Variation in the categorization of motion events by Danish, German, Turkish, and L2 Danish speakers
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Moiken Jessen
Abstract
This study examines the semantic categories in the motion domain by adult learners of Danish with typologically different L1s – Turkish and German, and compares their categorization patterns to that of Danish NSs. The participants described 39 video clips depicting a large variety of motion events. The results of the study showed that the meanings assigned by the two learner groups to the Danish motion verbs gå ‘walk’, løbe ‘run’ and kravle ‘crawl’ are influenced by the semantic categorization of their respective L1s. In addition, typological membership is found to play a role with respect to the processes involved in the restructuring of meaning/conceptual categories. These processes involve both conceptual transfer from the learners’ L1 to the L2 and conceptual convergence.
Abstract
This study examines the semantic categories in the motion domain by adult learners of Danish with typologically different L1s – Turkish and German, and compares their categorization patterns to that of Danish NSs. The participants described 39 video clips depicting a large variety of motion events. The results of the study showed that the meanings assigned by the two learner groups to the Danish motion verbs gå ‘walk’, løbe ‘run’ and kravle ‘crawl’ are influenced by the semantic categorization of their respective L1s. In addition, typological membership is found to play a role with respect to the processes involved in the restructuring of meaning/conceptual categories. These processes involve both conceptual transfer from the learners’ L1 to the L2 and conceptual convergence.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editors and contributors vii
- Preface ix
- Introduction: Beyond typology 1
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Part I. Variation
- Typology as a continuum 17
- Same family, different paths 39
- Disentangling manner and path 55
- The encoding of motion events 77
- Motion events in Turkish-German contact varieties 115
- Variation in the categorization of motion events by Danish, German, Turkish, and L2 Danish speakers 133
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Part II. Change
- Describing motion events in Old and Modern French 163
- Lexical splits in the encoding of motion events from Archaic to Classical Greek 185
- Caused-motion verbs in the Middle English intransitive motion construction 203
- Variation and change in English path verbs and constructions: Usage patterns and conceptual structure 223
- Author index 245
- Language index 247
- Subject index 249
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editors and contributors vii
- Preface ix
- Introduction: Beyond typology 1
-
Part I. Variation
- Typology as a continuum 17
- Same family, different paths 39
- Disentangling manner and path 55
- The encoding of motion events 77
- Motion events in Turkish-German contact varieties 115
- Variation in the categorization of motion events by Danish, German, Turkish, and L2 Danish speakers 133
-
Part II. Change
- Describing motion events in Old and Modern French 163
- Lexical splits in the encoding of motion events from Archaic to Classical Greek 185
- Caused-motion verbs in the Middle English intransitive motion construction 203
- Variation and change in English path verbs and constructions: Usage patterns and conceptual structure 223
- Author index 245
- Language index 247
- Subject index 249
