基于象似性的英语构词认知分析

依据距离象似性、拟音象似性、标记象似性、顺序象似性、数量象似性、隐喻象似性等原则对由拟声法、复合法、派生法构成的词汇结构(包括语音)和意义等进行分析,旨在着力解释词汇形式与所指意义之间的对应性象似关系.利用这种语义本体观习得英语,可大大加深对词汇的理解,提高词汇习得的投入与产出比.     

象似性理论在英语阅读理解教学中的应用

阅读实质由词、句、篇组合而来。象似性理论已经成为认知语言学中的一个热门话题,象似性理论在词汇、句法和语篇层面上的研究和运用愈趋成熟。因此,教师在英语阅读理解教学时,可以尝试将词汇象似性、句法象似性和语篇象似性有机结合来提高阅读教学实效。     

浅析语言符号象似性

语言符号象似性是认知语言学的重要内容之一。本文分析了语言符号在语音、形态、语义、词序不同层面的象似性,有助于我们更好地理解记忆词汇,对词汇习得有很大的启示作用。     

巧用象似性理论指导词汇教学

<正>象似性是相似性的下义词。王寅(1999)将象似性定义为:语言形式在音、形或结构上与其所指之间存在映照性相似的现象。象似性理论对于英语词汇教学有着相当重要的指导意义。了解这些,有利于学生对词汇的理解和扩大,从根本上提高学生的英语词汇掌握能力,一定程度上,象似性能辅助提高学生的认知程度,减少在语境中习得词汇时因受图式影响而造成的太多跳跃生词的情况,提高词汇习得率。1.语音象似性。     

语篇象似性研究及其对英语教学的启示

对语言的象似性研究已成为近年语言研究的热点话题,但其主要局限于词汇和句法层面,对语篇层面涉及较少。该文试图拓宽语篇象似性研究的领域,尝试对英语学习与教学中的语篇进行分析,以验证语篇象似性的适用性。这一研究的意义在于发现英语教学语篇中的象似性,提高学生对篇章的理解与掌握。     

基于语料库的中国手语象似性研究

将中国手语里的207个斯瓦迪士核心词建成语料库,然后分析研究象似性在中国手语词汇层面的表现和特点。总结出七种象似手段：直接表达、用手表达所指的形状、用手表达所指的动作、用身体表达所指的动作、从其他语言系统借词（比如汉字、汉语拼音）、用辅助口语的手势表达、通过创建一个相关情形表达。有一小部分词象似性不明显或根本看不出象似性。中国手语虽然展现出丰富的象似性,却依然表现为象似性和任意性的连续体。     

隐喻性语篇中的象似性及其文体功能

象似性作为语言的一种特征,不仅广泛存在于语音、词汇和句法层面,而且也存在于语篇层面。从语篇层面来研究象似性,有助于人们更加系统、全面地认知语言象似性理论;从象似性角度来解读语篇,则有助于人们更加形象、深刻地理解语篇的内涵。因此,本文试图以认知语言学为理论依据,以隐喻为基础,分析隐喻性语篇中的映像象似性、拟象象似性和隐喻象似性,以及各自在语篇中的文体功能,其目的在于更好地运用象似性理论来分析语言现象,解决语言问题。     

论英语词汇象似性及其对英语词汇教学的启示

皮而斯提出的"象似性"理论是对索绪尔的盛行一时的"任意性"学说的巨大挑战和补充.英语词汇中存在大量的象似性现象,如词源象似性、语音象似性、形态象似性、词序象似性、语义象似性.教师在教学中若能充分把握英语词汇的象似性特点,将有助于提高英语课堂词汇教学的效度.     

注意对言语理解的影响及其神经机制

言语理解是个体加工语言信息的重要过程,该过程离不开注意的参与。本文从词汇加工和句子加工两个方面综述了注意对言语理解的影响及其神经机制。在词汇加工方面,注意分散导致词汇加工的速度变慢,注意对词汇加工的影响受加工任务的调节。在句子加工方面,注意分散阻碍了句子的语义、句法、预测性等加工过程。事件相关电位的相关研究发现,在词汇加工过程中,语义相关词对比语义无关词对引发的N400波幅小;与在完全注意条件下相比,在注意分散条件下的N400效应有所减弱。同样地,句子语义违反产生的N400效应也在注意分散条件(相比完全注意条件)下减弱。未来研究应着重关注和解决如下问题：(1)注意在词汇加工中的作用是否受到词汇属性的影响;(2)注意对词汇的语义信息加工是否受词汇情绪信息的调节;(3)注意分散对言语理解的影响及其作用机制;(4)注意影响言语理解的神经机制。     

象似性理论视角下大学英语词汇教学研究

象似性理论身为当今学术界研究与探索的热点课题,隶属认知语言学层面。英语词汇在构词、语音、形态等层面均呈现出语言符号具备象似性特点。在象似性理论视角下开展大学英语词汇教学,可推动学生对于单词的深度理解及全面掌握,强化词汇记忆程度,提升应用词汇能力。本文通过阐述象似性理论内涵,分析象似性理论视域下展开英语词汇教学的必要性,探索英语词汇教学策略,以供参考。     

Seeing Iconic Gestures While Encoding Events Facilitates Children's Memory of These Events

An experiment with 72 three-year-olds investigated whether encoding events while seeing iconic gestures boosts children's memory representation of these events. The events, shown in videos of actors moving in an unusual manner, were presented with either iconic gestures depicting how the actors performed these actions, interactive gestures, or no gesture. In a recognition memory task, children in the iconic gesture condition remembered actors and actions better than children in the control conditions. Iconic gestures were categorized based on how much of the actors was represented by the hands (feet, legs, or body). Only iconic hand-as-body gestures boosted actor memory. Thus, seeing iconic gestures while encoding events facilitates children's memory of those aspects of events that are schematically highlighted by gesture.     

Lending a helping hand for English-Chinese bilingual children’s idiom comprehension and retention: implications for early childhood educators

Idiom comprehension and production reflect a child’s language competence. Research suggests that there is a positive relationship between children’s reading comprehension skills and their idiom understanding. This study examines whether adult verbal scaffolding, in conjunction with the deliberate use of iconic gestures, can facilitate young bilingual children’s comprehension and retention of idiomatic expressions in their different languages. Twenty-three five-year-old English-Chinese bilingual children learned novel idioms across two experimental conditions. In Experiment 1, a native Chinese-speaking adult and a native English-speaking adult, respectively, taught children a set of Chinese and English idioms via speech only. In Experiment 2, the same adults, respectively, taught a different set of Chinese and English idioms via speech–gesture combinations. The results suggest that children could comprehend more idioms in both languages after being taught via the speech–gesture modality than the speech-only modality. They also tended to retain more idioms taught in the speech–gesture modality than in the speech-only modality in both languages. Moreover, those children who scored high in their idiom comprehension and retention also scored high both in their recast of the gestures used by the adults and in their rate of speech–gesture mismatches. Educational implications for early childhood settings are discussed.     

The Predictive Value of Non-Referential Beat Gestures: Early Use in Parent–Child Interactions Predicts Narrative Abilities at 5 Years of Age

A longitudinal study with 45 children (Hispanic, 13%; non-Hispanic, 87%) investigated whether the early production of non-referential beat and flip gestures, as opposed to referential iconic gestures, in parent–child naturalistic interactions from 14 to 58 months old predicts narrative abilities at age 5. Results revealed that only non-referential beats significantly (p < .01) predicted later narrative productions. The pragmatic functions of the children’s speech that accompany these gestures were also analyzed in a representative sample of 18 parent-child dyads, revealing that beats were typically associated with biased assertions or questions. These findings show that the early use of beats predicts narrative abilities later in development, and suggest that this relation is likely due to the pragmatic–structuring function that beats reflect in early discourse.     

On the Narrative Nature of Young Children's Iconic Representations: Some evidence and implications

Reflection on the relationship between a sign and its meaning (i.e. semiotic activity) is a fundamental form of cognitive activity that already occurs at an early age. The improvement of this semiotic activity in young children prepares for their later learning activity. Iconic representations are one important category of signs for young children (3‐7 years old). Iconic representations (drawings, diagrams, schemes) are generally conceived of as means bridging the gap between early enactive, perception‐bound thinking and abstract‐symbolical thinking. From the Vygotskian perspective iconic representations are complex signs referring to some object (situation, action) in a special way. On the bases on the analysis of children's drawings it is argued that iconic representations are narrative in nature for young children. Children tend to supplement their drawings with verbal symbols in order to make sure that their intended meanings are maximally clear. In doing so, children learn to carry out semiotic activity and improve this activity with the help of more abstract symbols     

Graphic symbols as "the mind on paper": links between children's interpretive theory of mind and symbol understanding

Children gradually develop interpretive theory of mind (iToM)—the understanding that different people may interpret identical events or stimuli differently. The present study tested whether more advanced iToM underlies children’s recognition that map symbols’ meanings must be communicated to others when symbols are iconic (resemble their referents). Children (6–9 years; N = 80) made maps using either iconic or abstract symbols. After accounting for age, intelligence, vocabulary, and memory, iToM predicted children’s success in communicating symbols’ meaning to a naïve map‐user when mapping tasks involved iconic (but not abstract) symbols. Findings suggest children’s growing appreciation of alternative representations and of the intentional assignment of meaning, and support the contention that ToM progresses beyond mastery of false belief.     

Speech and Gesture Production Provide Unique Insights Into Young Children’s Spatial Reasoning

This study took a novel approach to understanding the role of language in spatial development by combining approaches from spatial language and gesture research. It analyzed forty-three 4.5- to 6-year-old’s speech and gesture production during explanations of reasoning behind performance on Spatial Analogies and Children’s Mental Transformation Tasks. Results showed that speech and gesture relevant for solving the trials (disambiguating correct choices) predicted spatial performance when controlling for age, gender, and spatial words and gestures produced. Children performed the spatial tasks well if they produced relevant information either verbally through speech or nonverbally through gesture. These results highlight the importance of not only focusing on concepts children can reference but also on how such concepts are used in spatial tasks.     

Relevance matters. Eighteen-month-olds’ use of relevant informative pointing as a predictor of two-year-olds’ language abilities / La relevancia es importante. El uso de gestos deícticos relevantes e informativos por parte de niños de año y medio como factor predictor de las capacidades lingüísticas a los dos años

Abstract

The significance of pointing gestures in the development of linguistic communication is linked to their referential character and formation of common ground in use of gestures and speech. Our longitudinal study aimed to define the nature of this relationship more precisely and to explore whether the relevance vs lack of relevance of a child’s pointing gestures is related to development of language abilities. We developed a special protocol to measure relevant and irrelevant pointing gestures in 18-month-olds, sampled production of spontaneous speech and measured their language comprehension at two years of age. A group of 343 children was tested, and using structural equation modelling we showed that relevant gestures predict the level of development of language production and comprehension. As predicted, this association was not applied to irrelevant gestures. It is likely that a child’s more frequent use of relevant pointing gestures helps the caregiver to recognize the child’s communicative intentions and to comment on his/her behaviour appropriately. The identified developmental/predictive relationship is valid in both mentalistic and teleological interpretation of early communicative development.     

Developmental Pathways Between Infant Gestures and Symbolic Actions,and Children’s Communicative Skills at Age 5: Findings From the All Our Families Pregnancy Cohort

Using data from the All Our Families study, a longitudinal study of 1992 mother-child dyads in Canada (47.7% female; 81.9% White), we examined the developmental pathways between infant gestures and symbolic actions and communicative skills at age 5. Communicative gestures at age 12 months (e.g., pointing, nodding head “yes”), obtained via parental report, predicted stronger general communicative skills at age 5 years. Moreover, greater use of symbolic actions (e.g., “feeding” a stuffed animal with a bottle) indirectly predicted increased communicative skills at age 5 via increased productive vocabulary at 24 months. These pathways support the hypothesis that children’s communicative skills during the transition to kindergarten emerge from a chain of developmental abilities starting with gestures and symbolic actions during infancy.     

Receptive sign vocabulary tests: tests of single-word vocabulary or iconicity?

First-, fourth-, and ninth-grade hearing students were administered randomly selected items from the Carolina Picture Vocabulary Test (CPVT; Layton & Holmes, 1985) to determine the degree to which signs used in the CPVT are iconic (see note) and can actually convey a sign's meaning at the moment of testing, thus providing an inflated vocabulary score. Hearing students were tested because they had no prior sign knowledge or experience. Results indicate that the signs used in the CPVT are sufficiently iconic to enable students unfamiliar with signs to identify a test picture; 73% of their responses were correct when chance selection was 25%. Such findings signal potential problems with existing receptive sign vocabulary tests; consequently, test results should be interpreted cautiously. Note: Not all signs are iconic. Iconic signs have semantic features nested in their formation, location, and movement that visually convey enough information to manifest word meaning. Formation, location, and movement are also called cheremic features of sign.     

Children Use Gesture to Interpret Novel Verb Meanings

Children often find it difficult to map verbs to specific referents within complex scenes, often believing that additional features are part of the referents. This study investigated whether 3‐year‐olds could use iconic gestures to map novel verbs to specific referents. One hundred and twenty children were taught verbs that could be interpreted as change‐of‐state or manner verbs while presented with manner, end‐state, or no iconic gestures. Children were then presented with a choice that forced them to generalize either on the basis of manner or end state. Results showed that children who saw manner gestures showed a stronger manner bias compared to the other groups. Thus, the specific feature of an event encoded in gestures guides children's interpretations of novel words.