More refined typology and design in linguistic relativity
The case of motion event encoding
Richard Tillman | University of Cincinnati
Linguistic relativity is the influence of language on other
realms of cognition. For instance, the way movement is expressed in a person’s
native language may influence how they perceive movement. Motion event encoding
(MEE) is usually framed as a typological dichotomy.
Path-in-verb languages tend to encode path information
within the verb (e.g., ‘leave’), whereas manner-in-verb
languages encode manner (e.g., ‘jump’). The results of MEE-based linguistic
relativity experiments range from no effect to effects on verbal and nonverbal
cognition. Seeking a more definitive conclusion, we propose linguistic and
experimental enhancements. First, we examine state-of-the-art typology,
suggesting how a recent MEE classification across twenty languages (Verkerk, 2014) may enable more powerful
analyses. Second, we review procedural challenges such as the influence of
verbal thought and second-guessing in experiments. To tackle these challenges,
we propose distinguishing verbal and nonverbal subgroups, and having enough
filler items. Finally we exemplify this in an experimental design.
Keywords: linguistic relativity, Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, lexicalization patterns, motion event encoding, motion language, cognitive semantics, language typology, linguistics, psycholinguistics, methods
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Motion event encoding
- 3.Linguistic relativity
- 4.A novel experimental approach
- 4.1Methods
- 4.1.1Participants
- 4.1.2Materials
- 4.1.3Procedure
- 4.1.4Analysis and hypotheses
- 4.1Methods
- 5.Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
-
References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.
For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.
Published online: 11 April 2019
https://doi.org/10.1075/dujal.15019.ber
https://doi.org/10.1075/dujal.15019.ber
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(2014) The evolutionary dynamics of motion event encoding. Enschede: Ipskamp Drukkers. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/20488979.pdf
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Zaychenko, Katharina
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