How bilinguals refer to Mandarin throwing actions in English.
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BILINGUALISM : CROSS-DISCIPLINARY, CROSS-LINGUISTIC STUDIES OF LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR 2022;
26:31-48. [PMID:
35422671 PMCID:
PMC8998152 DOI:
10.1177/13670069211022853]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
In the present study, we tested how Mandarin-English bilinguals choose English words to refer to prototypical Mandarin throwing actions. Languages differ in how they refer to events. In Mandarin and English, words for throwing actions differ notably on a variety of dimensions so there are few perfect translation equivalents. In previous studies, when faced with the challenge of how to speak about such events, bilinguals sometimes use language-specific ways in each language, sometimes show convergence, sometimes use more general terms, and there are times when they can be quite creative.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY
We showed video clips of six prototypical Mandarin throwing actions (corresponding to rēng , diū , pāo , tóu , shuāi , shuǎi ) to Mandarin-English bilinguals and English monolinguals. Participants labeled the actions and chose the English word most closely corresponding to the action. The bilinguals did the same in Mandarin.
FINDINGS/CONCLUSION
The results showed that the bilinguals chose many of the same words in English as English monolinguals did. However, the bilinguals differed from the monolinguals in two ways: (1) they tended to choose more different responses and (2) they referred to diū actions most often as throw rather than lob as the monolinguals did.
ORIGINALITY
These results suggest that bilinguals use a variety of strategies to refer to the not-easily-translatable.
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