汉语本族语者与英语本族语者思考时间的方式——对思维—语言关系的实证研究

Conceptualization of Time by Chinese and English Speakers: An Empirical Study of Thought-Language Relationship

本研究考察了汉语本族语者和英语本族语者对于时间的认知方式。结果显示,绝大多数汉语本族语者(约80%)和英语本族语者非常相似,都倾向于以水平轴线思考时间。只有相对少数汉语本族语者(约20%)倾向于以垂直轴线表征时间,该汉语群体在认知时间的方式上和英语本族语者有明显不同。研究结果进一步说明,语言(时空隐喻)可能并不是塑造时间思维的决定性因素。本研究为探索思维—语言关系提供了一些启示。

This empirical study observes the representations of time by Chinese and English speakers. Results show that most Chinese speakers （ around 80% ） are identical to English speakers with regard to their salient horizontal bias for temporal cog- nition. Only around 20% of Chinese speakers, who overwhelmingly rely on vertical axis to reason about time, may be discrepant from English speakers. The evidence suggests that language （spatiotemporal metaphor） may not be the critical factor that shapes people＇ s temporal cognition. Implications for theoretical and empirical issues concerning language-thought relation are also discussed.