“前”、“后”轴上的内隐时空映射及其影响因素

Implicit space-time mappings on the front and back axis and their influencing factors

利用空间方位"前"、"后"来理解和表征时间概念是人类语言和认知的一个基本特点。然而,人们心智中的内隐时空映射方向并不总与语言中的外显时空隐喻表达一致。近年来提出的"时间焦点假设"认为,人们内隐思维中的前后时空隐喻映射主要取决于时间焦点,即认知主体对于过去、现在和未来等时间事件的注意力。大量研究表明,与时间注意焦点相关的诸多因素,如文化态度、个体差异以及生活经验等都有可能影响内隐时空映射,为"时间焦点假设"提供了支持证据,同时也反映出人类时间认知系统的灵活性与可塑性。

One of the prominent characteristics of human language and cognition is to use the spatial concepts such as ＂front＂ and ＂back＂ to understand and represent temporal concepts such as the ＂past＂ and ＂future＂. However, people’s implicit space-time mappings are not always consistent with explicit space-time mappings in their speech. In recent years, the ＂Temporal Focus Hypothesis＂ proposes that sagittal space-time mappings in people’s minds are shaped by their attentional focus, namely, the conceptualizers’ attentions to past, present and future events. A large body of research has shown that many factors related to temporal focus such as cultural attitudes, individual differences and life experiences may influence people’s implicit space-time mappings. These studies not only provide supporting evidence for the ＂Temporal Focus Hypothesis＂, but also reflect the flexibility and malleability of human time cognition system.