a prospective aspect (highlighting potential threats) and a retrospective aspect (emphasizing criticism).Syntactically, prospective discourse is dominated by short exclamatory sentences, while retrospective discourse frequently involves modal constructions.Lexically, interjections denoting aversion are predominant.In the English version, the character of Disgust exhibits a high degree of sarcasm and emotional intensity, whereas in the German version, the expression is more restrained, reflecting cultural norms.The comparative analysis confirms that while disgust, as a biological response, is universal, its linguistic encoding is culturally conditioned.In the German adaptation, sarcastic expressions are minimized, intonational patterns are altered, and certain utterances are simplified to better align with the expectations of a German-speaking audience.Thus, the verbalization of emotions reveals the intricate interplay between language, culture, and emotional cognition.
Institution: V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University
Language: English
Topic: Language and Culture
Subfield: Linguistics and Language
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4412570498