Clarifying the Scope of Conceptual Transfer

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27 Scopus citations

Abstract

This article clarifies the purposes of research on conceptual transfer by defining it as cross-linguistic influence in the expression and interpretation of conceptual meaning and by discussing what conceptual meaning entails and how conceptual meaning and conceptual transfer relate to the pursuits of linguistic relativity research, on the one hand, and traditional research on cross-linguistic influence on the other. I focus on three general questions that span the scope of conceptual transfer research, and I discuss the types of empirical evidence they call for. I also explore a case of meaning-related transfer whose specific causes have not yet been identified, and I describe how a combination of types of evidence can be used to determine whether learners from different language backgrounds rely on different conceptual considerations when deciding how to refer to a particular spatial relationship. The article concludes with a summary of the purposes and importance of this line of inquiry.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)608-635
Number of pages28
JournalLanguage Learning
Volume66
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • conceptual transfer
  • cross-linguistic influence
  • linguistic relativity
  • semantic transfer
  • thinking for speaking

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • Language and Linguistics
  • Linguistics and Language

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