Cross-language comparisons of emotional terms with special reference to the concept of anxiety

Abstract

Empirically defined the Japanese equivalents of anxiety (FU-AN), fear (KYO-FU), and depression (YU-UTSU) by the method used by J. R. Davitz (1969) among 60 Japanese college students and graduates (aged 18–26 yrs). Results were compared with those obtained by Davitz for anxiety, fear, and depression. For Japanese, experiences of FU-AN were closer to those of YU-UTSU than to those of KYO-FU, whereas Davitz found that, in English, experiences of anxiety were closer to those of fear than to those of depression. Specific instances of anxiety and FU-AN, written by 20 Japanese-American exchange students and 20 Japanese students, respectively, were subjected to the semantic differential method, and results revealed that the experiences of FU-AN were more distressing, more ambiguous, and more inactive than those of anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)