Natural Semantic Metalanguage

The terms “good boy” or “good girl” could be best understand within their cultural context within the United States. This is best understood using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM). According to Wierzbicka (2014), these phrases are linked to “praise for something that the child has done with the idea that the child has acted in accordance with parental wishes” (p. 253). In the United States, children are raised to value and strive for a social acceptance from adults, which epitomizes a cultural emphasis on praise; for adults this is used as a form of social control from children. Historically, the expressions “good boy” or “good girl” are used to encourage and praise children, reassuring that they have healthy self-esteem. According to Wierzbicka (2014), there are components that this contains, and they are: “(a) Accounts for the spontaneous character of these examinations, which imply a parent’s current thought, (b) refers to parental wishes, (c) expresses a positive evaluation of the child, linked to the child’s actions (d) indicates an element of emotion” (p. 254). These components

Anglo American has roots in the Puritan religion, and their religion heavily influences their cultural practices on child rearing. For example, the Puritan lifestyle calls on particular roles for parents and children, revolving around being a servant of God. Ideally, it was vital to know that you were elected for salvation and lived a lifestyle that guided you towards that light. According to Wierzbicka (2014), “being a ‘good boy’ or a ‘good girl’ was tantamount to that ‘visible state of salvation’ that every Puritan was to aim at with all their heart and soul” (p. 266). Parents are responsible for their children’s souls, bodies, and education. For children, goodness and salvation was linked to obedience, which was viewed as the prime duty of a