Georgiy B. Blinnikov

Background. The search for reliable means of establishing relations between sensory qualia and their conceptualization in language has given rise to several approaches, both philosophical and psychophysical. This paper gives a short account of today’s approaches to the problem and presents a frame-based approach, which may be superior to other methods. 

Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of the frame-based approach to the conceptualization of sensory qualia in language. The semantic field “Loud” in the Italian language is analyzed, as it offers a unique case: Italian does not have a lexeme whose main meaning would be translated into English as “loud” or into Russian as “громкий” (gromkiĭ). 

Design. In the field “Loud”, nine adjectives were analyzed by means of  dictionary definitions, frequency in the Italian language corpus, and native speakers’ usage. 

Results. The findings reveal a frame structure of the field consisting of 11 frames, which can be grouped into two large entities: sounds proper and objects that emit sounds. The parameters that underpin the frame structure are vocal/non-vocal, intentional/spontaneous, explosive/non-explosive, one source/multiple sources, and natural/artificial. Another important result is a more accurate description of lexemes involved in the current field (the main adjectives are alto, forte,and rumoroso).

Conclusion. The frame-based approach provides an effective means of studying the relationship between sensory qualia and their conceptualization in language.