The Identification and Communication of Expressions of Anger in Italian and Chinese Using Emotional Script

In psychology and artificial intelligence, the concept of "script" (Schank and Abelson, 1977; Fehr and Russell, 1984; Shaver et al., 1987) has been developed to define the shared and culturally specific knowledge that guides individuals in thinking about, expressing, and regulating emotions. The script model represents, in essence, a cultural framework outlining the characteristic stages of an emotional experience. From a linguistic perspective, the script-based approach (Kövecses, 1986, 1990, 2000; Lakoff, 1987; Wierzbicka, 1994) has facilitated a conceptual analysis of emotions by reconciling a universalistic view with the experiential nature of emotional concepts. This approach underscores the idea that the conceptualization of emotions—rather than their physiological manifestations—can vary significantly across different languages and cultures. Despite its importance, the socio-pragmatic aspects of emotional communication are rarely addressed in textbooks for teaching Chinese language and culture to Italian learners. A similar gap may also exist in materials for teaching Italian to Chinese-speaking students. However, mastering the appropriate use of expressions related to emotional experiences is crucial for effective and nuanced intercultural communication. Building on this premise, this study presents a series of didactic activities conducted with Italian and Chinese students at four universities. These activities focus on the identification, acquisition, and communication of anger and related expressions through the creation of an emotional script, based on the analysis of episodes from two television series.