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Chapter 9 - Emotions across Languages and Cultures

from Part III - Emotion Dynamics in Multicultural Societies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2026

By
Pernelle Lorette  and
Jean-Marc Dewaele
Edited by
Jozefien De Leersnyder
Jozefien De Leersnyder
Affiliation:
KU Leuven, Belgium
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Summary

Both linguistic and psychological constructionist approaches to emotion research recognize the crucial role of language in shaping emotion experience and communication. Multilingual individuals navigate multiple languages, and often multiple cultures, making it essential to understand how emotions are perceived, processed, experienced, and communicated in first and later learned languages. This chapter reviews previous findings from linguistics and psychology, shedding light on the complex and multifaceted relationships among emotion, language, and culture. While it is clear that multilinguals perceive, process, experience, and communicate emotions differently across their various languages, the chapter outlines possible directions for future research to further explore the impact of multilingualism and multiculturalism on emotions.

Keywords

cultureemotionlanguagemultilingualism

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The Cultural Shaping of Emotion , pp. 208 - 229
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2026

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