Emotion word is an ambiguous concept: dividing, defining, and connecting emotion-label words and emotion-laden words

We argue that emotion words can be divided into two subcategories: emotion-label words and emotion-laden words. We believe that the term "emotion word" should not solely refer to emotion-label words, since emotion-laden words also contain emotional content, and both emotion-label words and emotion-laden words play important roles in creating emotions. Based on the division of emotion-laden words and emotion-label words, the two types of words can be defined by measuring their emotional prototypicality, along with lexicographic definitions and syntactic analyses. The emotion word type perspective also acknowledges the interdependence between the two types of emotion words. Emotion-label words categorise and abstract continuous emotional episodes, while emotion-laden words instantiate and contextualise these episodes. This perspective is informative for emotion theories by highlighting unique contributions of two types of words.

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Publication Details

Journal
Cognition & Emotion
Published
2025-09-02
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2025.2551080
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Language, Metaphor, and Cognition
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.12

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article

Emotion word is an ambiguous concept: dividing, defining, and connecting emotion-label words and emotion-laden words

Juan Zhang, Chenggang Wu
1 citations
Cognition & Emotion
Language, Metaphor, and Cognition
2.12
article

Emotion word is an ambiguous concept: dividing, defining, and connecting emotion-label words and emotion-laden words

Juan Zhang, Chenggang Wu
article en
1 citations

Abstract

We argue that emotion words can be divided into two subcategories: emotion-label words and emotion-laden words. We believe that the term "emotion word" should not solely refer to emotion-label words, since emotion-laden words also contain emotional content, and both emotion-label words and emotion-laden words play important roles in creating emotions. Based on the division of emotion-laden words and emotion-label words, the two types of words can be defined by measuring their emotional prototypicality, along with lexicographic definitions and syntactic analyses. The emotion word type perspective also acknowledges the interdependence between the two types of emotion words. Emotion-label words categorise and abstract continuous emotional episodes, while emotion-laden words instantiate and contextualise these episodes. This perspective is informative for emotion theories by highlighting unique contributions of two types of words.

Cognition & Emotion
Shanghai International Studies University (CN), University of Macau (MO)
Universidade de Macau, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai Office of Philosophy and Social Science
Openalex Percentile: Top 11%
Language, Metaphor, and Cognition
2.12
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Emotion word is an ambiguous concept: dividing, defining, and connecting emotion-label words and emotion-laden words — Juan Zhang, Chenggang Wu · Cognition & Emotion (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS