ERIC Number: EJ1096399
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Apr
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0142-6001
EISSN: N/A
Regular and Novel Metonymy: Can You Curl up with a Good Agatha Christie in Your Second Language?
Slabakova, Roumyana; Cabrelli Amaro, Jennifer; Kyun Kang, Sang
Applied Linguistics, v37 n2 p175-197 Apr 2016
This article presents results of two off-line comprehension tasks investigating the acceptability of unconventional and conventional metonymy by native speakers of Korean and Spanish who speak English as a second language. We are interested in discovering whether learners differentiate between conventional and unconventional metonymy, and whether the acceptability of metonymic expressions in the native language has an effect on learners' judgments in the second language. The findings of this study constitute further experimental support for the psychological reality of the distinction between conventional and unconventional metonymy, but only in English. Learners of English at intermediate levels of proficiency exhibit transfer from the native language in comprehending metonymic shifts of meanings. Restructuring of the grammar is evident in later stages of development. Finally, complete success in acquiring L2 metonymic patterns is attested in our experimental study. Implications for L2A theories and teaching practices are discussed.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Native Speakers, Korean, Spanish, Figurative Language, Language Usage, Language Proficiency, Native Language, Grammar, Semantics, Experiments
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Korea; Spain
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A