Descriptions of Motions and Judgment of Different Conceptualization Patterns by English Non-native and Native Speakers
Descriptions of Motions and Judgment of Different Conceptualization Patterns by English Non-native and Native Speakers

Summary/Abstract: Talmy’s typology (2000) categorizing languages based on the linguistic level has led many studies to investigate how language speakers or learners encode components of motion event. Beyond this linguistic level, some studies looked for what spatial concepts are taken into account to conceptualize the path component of motions by speakers of different language types. It was found that verb-framed language speakers pay attention to the location of figure in motion while satellite-framed language speakers tend to describe the trajectory (course) of path, especially for long-trajectory motions compared with short-trajectory ones. In the present study, 25 Turkish pre-service teachers of English were requested to describe short and long trajectory motions in their L1 and L2. The patterns frequently used in spoken English were evaluated in a survey by the same pre-service teachers and native speakers of English. The findings revealed that Turkish pre-service teachers are in a transitional process to acquire the expected or natural English patterns, both in description or judgment tasks. In the survey, Turkish participants were relatively in agreement with native speakers of English for the natural satellite-framed patterns. However, they were partly satisfied with conceptualization patterns that native speakers of English found unnatural. In addition, native speakers of English were not totally dissatisfied with some verb-framed conceptualization patterns used by Turkish pre-service teachers, despite their infrequency in English. Lastly, the L2 narratives were elicited in spoken and written English so as to show the effect of language mode in conceptualizing motion event.

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