A Conceptual Restructuring of Spatial Motion Expressions in Chinese L2

2018

This paper focuses on the patterns in the encoding of spatial motion events that play a major role in the acquisition of these type of expressions. The goal is to single out the semantic contribution of the linguistic items which surface in Chinese locative constructions. In this way, we intend to provide learners with an account of the spatial representation encoded in the Chinese language. In fact, Chinese grammar is often perceived as idiosyncratic, thus generating a frustration that turns into learned helplessness (Maier and Seligman, 1976). We will analyze Talmy (2000a,b) framework under the light of investigations such as Landau and Jackendoff (1993), Svenonius (2004, 2006, 2007), and…