Publications

Publication details [#12221]

Zhu, Haiyan. 2016. A Psychological Reality Study on Space and Time Cognition for Chinese Speakers . Foreign Language Education 37 (1) : 48–52. 5 pp.
Publication type
Article in journal
Publication language
Chinese
Place, Publisher
Xi'an, C.N.: Xi'an International Studies University Press
ISBN
10005544

Abstract

The study of space and time relations is an important research field in cognitive linguistics. This article is based on an experimental study on the psychological reality on cognition of space and time for Chinese speakers. It first proposes a new classification of space and time metaphors on the basis of reference contexts, which is different from traditional classification. The experiment is conducted on two groups of Chinese university students and studies the impact of their cognitive patterns of space on their cognition of time and the psychological reality. It shows that Chinese prefers to use “left” to refer to “front”, and “right” to refer to “back”. It also shows mother tongue plays an important role in shaping the cognition on space and time, but what factors lead to such differences needs further study.