Cognitive Differences Analysis and Instructional Recommendations of Thai Chinese Learners' Perceptions of "上" Based on Dynamic Corpus Data

Authors

  • Jianing ZHUANG School of International Culture, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
  • Jingying ZHANG School of International Culture, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, P.R. China

Keywords:

Shang, cognitive semantics, cognitive representation, metaphorical extension, language teaching

Abstract

This study, framed within the metaphor theory of cognitive linguistics, analyzes the pragmatic frequency and characteristics of the Chinese spatial term "shang" among Thai learners of Chinese, based on natural learner corpora. The study explores the cognitive differences in expressing spatial relations with "shang." The results indicate that there are asymmetries in the spatial, temporal, and stative metaphorical representations of "shang" between Chinese and Thai. Consequently, Thai learners exhibit pragmatic errors in the actual use of "shang." To help learners better grasp the multidimensional usage of Chinese spatial terms and reduce error frequency, this study proposes pedagogical recommendations such as contextual-pragmatic training and contrastive grammar analysis.

References

Clark, H. (1973). Space, time, semantics, and the child. In Moore, T. (ed.). Cognitive Development and the Acquisition of Language (pp.27-63). New York: Academic Press.

Kasempremchit, T. (2022). A cognitive linguistic approach to English, Chinese and Thai spatial terms: The case of on, shang and bon. The New English Teacher, 16(2), 1-38.

Lakoff, G. (1993). The contemporary theory of metaphor. In Ortony, A.(ed.). Metaphor and Thought 2nd Edition (pp. 202-251). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Shen, J.X. (1994). The expression of concepts in English and Chinese. Shen Jiaxuan Selected Works of Famous Middle Aged Linguists - Shen Jiaxuan Volume (pp. 43-64). Hefei: Anhui Education Press, 2002.

Siebenhütter, S. (2020). Study of Linguistic Areas: Evidence from Cultural Words, Semantic Maps, and Spatial Reference in Southeast Asia. In: Brunn, S., Kehrein, R. (eds) Handbook of the Changing World Language Map (pp.157-180). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02438-3_83

Sinthorn, M. (2018). "Comparative Study of Chinese and Thai Positional Words". [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Central China Normal University.

Wang, Y. (2007). Cognitive Linguistics. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

Wiriyathananon, O. (2015). "Comparative Study on the Concept of Location" Up, Down, Front, and Back "between Han and Thai" [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Zhejiang University.

Wnuk, E., & Ito, Y. (2021). The heart’s downward path to happiness: Cross-cultural diversity in spatial metaphors of affect. Cognitive Linguistics, 32(2), 195-218.

Xu, L.X. & Zhang, X.K. (2017). From the Thai translation of "up/down+X_ (time unit)" in Chinese to see the differences in time cognition between Chinese and Thai. Journal of Guangxi University for Nationalities (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 39 (05), 169-175.

Published

2024-12-22

How to Cite

ZHUANG, J., & ZHANG, J. (2024). Cognitive Differences Analysis and Instructional Recommendations of Thai Chinese Learners’ Perceptions of "上" Based on Dynamic Corpus Data. Journal of Sinology, 18(2), 47–66. Retrieved from https://journal.mfu.ac.th/index.php/jsino/article/view/136

Issue

Section

Research Articles