Åke Viberg

Åke Viberg is a Professor in General Linguistics at the Department of Linguistics and Philology, Uppsala University, specializing in Swedish language studies within global linguistic frameworks. His work bridges theoretical and empirical approaches to semantic analysis across languages.

Viberg's research centers on contrastive and typological linguistics, with deep expertise in lexical semantics and corpus-based methodologies. He investigates how languages encode sensory experiences (particularly smell and vision), motion events, and emotional concepts, focusing on Swedish in cross-linguistic comparison. His work reveals systematic patterns in verb semantics across domains like perception, possession, and communication, demonstrating how cultural and cognitive factors shape lexical expression.

Analysis of his 2009-2024 publications shows consistent focus on granularity in event verbalization, sensory semantics, and cross-linguistic variation in verb systems. Key trends include typological profiling of Swedish against European languages, corpus-driven studies of 'get' and posture verbs, and theoretical modeling of semantic fields. His research demonstrates how seemingly minor lexical differences reflect fundamental cognitive and cultural distinctions in language organization.