Editing Explication (section)

== Semantic explication ==
In the [[natural semantic metalanguage]] theory, explications are semantic representations of vocabulary. These explications are made up of a very limited set of words called [[semantic primes]] which are considered to have universal meaning across all languages.

An example of an explication of the word ''happy''<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Lexical Meaning|last=Murphy|first=M. Lynne|publisher=Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics|year=2010|pages=69–73}}</ref>'':''<syntaxhighlight lang="text">
X feels happy = 
     sometimes someone thinks something like this:
          something good happened to something
          I wanted this
          I don't want other things now
     because of this, someone feels something good
     X feels like this
</syntaxhighlight>What sets the Natural Semantic Metalanguage Theory's explications apart from previous theories, is that these explications can fit into natural language, even if it sounds very awkward. For example:<ref name=":0" /><syntaxhighlight lang="text">
The clown looks [happy]

The clown looks like [the clown thinks something like this: 'something good happened to me; I wanted this; I don't want other things now'; because of this, the clown feels something good].
</syntaxhighlight>Explications in the Natural Semantic Metalanguage are neither exact dictionary definitions, nor encyclopedic explanations of a concept. They often differ slightly depending upon the personal experiences of the person writing them. In this way, they can be said to "rely heavily on 'folk theories,' that is, the rather naive understandings that most of us have about how life, the universe, and everything work."<ref name=":0" /> Explications of abstract concepts, such as color, do not list any scientific facts about the object or concrete definitions. Instead, the explications use comparisons and examples from the real world.