Cultural imprints in Vietnamese hand-based approximate measurement items: A cognitive and cross-linguistic perspective

Abstract

This study examines Vietnamese lexical items denoting approximate measurement based on the human hand, such as gang (hand span), đốt (finger joint), sải (arm span), nắm (a handful of), nhúm (a pinch of), and vốc (a double handful of), etc. Grounded in cognitive linguistics and linguistic-cultural theory, the research explores how these items encode a culturally specific worldview shaped by Vietnam’s agrarian way of life. Using qualitative semantic analysis, twelve lexical items are classified into two subsystems, length/distance and quantity/amount, and compared with their English counterparts. The findings indicate that Vietnamese preserves a parallel system of embodied, imprecise measurement alongside standardized scientific items. This coexistence reflects an epistemology that privileges experiential approximation and human-centered perception rather than absolute precision. The study contributes to cross-linguistic research on measurement, embodiment, and linguistic worldview.