The body in expressions of emotion: Kuot

This contribution examines the use of body terms in expressions of emotion in Kuot, a non-Austronesian language of New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. It is found that expressions involving the word for ‘stomach’, daləp, correspond mainly to what we would consider to be psychological states, while expressions making use of neip ‘skin; body’ are largely concerned with physical states. Some other body parts also form part of emotive expressions.