The language of morality

Abstract

On what linguistic resources do we draw to constitute morality? This article describes how morality is centred on evaluative discourse, and is composed of a number of analytically distinct, but interdependent discursive elements, including evaluative categories; deontic discourse; concepts of moral character, virtues and vices; the expression of emotions; the expression of norms; and patterns of moral reasoning. The ways in which such elements are expressed, brought together and embedded in institutions varies greatly both within and between cultures. The article illustrates some of this variation from a wide range of language and cultures.