Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Figures and tables -- Conventions and symbols -- Chapter 1. Danish as a universe of meaning -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Overview -- 1.3 Language and cultural values -- 1.4 Danish identity, culture and language -- 1.4.1 The new concepts dansk 'Danish' and sprog 'language' -- 1.4.2 Grundtvigianism and the peculiarities of Danish enlightenment -- 1.4.3 Scandinavian unity and diversity -- 1.5 Approaches to Danish cultural values -- 1.5.1 Parameter-based comparative approaches -- 1.5.2 Monographs -- 1.5.3 A critical summary -- 1.6 Doing linguistically grounded analysis: Caveats and challenges -- 1.6.1 Natural language and linguistic corpora -- 1.6.2 Linguistic and cultural heterogeneity and change -- 1.6.3 Ethnocentrism -- Chapter 2. The NSM approach to linguistic and cultural analysis: Key issues in contemporary cultural semantics -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 The NSM metalanguage -- 2.2.1 Semantic primes -- 2.2.2 Metalanguage grammar -- 2.2.3 Issues in Danish NSM -- 2.2.4 Semantic explications -- 2.2.5 Semantic templates -- 2.2.6 Semantic molecules -- 2.3 Perspectives and discussion -- 2.3.1 Conceptual vs. extensional approaches -- 2.3.2 Reductive paraphrase vs. metaphor mapping -- 2.3.3 Representational vs. critical perspectives -- 2.4 NSM and cultural values -- 2.4.1 Cultural keywords -- 2.4.2 Cultural scripts -- 2.5 Concluding remarks -- Chapter 3. Roots of Danish sociality: Hygge as a cultural keyword and core cultural value -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Rolling together hygge: The limitations of English -- 3.3 Hygge in cross-cultural encounters -- 3.4 The elaborations of hygge in Danish language -- 3.5 The semantics of hygge -- 3.5.1 Explaining the rise of the verb hygger -- 3.5.2 Stemning 'atmosphere', a hygge-related word -- 3.6 The ethnopragmatics of hygge -- 3.6.1 Social cognition.

3.6.2 Communicative style -- 3.6.3 Sensation and symbolism -- 3.7 How culture-specific is hygge? -- 3.8 Concluding remarks -- Chapter 4. "It's all about being tryg": Danish society, socialisation and ethnopsychology -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Tryghed as a Danish cultural value -- 4.3 The Cardamom Law -- 4.4 The semantics of tryg and tryghed -- 4.4.1 A tryg place -- 4.4.2 Tryghed vs. security -- 4.4.3 Feeling tryg -- 4.5 Towards a Danish ethnopsychology -- 4.5.1 The concept of rammer 'frames' -- 4.5.2 The importance of "overviewability" and "pedagogy" -- 4.6 Concluding remarks -- Chapter 5. The dark side of the Danes? A semantic and discursive analysis of janteloven 'the Jante Law' -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 The literary origin of janteloven -- 5.3 Anti-janteloven discourses in contemporary Denmark -- 5.4 The semantics of janteloven -- 5.5 Janteloven's hidden message of selvværd 'self-worth' -- 5.6 Janteloven - a Danish super demon -- 5.7 Concluding remarks -- Chapter 6. Danish cognitive values in cross-cultural perspective: Evidence from the cognitive verbs synes and mener -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Cognitive verbs and cognitive values -- 6.3 The semantics of synes -- 6.4 The semantics of mener -- 6.5 Danish cognitive values -- 6.5.1 A cultural script against "telling others what to think" -- 6.5.2 The value of selvstændig 'independent' thinking -- 6.6 Danish cognitive style in cross-cultural comparison -- 6.6.1 Danish and Russian verbs and values -- 6.6.2 Danish and Anglo English verbs and values -- 6.7 Pedagogical scripts -- 6.8 Concluding remarks -- Chapter 7. Are Danes truly the happiest people on earth? Semantics meets "happiness research" -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2"Happiness", meaning and culture -- 7.3 Explicating lykkelig, glad, and tilfreds -- 7.3.1 The lykkelig of intense emotion.

7.3.2 The lykkelig of life quality -- 7.3.3 The semantics of glad -- 7.3.4 The semantics of tilfreds -- 7.4 Comparative, historical and cultural perspectives -- 7.5 Cultural semantics vs. "happiness research" -- 7.6 Concluding remarks -- Chapter 8. Conclusion -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 Living with Danish concepts -- 8.3 Achievements and implications -- 8.4 Suggestions for future research -- 8.5 Closing remarks -- Appendix -- Notes -- References -- Author index -- General index.