scholarly journals The tug of war between an idiom's figurative and literal meanings: Evidence from native and bilingual speakers

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy van Ginkel ◽  
Ton Dijkstra
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Literal Meaning ◽  
Final Word ◽  
Idiom Comprehension ◽  
Figurative Meaning ◽  
Related Target ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Sentence Interpretation ◽  
Target Words

AbstractIn two lexical-decision experiments, we investigated the processing of figurative and literal meaning in idioms. Dutch native and German–Dutch bilingual speakers responded to target words presented after a minimal context idiom prime (e.g., ‘He kicked the bucket’). Target words were related to the figurative meaning of the prime (‘die’), the literal word at the end of the idiom (‘water’), or unrelated to both (‘face’). We observed facilitation in RTs for figuratively and literally related targets relative to unrelated targets for both participant groups. A higher frequency idiom-final word caused inhibition in responses to the literally related target for native speakers, indicating competition between the idiom as a whole and its literal word constituents. Native speakers further showed sensitivity to transparency of the idiom's meaning and the plausibility of the idiom as a literally interpretable sentence. The results are interpreted in terms of available L1/L2 idiom comprehension models, and a more detailed processing account for literal and idiomatic sentence interpretation.

The comprehension of idioms: The effects of familiarity, literalness, and usage

1992 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian C. Cronk ◽  
Wendy A. Schweigert
Keyword(s):  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Literal Meaning ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Idiom Comprehension ◽  
Figurative Meaning ◽  
New Finding

ABSTRACTThe relationships among the familiarity of an idiom's figurative meaning, the likelihood of its literal meaning (literalness), and its usage were explored. Previous research has been inconsistent in supporting any one model of idiom comprehension, although certain factors have been found to affect reading times of sentences containing idioms. Consistent with this research, familiarity was found to have a significant effect on reading times for sentences containing idioms. A significant new finding is that literalness affects reading times. Additionally, it was found that familiarity and literalness exert interactive effects, suggesting a common underlying mechanism. The results are interpreted as supporting a model of idiom comprehension in which a single phrase processor simultaneously computes figurative and literal meanings of idioms.

scholarly journals Psycholinguistic and affective norms for 1,252 Spanish idiomatic expressions

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0254484
Author(s):  
José M. Gavilán ◽  
Juan Haro ◽  
José Antonio Hinojosa ◽  
Isabel Fraga ◽  
Pilar Ferré
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Final Word ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Figurative Meaning ◽  
Large Pool ◽  
Affective Norms ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
Moderate Positive Correlation

This study provides psycholinguistic and affective norms for 1,252 Spanish idiomatic expressions. A total of 965 Spanish native speakers rated the idioms in 7 subjective variables: familiarity, knowledge of the expression, decomposability, literality, predictability, valence and arousal. Correlational analyses showed that familiarity has a strong positive correlation with knowledge, suggesting that the knowledge of the figurative meaning of an idiom is highly related to its frequency of use. Familiarity has a moderate positive correlation with final word predictability, indicating that the more familiar an idiom is rated, the more predictable it tends to be. Decomposability shows a moderate positive correlation with literality, suggesting that those idioms whose figurative meaning is easier to deduce from their constituents tend to have a plausible literal meaning. In affective terms, Spanish idioms tend to convey more negative (66%) than positive meanings (33%). Furthermore, valence and arousal show a quadratic relationship, in line with the typical U-shaped relationship found for single words, which means that the more emotionally valenced an idiom is rated, the more arousing it is considered to be. This database will provide researchers with a large pool of stimuli for studying the representation and processing of idioms in healthy and clinical populations.

Performance Differences Between Native and Non-Native Speakers on a New Happy–Sad Executive Function Measure

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boji P W Lam ◽  
Zenzi M Griffin ◽  
Thomas P Marquardt
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Incongruent Condition ◽  
Test Administration ◽  
Happy Face ◽  
Decision Performance ◽  
Performance Differences ◽  
Function Measure

Abstract Objective The happy–sad task adapts the classic day–night task by incorporating two early acquired emotional concepts (“happy” and “sad”) and demonstrates elevated inhibitory demands for native speakers. The task holds promise as a new executive function measure for assessing inhibitory control across the lifespan, but no studies have examined the influence of language of test administration on performance. Method Seventy adult native English speakers and 50 non-native speakers completed the computerized day–night and the new happy–sad tasks administered in English. In two conditions, participants were categorized pictorial stimuli either in a congruent manner (“happy” for a happy face) or in a more challenging, incongruent manner (“sad” for a happy face). Lexical decision performance was obtained to estimate levels of English language proficiency. Results Native speakers and non-native speakers performed comparably except for the critical incongruent condition of the happy–sad task, where native speakers responded more slowly. A greater congruency effect for the happy–sad task was found for native than for non-native speakers. Lexical decision performance was associated with performance on the challenging incongruent conditions. Conclusion This study reinforced the usefulness of the happy–sad task as a new measure in evaluating inhibitory control in adult native-speakers. However, the language of test administration needs to be considered in assessment because it may lead to performance differences between native and non-native speakers.

Yesus Sebagai Yang Sulung Lebih Utama Dari Yang Diciptakan

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-85
Author(s):  
Yosef Yunandow Siahaan
Keyword(s):  
Literal Meaning ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Main Topic ◽  
Chronological Order ◽  
Jehovah’S Witnesses ◽  
Jehovah's Witnesses ◽  
Figurative Meaning ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

Throughout the history of the church, from the early Church to the present, Christology has become the main topic of discussion, and it has often led to debates and even polemics for both the Church and those outside the church. The point of a long debate in the field of Christology is about Jesus as a creator or only as a creation. This study investigates this by using theological research, this study uses the exegesis method. The text that will be executed to provide evidence that Jesus was the Creator or creation is Colossians 1:15-20. Jehovah's Witnesses say that this text shows that Jesus was God's First creation. Whereas true Christians actually view this text as saying that Jesus is the Creator. The research used the exegesis method. The results show that Christ is the agent of creation. In building the understanding of the eldest word (Prototokos), it is not allowed to use the isolated text method. There are at least 2 meanings of this word, the first literal meaning is as the first born according to the order of time, and the second, the figurative meaning The eldest means the main, superior. Of course when looking at the context in Colossians 1:16-17, then Christ is not the first born according to chronological order, and comes from creation. Rather, He is the Creator, so it is not surprising that He is supreme or superior to all creation. Abstrak Indonesia Sepanjang sejarah gereja mulai dari Gereja mula-mula hingga kini Kristologi menjadi topik utama diskusi bahkan tak jarang menimbulkan perdebatan bahkan polemik baik bagi Gereja maupun kalangan di luar gereja. Yang menjadi titik perdebatan panjang dalam bidang Kristologi adalah Mengenai Yesus sebagai pencipta ataukah hanya sebagai ciptaan. Penelitian ini menyelidiki hal tersebut dengan menggunakan penelitian Teologi, penelitian ini menggunakan metode eksegesis. Teks yang akan dieksegesa guna untuk memberikan bukti Yesus adalah Pencipa atau ciptaan adalah Kolose 1:15-20. Saksi-saksi Yehuwa mengatakan bahwa teks ini menunjukkan bahwa Yesus adalah ciptaan Pertama dari Allah. Sedangkan Kristen sejati justru memandang teks ini mengatakan bahwa Yesus adalah Pencipta. Penelitian menggunakan metode eksegesis. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan Kristus adalah pelaku penciptaan. Dalam membangun pemahaman kata yang Sulung (Prototokos), tidak boleh menggunakan metode teks terisolasi. Paling tidak ada 2 makna dari kata ini, yang pertama makna literal adalah sebagai yang lahir pertama menurut urutan waktu, dan yang kedua, makna figuratif Yang sulung berarti yang utama, unggul. Tentu ketika melihat konteks dalam Kolose 1:16-17, maka Kristus bukanlah sang pertama lahir menurut urutan waktu, dan berasal dari ciptaan. Melainkan Ia adalah Pencipta, sehingga tidak mengherankan bahwa Ia adalah yang utama atau paling unggul di atas segala ciptaan.

scholarly journals Can you reach for the planets or grasp at the stars? – Modified noun, verb, or preposition constituents in idiom processing

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Smolka ◽  
Carsten Eulitz
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Type ◽  
The Other ◽  
Psycholinguistic Research ◽  
Idiom Comprehension ◽  
Figurative Meaning ◽  
Idiomatic Phrase ◽  
Idiom Processing ◽  
Special Case ◽  
Idiomatic Meaning ◽  
Control Sentence

Idioms are a special case of multi-word expressions in that their meaning cannot be compositionally constructed from the meaning of the single constituents. The question of how the idiomatic meaning is assembled remains an unsettled issue in psycholinguistic research. The present study examines whether the figurative meaning of an idiom is recognized if critical idiomatic constituents, such as the noun, verb, or preposition, are modified. In three paraphrase experiments, participants saw (a) the canonical idiomatic phrase (e.g., She reached for the stars), (b) the idiomatic phrase with a modified constituent (e.g., She reached/grasped for/at the stars/planets), or (c) a matched literal control sentence (e.g., She reached for the sweets) and rated on a scale from 1 (not at all) - 7 (completely) how strongly the sentence reflected the meaning of a paraphrase of the idiom (e.g., She has always aspired to unattainable goals). Sentence type and constituent type strongly affected paraphrase ratings with highest ratings for canonical idiomatic phrases, lowest ratings for control sentences, and ratings in between for idioms with modified constituents. Further, idioms with modified verbs were rated higher in matching the figurative meaning than idioms with modified prepositions or nouns. Overall these findings indicate that the figurative meaning was assembled in spite of the modifications. We conclude that idioms are not fully ‘semantically fixed’ but allow for some flexibility in the processing of idioms. Modified constituents that activate meanings similar to those of the canonical constituents will co-activate the figurative meaning of the idiom together with the other idiomatic constituents. We discuss psycholinguistic models on idiom comprehension.

Markedness Universals and the Acquisition of Voicing Contrasts by Korean Speakers of English

1996 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy C. Major ◽  
Michael C. Faudree
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Word List ◽  
Final Word ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Korean Speakers ◽  
L1 Acquisition

This study of five native speakers of Korean investigates the role of universals in their acquisition of English obstruent voicing contrasts. The data were gathered from a passage and a word list containing voiced and voiceless obstruents in initial, medial, and final word positions. Results reflected principles of markedness universals of L1 acquisition and adult natural languages, suggesting that interlanguage systems behave according to universals of natural languages.

scholarly journals Lack of Syllable Duration as a Post-Lexical Acoustic Cue in Spanish in Contact with Maya

Languages ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Nuria Martínez García ◽  
Melanie Uth
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mixed Effects ◽  
Mixed Effects Models ◽  
Yucatec Maya ◽  
Linear Mixed Effects Models ◽  
Linear Mixed Effects ◽  
Contrastive Focus ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Syllable Duration ◽  
Focus Marking

This paper focuses on the duration of stressed syllables in broad versus contrastive focus in Yucatecan Spanish and examines its connection with Spanish–Maya bilingualism. We examine the claim that phonemic vowel length in one language prevents the use of syllable duration as a post-lexical acoustic cue in another. We study the duration of stressed syllables of nouns in subject and object position in subject-verb-object (SVO) sentences (broad and contrastive focus) of a semi-spontaneous production task. One thousand one hundred and twenty-six target syllables of 34 mono- and bilingual speakers were measured and submitted to linear mixed-effects models. Although the target syllables were slightly longer in contrastive focus, duration was not significant, nor was the effect of bilingualism. The results point to duration not constituting a cue to focus marking in Yucatecan Spanish. Finally, it is discussed how this result relates to the strong influence of Yucatec Maya on Yucatecan Spanish prosody observed by both scholars and native speakers of Yucatecan Spanish and other Mexican varieties of Spanish.

Positively bitter and negatively sweet?

Pragmatics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suwon Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Compatibility Condition ◽  
Literal Meaning ◽  
Conventional Implicature ◽  
Figurative Meaning ◽  
Condition Model ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Expressive Meaning ◽  
Occurrence Pattern ◽  
Expressive Dimension

Abstract The goal of this study is to propose a pragmatic analysis of what we call Emotive Taste Terms (ETTs) in Korean, compared to English. What makes Korean taste adjectives special is its multidimensional meaning: In descriptive dimension, (i) the literal meaning concerns the taste; or (ii) it can be extended toward the situation, yielding a figurative meaning. In expressive dimension, (iii) the choice of particular derivation form reflects the speaker’s positive or negative emotional attitude; and (iv) another potential expressive meaning concerns honorification, thought it is not part of the meaning of ETTs. We thus propose that ETTs are a novel subcase of expressive elements, triggering Conventional Implicature. We show how the analysis of ETTs as a CI allows us to successfully derive subtle connotational differences amongst numerous variants. Finally, we show how the co-occurrence pattern of multiple expressives, ETTs and other expressives, within the sentence can be captured by Compatibility Condition Model.

Hoe Geef je het Goede Voorbeeld? Woordenschatuitbreiding Met Behulp van Voorbeeldzinnen

1986 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 118-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Stip ◽  
Jan H. Hulstijn
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Target Word ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Target Words

Two investigations were carried out to estimate the usefulness of the context method for the explanation of word meanings. This method provides the L2 learner with a sample sentence for each target word, without translation into LI. A sample of 100 sentences was selected from a monolingual vocabu-lary learning course book for adult learners of Dutch as a second language (Hart & Polter 1983). In the first study, these sample sentences were presented to 40 educated Dutch native speakers. They were asked to judge the appropriateness of the sentences (i.e. the extent to which the contexts constrained the meaning of the target words). In the second study, the same sentences, from which the target words had been deleted, were presented as a "fill-in-the-blank" test to 20 11/12-year old and 20 17/18-year old Dutch native speakers. In the discussion, it is argued that word meanings can seldom be successfully induced from the context. In general, the context method seems to be an ineffective way for initial explanation of word meanings, frequently causing noncomprehension or miscompre-hension on the part of the learner. However, the context method seems to offer an excellent means for further illustrating word meanings after they have been initially explained by translation.

scholarly journals Between syntax and discourse

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 396-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oksana Laleko ◽  
Maria Polinsky
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Structural Complexity ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Structure Level ◽  
Different Types ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
The Status ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract This article examines the knowledge of topic and subject particles in heritage speakers and L2 learners of Japanese and Korean. We assume that topic marking is mediated at the syntax-information structure interface, while subject marking pertains to narrow syntax. In comparing phenomena mediated at different levels of linguistic organization, we provide evidence for the hypothesis that information structure-level phenomena present greater challenges for bilingual speakers than those mediated within syntax. While these results may be interpreted as evidence of generalized interface-related deficits, we show that such a global explanation is not supported. Instead, a more nuanced account is developed, based on the recognition of different types of topic (anaphoric, generic, and contrastive) and different types of subject (descriptive and exhaustive). Under the proposed account, non-native speakers’ deficits follow from three unrelated effects: the status of topic as an interface category, structural complexity, and the memory demands necessary for its interpretation in context.

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