Anna Wierzbicka (linguist)

Anna Wierzbicka is a Polish-born linguist renowned for her work in semantics and cross-cultural communication. She developed a method called Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM), which breaks down meanings of words and concepts into universal, small building blocks shared across different languages and cultures. This approach helps compare how various societies understand things like emotions, values, and social relationships, promoting clearer intercultural understanding. Wierzbicka’s research emphasizes the importance of language in shaping thought and culture, making her contributions valuable for linguistics, anthropology, and understanding human communication globally.