scholarly journals On my mind: thoughts about salience, context and figurative language from a second language perspective

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Istvan Kecskes
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Literal Meaning ◽  
Figurative Meaning ◽  
Language Research ◽  
The Way ◽  
Graded Salience

This article discusses three claims of the Graded Salience Hypothesis presented in Rachel Giora’s book On our mind. It is argued that these claims may give second language researchers the chance to revise the way they think about word meaning, the literal meaning-figurative meaning dichotomy and the role of context in language processing. Giora’s arguments are related to recent second language research and their relevance is explained through examples. There are also several suggestions made for further research.

scholarly journals Ratings of Affective and Non-Affective Aspects of German Idioms in Second Language Processing

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-42
Author(s):  
Teodor Petrič
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Language Technology ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions

AbstractIn this paper psycholinguistic and emotional properties of 619 German idiomatic expressions are explored. The list of idiomatic expressions has been adapted from Citron et al. (2015), who have used it with German native speakers. In our study the same idioms were evaluated by Slovene learners of German as a foreign language. Our participants rated each idiom for emotional valence, emotional arousal, familiarity, concreteness, ambiguity (literality), semantic transparency and figurativeness. They also had the task to describe the meaning of the German idioms and to rate their confidence about the attributed meaning. The aims of our study were (1) to provide descriptive norms for psycholinguistic and affective properties of a large set of idioms in German as a second language, (2) to explore the relationships between psycholinguistic and affective properties of idioms in German as a second language, and (3) to compare the ratings of the German native speakers studied in Citron et al. (2015) with the ratings of the Slovene second language learners from our study. On one hand, the results of the Slovene participants show many similarities with those of of the German native speakers, on the other hand, they show a slight positivity bias and slightly shallower emotional processing of the German idioms. Our study provides data that could be useful for future studies investigating the role of affect in figurative language in a second language setting (methodology, translation science, language technology).

scholarly journals Theories of Working Memory: Differences in Definition, Degree of Modularity, Role of Attention, and Purpose

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 340-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eryn J. Adams ◽  
Anh T. Nguyen ◽  
Nelson Cowan
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Group Norms ◽  
Language Research

Purpose The purpose of this article is to review and discuss theories of working memory with special attention to their relevance to language processing. Method We begin with an overview of the concept of working memory itself and review some of the major theories. Then, we show how theories of working memory can be organized according to their stances on 3 major issues that distinguish them: modularity (on a continuum from domain-general to very modular), attention (on a continuum from automatic to completely attention demanding), and purpose (on a continuum from idiographic, or concerned with individual differences, to nomothetic, or concerned with group norms). We examine recent research that has a bearing on these distinctions. Results Our review shows important differences between working memory theories that can be described according to positions on the 3 continua just noted. Conclusion Once properly understood, working memory theories, methods, and data can serve as quite useful tools for language research.

The adaptation of French liquids in Haitian

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 386-410
Author(s):  
Benjamin Storme
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Sound Change ◽  
Loanword Adaptation ◽  
Perceptual Asymmetry ◽  
The Way

Abstract Haitian, a French-lexifier creole with a Gbe substrate, shows an asymmetry in the way it has adapted French liquids: the French lateral was maintained in postvocalic coda position in Haitian, but the French rhotic was systematically deleted in this position. This paper presents the results of a perception study showing that the lateral is generally more perceptible than the rhotic in coda position in Modern French. The hypothesis that perception played a role in the phonological asymmetry in Haitian is compatible with these results. The paper sketches an analysis of how the perceptual asymmetry between French coda laterals and rhotics resulted in the emergence of a new phonological grammar, distinct from both the grammar of the substrate and superstrate languages. This analysis is in line with previous works on the role of perception in second language acquisition, loanword adaptation, creolization, and sound change more generally.

Enduring Debates on Psychology and Language in the 20th Century

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor A. Harley
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
Embedded Cognition ◽  
Connectionist Modeling ◽  
Language Research ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Psychological Processing ◽  
The Relationship

Research in the psychology of language has been dogged by some enduring controversies, many of which continue to divide researchers. Furthermore, language research has been riven by too many dichotomies and too many people taking too extreme a position, and progress is only likely to be made when researchers recognize that language is a complex system where simple dichotomies may not be relevant. The enduring controversies cover the width of psycholinguistics, including the work of Chomsky and the nature of language, to what extent language is innately determined and the origin of language and how it evolved. Chomsky’s work has also influenced our conceptions of the modularity of the structure of the mind and the nature of psychological processing. Advances in the sophistication of brain imaging techniques have led to debate about exactly what these techniques can tell us about the psychological processing of language. There has also been much debate about whether psychological processing occurs through explicit rules or statistical mapping, a debate driven by connectionist modeling, deep learning, and techniques for the analysis of “big data.” Another debate concerns the role of prediction in language and cognition and the related issues of the relationship between language comprehension and language production. To what extent is language processing embodied, and how does it relate to controversies about “embedded cognition”? Finally, there has been debate about the purpose and use of language.

Exploring the depths of second language processing with eye tracking: An introduction

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-255
Author(s):  
Aline Godfroid ◽  
Paula Winke ◽  
Kathy Conklin
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Data Interpretation ◽  
Research Partnerships ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
Language Research ◽  
Computer Scientists

In this paper, we review how eye tracking, which offers millisecond-precise information about how language learners orient their visual attention, can be used to investigate a variety of processes involved in the multifaceted endeavor of second language acquisition (SLA). In particular, we review the last 15 years of research in SLA, in which applied linguists have exploited the information gleaned from eye-tracking metrics to advance the field. As we explain, eye-tracking researchers within SLA have diversified which aspects of SLA they investigate and are entering new territory by pairing eye-tracking metrics with other data-collection methods for data-triangulation purposes. Eye tracking in SLA is also an inherently interdisciplinary endeavor, for which research partnerships with computer scientists hold special promise in the areas of automated language assessment and the evaluation of cognitive functioning and processing. We describe how the papers in this special issue on eye tracking in Second Language Research push the boundaries by: (a) ensuring greater standardization of how eye tracking is used in SLA (Godfroid and Hui, 2020); (b) embedding eye-tracking metrics within a mixed-methods design for more valid and complete data interpretation (Andringa, 2020; Michel et al., 2020); (c) using eye trackers to investigate the nuanced differences in cognitive processes involved across multimodal input and feedback types in SLA (Conklin et al., 2020; McDonough et al., 2020).

Construct operationalization, L1 effects, and context in second language processing

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 694-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALAN JUFFS
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
First Language ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Second Language Processing

Cunnings (2016) provides welcome insights into differences between native speaker (NS) sentence processing, adult non-native speaker processing (NNS), and working memory capacity (WMC) limitations. This commentary briefly raises three issues: construct operationalization; the role of first language (L1); and context.

scholarly journals Boon or Burden? The Role of Compositional Meaning in Figurative Language Processing and Acquisition

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mila Vulchanova ◽  
Evelyn Milburn ◽  
Valentin Vulchanov ◽  
Giosuè Baggio
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Figurative Language Processing

On terminological figurativeness

Terminology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larissa Timofeeva-Timofeev ◽  
Chelo Vargas-Sierra
Keyword(s):  
Figurative Language ◽  
Language Theory ◽  
Figurative Meaning ◽  
Luxury Marketing ◽  
Term Analysis

Terminologists’ interest in studying the role of metaphor and metaphorical terms in specialized communication has proliferated since the first papers addressing this issue appeared in the 1990s. However, we believe that some facets of terminological meaning still remain overlooked or merit further analysis. This paper attempts to contribute to the study of one of these facets: the figurative meaning of some compound terms used in the domain of luxury marketing and business. In order to present a systematized view of this phenomenon we will adopt some theoretical tools from the Conventional Figurative Language Theory, in order to confirm the validity of some of its postulates for compound term analysis. Next, a contrastive approach between English, Spanish and Russian compound terms will put the theoretical ideas into practice with the aim of illustrating their applied and metalinguistic potential. Some basic conclusions will be offered at the end of the paper.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document