An Alternative Approach for Understanding Second Language Texts: Prototype Effects in L2 Writing

doi:10.18627/jslg.34.2.201808.233

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2018 Vol.34, Issue 2 Preview Page Next Page

Research Article

An Alternative Approach for Understanding Second Language Texts: Prototype Effects in L2 Writing: Lee, Song-Eun, Min, Sujung

31 August 2018. pp. 233-247

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Abstract

Since language is a cultural system through which we express the ways we conceptualize our experiences, language learning requires sustained cultural experiences and mutual understanding. Within the framework of prototype semantics and the model of cultural conceptualizations which prove a useful approach for understanding the relationship between language and culture in L2 writing, this study presents the argument that L2 writing involves new systems of cultural conceptualizations by providing examples of writings of Chinese learners of English. In the adoption of analytic frameworks of cultural, conceptual categories grounded in the theory of prototype semantics, the study conducts qualitative textual analyses of L2 texts and discusses how prototypical categorizations that have originally been associated with their L1 have an effect on the English writings of Chinese L2 learners. The study concludes with a discussion of some possible implications of the process for intercultural sense-making in the L2 writing context.

Keywords

prototype effects

cultural conceptualization

idealized cognitive models (ICMs)

second language writing

L2 texts

References

Blench, R. 2006. A Dictionary of Ghanian English. http://www.rogerblench.info/Language/English/Ghana%20English%20dictionary.pdf (1 August, 2015).
Chan, C. Y. 1996. Cultural Meaning in a Second-language Text. In Proceedings of the Edinburgh Linguistics Department Conference 96, 91-101.
Coleman, L. and Kay, P. 1981. Prototype Semantics: The English Word lie, Language 57.1, 26-44.10.2307/41428510.1353/lan.1981.0002
Diaz Vera, J. 2014. Metaphor and Metonymy Across Time and Cultures: Perspectives on the Socio-historical Linguistics of Figurative Llanguage. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.PMC3967952
Fillmore, C. 1975. The Future of Semantics. Berkeley Studies in Syntax and Semantics 1.4, 1-38.10.1515/9783110857610-007
Geeraerts. D. 1997. Diachronic Prototype Semantics: A Contribution to Historical Lexicology. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Glushko, R., Maglio, P., and Barsalou, W. 2008. Categorization in the wild. Trends in Cognitive Science 12.4, 129-135.10.1016/j.tics.2008.01.00718343710
Goddard, C. 1996. Cross-linguistic research on metaphor. Language and Communication 16, 145-151.10.1016/0271-5309(96)00003-1
Jia, W. 1997. Facework as a Chinese Conflict-preventive Mechanism: A Cultural/discourse Analysis. Intercultural Communication Studies 7.1, 43-58.
Kachru, B. 1982. Meaning in Deviation: Toward Understanding Non-native English Texts. In B. Kachru (ed). 1982. The Other Tongue. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 325-350.
Kovecses, Z. 2000. Metaphor and Emotion: Language, Culture, and Body in Human Feeling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kovecses, Z. 2005. Metaphor in Culture: Universality and Variation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511614408
Labov, W. 1973. The Boundaries of Words and Their Meanings. In R. Shuy & C. Bailey (eds.). New Ways of Analyzing Variation in English. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 340-373.
Lakoff, G. 1987a. Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.10.7208/chicago/9780226471013.001.0001
Lakoff, G. 1987b. Cognitive Models and Pprototype Theory. In U. Neisser (Ed.), Emory Symposia in Cognition, 1. Concepts and Conceptual Development: Ecological and Intellectual Factors in Categorization. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 91-421.
Lakoff, G., and Johnson, M. 1980. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Lakoff, G. 1992. The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor. In A. Ortony (Ed.) Metaphor and Thought (2^nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Lyons, J. 1981. Language and Linguistics: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511809859
Maalej, Z. 2004. Figurative Language in Anger Expressions in Tunisian Arabic: An Extended View of Embodiment. Metaphor and Symbol 19, 51-75.10.1207/S15327868MS1901_3
Malcom, I., and Rochecouste, J. 2000. Even and Story Schemas in Australian Aboriginal English. English World-Wide 21.2, 261-289.10.1075/eww.21.2.05mal
Mareschal, D., Powell, D., and Volein, A. 2003. Basic Level Category Discriminations by 7 and 9 Month Olds in an Object Examination Task. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 86.2, 87-106.10.1016/S0022-0965(03)00107-3
Min, S. 2017. The Korean Cultural Conceptualizations in L2 Learning and Intercultural Communication. Journal of the Korea English Education Society 16.3, 119-138.
Min, S. 2018. Cultural Embodiment of Fear Expressions in Korean and Its Implications for L2 Context. Modern Studies in English Language and Literature 62.2, 329-347.
Musolff, A. 2010. Metaphor, Nation and the Holocaust. The Concept of the Body Politic. London/New York: Routledge.10.4324/9780203847282
Musolff, A. 2014. Metaphors: Sources for Intercultural Misunderstanding? International Journal of Language and Culture 1, 42-59.10.1075/ijolc.1.1.03mus
Musolff, A. 2015. Metaphor Interpretation and Cultural Linguistics. Language and Semiotic Studies 1, 35-51.
Palmer, R. 1996. Toward a Theory of Cultural Linguistics. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Sharifian, F. 2003. On Cultural Cognition. Journal of Cognition and Culture 3, 187-207.10.1163/156853703322336625
Sharifian, F. 2005. Cultural Conceptualizations in English Words: A Study of Aboriginal Children in Perth. Language and Education 19.1, 74-88.10.1080/09500780508668805
Sharifian, F. 2007. L1 cultural conceptualizations in L2 learning. In F. Sharifian and G. Palmer (eds.), Applied Cultural Linguistics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 33-51.10.1075/celcr.7.04sha10.1075/celcr.7
Sharifian, F. 2011. Cultural Conceptualizations and Language: Theoretical Framework and Applications. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.10.1075/clscc.1
Sharifian, F. 2015. Cultural Linguistics and World Englishes. World Englishes 10, 514-532.10.1111/weng.12156
Spence, L. K. 2010. Discerning Writing Assessment: Insights into an Analytical Rubric. Language Arts 87.5, 337-347.
Spence, L. K. 2014. Student Writing: Give It a Generous Reading. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
Spence, L., & Tao, Y. 2016. Analysis of Compositions Written by a Chinese Child in Japan. IAFOR Journal of Education 4.1, 31-50.10.22492/ije.4.1.02
Spence, L. K., Fan, X., Speece, L., and Bushaala, S. 2017. Generous Reading Expands Teachers’ Perceptions on Student Writing. Teaching and Teacher Education 66, 96-106.10.1016/j.tate.2017.03.017
Taylor, J. R. 1995. Linguistic Categorization. (2nd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Wierzbicka, A. 1992. Semantics, Culture, and Cognition: Universal Human Concepts in Culture-specific Configuration. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wierzbicka, A. 1995. Everyday Conceptions of Emotion: A Semantic Perspective. In J. Russel, J. Fernandez-Dols, A. Manstead, and C. Wellenkamp (eds.), Everyday Conceptions of Emotions: An Introduction to the Psychology, Anthropology and Linguistics of Emotion. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 17-47.10.1007/978-94-015-8484-5_2
Wolf, H-G., and Polzenhagen, F. 2009. World Englishes: A Cognitive Sociolinguistic Approach. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9783110199222
Wong, J. 2006. Contextualizing Aunty in Singaporean English. World Englishes 25, 451-466.10.1111/j.1467-971X.2006.00481.x
Yu, N. 2000. Figurative Uses of Finger and Palm in Chinese and English. Metaphor and Symbol 15, 159-175.10.1207/S15327868MS1503_3
Yu, N. 2003. Metaphor, Body and Culture: The Chinese Understanding of Gallbladder and Courage. Metaphor and Symbol 18, 13-31.10.1207/S15327868MS1801_2
Yu, N. 2004. The Eyes for Sight and Mind. Journal of Pragmatics 36, 663-686.10.1016/S0378-2166(03)00053-5
Yu, N. 2008. Metaphor from Body and Culture. In R. W. Gibbs (ed.). The Cambridge Handbook of Metaphor and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 247-261.10.1017/CBO9780511816802.016
Yu, N. 2009. The Chinese HEART in a Cognitive Perspective: Culture, Body, and Language. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9783110213348
Yu, N. 2015. Embodiment, Culture, and Language. In F. S. Harifian (ed.). The Routledge Handbook of Language and Culture. London: Routledge, 227-239.

Information

Publisher :The Modern Linguistic Society of Korea
Publisher(Ko) :한국현대언어학회
Journal Title :The Journal of Studies in Language
Journal Title(Ko) :언어연구
Volume : 34
No :2
Pages :233-247
DOI :https://doi.org/10.18627/jslg.34.2.201808.233

[1] Blench, R. 2006. A Dictionary of Ghanian English. http://www.rogerblench.info/Language/English/Ghana%20English%20dictionary.pdf (1 August, 2015).

[2] Chan, C. Y. 1996. Cultural Meaning in a Second-language Text. In Proceedings of the Edinburgh Linguistics Department Conference 96, 91-101.

[3] Coleman, L. and Kay, P. 1981. Prototype Semantics: The English Word lie, Language 57.1, 26-44.10.2307/41428510.1353/lan.1981.0002

[4] Diaz Vera, J. 2014. Metaphor and Metonymy Across Time and Cultures: Perspectives on the Socio-historical Linguistics of Figurative Llanguage. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.PMC3967952

[5] Fillmore, C. 1975. The Future of Semantics. Berkeley Studies in Syntax and Semantics 1.4, 1-38.10.1515/9783110857610-007

[6] Geeraerts. D. 1997. Diachronic Prototype Semantics: A Contribution to Historical Lexicology. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

[7] Glushko, R., Maglio, P., and Barsalou, W. 2008. Categorization in the wild. Trends in Cognitive Science 12.4, 129-135.10.1016/j.tics.2008.01.00718343710

[8] Goddard, C. 1996. Cross-linguistic research on metaphor. Language and Communication 16, 145-151.10.1016/0271-5309(96)00003-1

[9] Jia, W. 1997. Facework as a Chinese Conflict-preventive Mechanism: A Cultural/discourse Analysis. Intercultural Communication Studies 7.1, 43-58.

[10] Kachru, B. 1982. Meaning in Deviation: Toward Understanding Non-native English Texts. In B. Kachru (ed). 1982. The Other Tongue. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 325-350.

[11] Kovecses, Z. 2000. Metaphor and Emotion: Language, Culture, and Body in Human Feeling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[12] Kovecses, Z. 2005. Metaphor in Culture: Universality and Variation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511614408

[13] Labov, W. 1973. The Boundaries of Words and Their Meanings. In R. Shuy & C. Bailey (eds.). New Ways of Analyzing Variation in English. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 340-373.

[14] Lakoff, G. 1987a. Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.10.7208/chicago/9780226471013.001.0001

[15] Lakoff, G. 1987b. Cognitive Models and Pprototype Theory. In U. Neisser (Ed.), Emory Symposia in Cognition, 1. Concepts and Conceptual Development: Ecological and Intellectual Factors in Categorization. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 91-421.

[16] Lakoff, G., and Johnson, M. 1980. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

[17] Lakoff, G. 1992. The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor. In A. Ortony (Ed.) Metaphor and Thought (2^nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

[18] Lyons, J. 1981. Language and Linguistics: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511809859

[19] Maalej, Z. 2004. Figurative Language in Anger Expressions in Tunisian Arabic: An Extended View of Embodiment. Metaphor and Symbol 19, 51-75.10.1207/S15327868MS1901_3

[20] Malcom, I., and Rochecouste, J. 2000. Even and Story Schemas in Australian Aboriginal English. English World-Wide 21.2, 261-289.10.1075/eww.21.2.05mal

[21] Mareschal, D., Powell, D., and Volein, A. 2003. Basic Level Category Discriminations by 7 and 9 Month Olds in an Object Examination Task. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 86.2, 87-106.10.1016/S0022-0965(03)00107-3

[22] Min, S. 2017. The Korean Cultural Conceptualizations in L2 Learning and Intercultural Communication. Journal of the Korea English Education Society 16.3, 119-138.

[23] Min, S. 2018. Cultural Embodiment of Fear Expressions in Korean and Its Implications for L2 Context. Modern Studies in English Language and Literature 62.2, 329-347.

[24] Musolff, A. 2010. Metaphor, Nation and the Holocaust. The Concept of the Body Politic. London/New York: Routledge.10.4324/9780203847282

[25] Musolff, A. 2014. Metaphors: Sources for Intercultural Misunderstanding? International Journal of Language and Culture 1, 42-59.10.1075/ijolc.1.1.03mus

[26] Musolff, A. 2015. Metaphor Interpretation and Cultural Linguistics. Language and Semiotic Studies 1, 35-51.

[27] Palmer, R. 1996. Toward a Theory of Cultural Linguistics. Austin: University of Texas Press.

[28] Sharifian, F. 2003. On Cultural Cognition. Journal of Cognition and Culture 3, 187-207.10.1163/156853703322336625

[29] Sharifian, F. 2005. Cultural Conceptualizations in English Words: A Study of Aboriginal Children in Perth. Language and Education 19.1, 74-88.10.1080/09500780508668805

[30] Sharifian, F. 2007. L1 cultural conceptualizations in L2 learning. In F. Sharifian and G. Palmer (eds.), Applied Cultural Linguistics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 33-51.10.1075/celcr.7.04sha10.1075/celcr.7

[31] Sharifian, F. 2011. Cultural Conceptualizations and Language: Theoretical Framework and Applications. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.10.1075/clscc.1

[32] Sharifian, F. 2015. Cultural Linguistics and World Englishes. World Englishes 10, 514-532.10.1111/weng.12156

[33] Spence, L. K. 2010. Discerning Writing Assessment: Insights into an Analytical Rubric. Language Arts 87.5, 337-347.

[34] Spence, L. K. 2014. Student Writing: Give It a Generous Reading. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.

[35] Spence, L., & Tao, Y. 2016. Analysis of Compositions Written by a Chinese Child in Japan. IAFOR Journal of Education 4.1, 31-50.10.22492/ije.4.1.02

[36] Spence, L. K., Fan, X., Speece, L., and Bushaala, S. 2017. Generous Reading Expands Teachers’ Perceptions on Student Writing. Teaching and Teacher Education 66, 96-106.10.1016/j.tate.2017.03.017

[37] Taylor, J. R. 1995. Linguistic Categorization. (2nd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

[38] Wierzbicka, A. 1992. Semantics, Culture, and Cognition: Universal Human Concepts in Culture-specific Configuration. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[39] Wierzbicka, A. 1995. Everyday Conceptions of Emotion: A Semantic Perspective. In J. Russel, J. Fernandez-Dols, A. Manstead, and C. Wellenkamp (eds.), Everyday Conceptions of Emotions: An Introduction to the Psychology, Anthropology and Linguistics of Emotion. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 17-47.10.1007/978-94-015-8484-5_2

[40] Wolf, H-G., and Polzenhagen, F. 2009. World Englishes: A Cognitive Sociolinguistic Approach. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9783110199222

[41] Wong, J. 2006. Contextualizing Aunty in Singaporean English. World Englishes 25, 451-466.10.1111/j.1467-971X.2006.00481.x

[42] Yu, N. 2000. Figurative Uses of Finger and Palm in Chinese and English. Metaphor and Symbol 15, 159-175.10.1207/S15327868MS1503_3

[43] Yu, N. 2003. Metaphor, Body and Culture: The Chinese Understanding of Gallbladder and Courage. Metaphor and Symbol 18, 13-31.10.1207/S15327868MS1801_2

[44] Yu, N. 2004. The Eyes for Sight and Mind. Journal of Pragmatics 36, 663-686.10.1016/S0378-2166(03)00053-5

[45] Yu, N. 2008. Metaphor from Body and Culture. In R. W. Gibbs (ed.). The Cambridge Handbook of Metaphor and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 247-261.10.1017/CBO9780511816802.016

[46] Yu, N. 2009. The Chinese HEART in a Cognitive Perspective: Culture, Body, and Language. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.10.1515/9783110213348

[47] Yu, N. 2015. Embodiment, Culture, and Language. In F. S. Harifian (ed.). The Routledge Handbook of Language and Culture. London: Routledge, 227-239.

The Journal of Studies in Language ISSN:1225-4770(Print) 2671-6151(Online) 언어연구

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