Semantic changes of the Vietnamese verbs of touch to the domain of social interactions from the embodiment theory

Abstract

In Vietnamese, the verbs of touch are used not only to refer to meanings related to the physical perception of the sense of touching, but also to express meanings related to other semantic fields, such as: experiences or social interactions, etc. The aim of article is, therefore, to find out which semantic changes in the verbs of touch are found in the domain of social interactions. The article applies the embodiment theory to explain how and why two different domains - physical, concrete touch and mental, abstract social interactions are connected together.