Cognitive linguistic aspects of the concepts “Laughter” and “Smile” in bulgarian and English

Abstract

The present study provides a comprehensive cognitive-linguistic analysis of the concepts of laughter and smile as emotionally salient and culturally embedded elements of the Bulgarian and English linguistic worldviews. Emotions are examined as complex phenomena shaped by the interaction between biological universals and culturally conditioned patterns of interpretation and expression. Within this framework, laughter and smiles are treated as closely interconnected conceptual units belonging to a shared semantic and cognitive domain, characterised by high semiotic density and a multilayered internal structure. The analysis draws on lexicographic and etymological data, phraseological material, and the results of a directed associative experiment conducted among native speakers of Bulgarian and English. The study focuses on identifying the core and peripheral conceptual features of the two concepts and tracing the mechanisms by which these features are linguistically actualised. The associative experiment, conducted online, enables the reconstruction of the most salient semantic associations and evaluative components activated in the linguistic consciousness of contemporary speakers. The comparative perspective reveals both universal and culture-specific tendencies. While in both languages laughter and smile are predominantly associated with joy, emotional expression, and interpersonal interaction, the Bulgarian data emphasise values such as family, warmth, and emotional sincerity. In contrast, the English data show greater ambivalence, including ironic, sarcastic, and negatively marked associations, often shaped by media discourse and popular culture. The findings demonstrate that laughter and smiles function as dynamic cognitive constructs whose structure is shaped by cultural experience and communicative norms, thus reflecting the interaction between universal emotional patterns and language-specific conceptualisation.