认知语言学角度的英语空间介词习得研究

Cognitive linguistics and the acquisition of English spatial prepositions by Chinese EFL learners

本文以认知语言学的原则性多义网络为框架,研究了中国学习者对四个英语空间介词(above,over,under,below)的习得情况。在先导研究的基础上,通过对自由造句任务、自由填空任务、语义相似性判断任务以及回顾性访谈所收集的数据的分析,得到以下发现:1)受试对这四个介词各义项的心理认知距离与本族语者有显著差异;2)对介词多义网络习得情况不佳,但对核心义项的掌握比边缘义项的好;3)英汉语概念系统的差异导致了两类母语概念负迁移现象。

This study investigates Chinese EFL learners' acquisition of four English spatial prepositions(i.e.above,over,under and below) with the Principled Polysemy Network in cognitive linguistics as its theoretical framework.Following a preliminary study and based on an analysis of the data elicitated from four tasks(i.e.a free sentence-generation task,a sentence-completion task,a prototypicality-judgement task,and a retrospective interview),we came up with the following findings:(1) Chinese learners differed significantly from native speakers in the prototypicality of the polysemous networks of the four prepositions;(2) The learners could not fully grasp the whole polysemous networks of these prepositions,but they used the prototypical senses better than the peripheral ones;(3) Two kinds of L1 negative transfer of Chinese conceptual systems were identified.