"Emotions are a core part of human experience, but the way we understand and express them differs across cultures. While some theories suggest that emotions are universal and biologically rooted, others argue that they are shaped by cultural influences. Recent research indicates that negative emotions, such as sadness or anger, show greater variation in how they are lexicalized and understood across cultures compared to positive emotions. This difference may be due to physiological factors, like stress, and environmental influences, which lead people to develop more detailed ways of expressing negative feelings.
The EVOLVE project will investigate how culture influences emotional understanding by studying speakers of 27 languages, focusing on how emotions are expressed and how their meanings shift over time. By integrating insights from linguistics, psychology, and cultural studies, EVOLVE seeks to advance our knowledge of emotion semantics and contribute to the development of culturally sensitive tools for emotional education, therapy, and communication."