Georgetown University LogoGeorgetown University Library LogoDigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   DigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Georgetown University Institutional Repository
    • Georgetown College
    • Department of Linguistics
    • Graduate Theses and Dissertations - Linguistics
    • View Item
    •   DigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Georgetown University Institutional Repository
    • Georgetown College
    • Department of Linguistics
    • Graduate Theses and Dissertations - Linguistics
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Language and cognition in monolinguals and bilinguals: a study of spontaneous and caused motion events in Korean and English

    Cover for Language and cognition in monolinguals and bilinguals: a study of spontaneous and caused motion events in Korean and English
    View/Open
    View/Open: Park_georgetown_0076D_13116.pdf (3.6MB) Bookview

    Creator
    Park, Hae In
    Advisor
    Ortega, Lourdes
    Abstract
    In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the relationship between second language (L2) learning and linguistic relativity. As a result, research has been prolific in investigating (a) whether bilinguals of varying proficiency describe motion events in the L2 in accordance with their linguistic categories in the first language (L1), and (b) whether the knowledge of an additional language provokes a restructuring of their existing conceptual categories in the direction of the L2. While much effort has been expended on these two questions separately, there has been little effort to address them together in a single study.
     
    The present study compared verbal descriptions of motion events and categorization preferences for motion events of Korean-English bilinguals sampled at varying proficiency levels (N=80) against those of Korean and English monolinguals (N=15 each). The role of cross-linguistic differences in linguistic encoding patterns and non-linguistic categorization preferences was probed across conditions representing spontaneous motion and caused motion and for the event elements of manner, path, and cause. In addition, the sources of individual variation in the observed lexicalization and categorization patterns of the bilinguals were investigated.
     
    The linguistic evidence from the monolingual group demonstrated that monolinguals exhibited distinct encoding patterns depending on whether they spoke Korean or English. The monolingual categorizations followed language-specific patterns as Korean speakers categorized motion scenes by path, while English speakers did so by manner.
     
    The linguistic evidence from the bilingual group showed influence from both the L1 and L2, albeit in different areas. Korean-English bilinguals preferred to omit manner information in their L2 descriptions, which reflected the influence from the L1, but they also structured path and manner following preferred L2 encoding patterns. In addition, some linguistic patterns were identified which cannot be traced back to either L1 or L2 influence. With respect to their non-verbal performance, bilinguals’ categorization patterns followed L1-based patterns rather than L2-based patterns. The extent to which bilinguals employed L2 encoding patterns was largely modulated by various measures of L2 proficiency, whereas length of immersion experience in an L2-speaking country emerged as the only predictor of the bilingual speakers’ categorization patterns.
     
    Description
    Ph.D.
    Permanent Link
    http://hdl.handle.net/10822/1029901
    Date Published
    2015
    Subject
    bilingualism; conceptual transfer; linguistic relativity; motion events; Linguistics; Cognitive psychology; Linguistics; Cognitive psychology;
    Type
    thesis
    Collections
    • Graduate Theses and Dissertations - Linguistics
    Metadata
    Show full item record

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Cover for Linking cognition and emotion: An appraisal study of foreign language teacher anxiety

      Linking cognition and emotion: An appraisal study of foreign language teacher anxiety 

      Goetze, Julia (Georgetown University, 2018)
      Anxiety is one of the most researched affective variables in the instructed language learning process in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). Yet, existing studies almost exclusively target the student population, ...
    Related Items in Google Scholar

    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2019 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility
     

     

    Browse

    All of DigitalGeorgetownCommunities & CollectionsCreatorsTitlesBy Creation DateThis CollectionCreatorsTitlesBy Creation Date

    My Account

    Login

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2019 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility