中英文时间空间化表征的比较研究

发布时间：2018-02-23 02:16

本文关键词： 时间空间隐喻表征书写方向语言相对论　出处：《江南大学》2013年硕士论文　论文类型：学位论文

【摘要】：时间的空间化表征被公认为是人类认知的普遍现象。然而，人们为时间建构的具体空间模型可能会因语言文化的不同而不同。实证研究表明，时间表征与语言（如隐喻）和文化（如书写/阅读）经历密切相关。由于中英文在时间的隐喻表达上存在有趣的差异，有关中英文使用者时间表征的比较研究日益增多。在谈论时间时，中文使用者使用垂直隐喻的频率远远大于英文使用者，所以本文推测：在思考时间时，中文使用者比英文使用者更有可能将之放在虚拟竖轴上。近年来的研究还有一个有趣的发现：书写/阅读方向或影响时间认知。中英文的书写方向都是由左及右，所以本文推测：在表征时间时，两种语言的使用者都有可能把时间放在虚拟横轴上由左及右排列。本研究旨在检验时间空间化表征的心理现实性，并考察时间认知与语言隐喻和书写/阅读方向的关系。主要提出了以下两个问题：（1）在表征时间时，中文使用者是否比英文使用者更有可能将之放在虚拟竖轴上；（2）中英文使用者的心智中是否存在由左及右的时间表征。为了回答这些问题，本文建构了一个新的实验范式。在每次测试中，被试会看到电脑屏幕上依次呈现两张图片，他们的任务就是判断第二张图片描绘的时间点比第一张早还是晚。被试被要求通过单击或双击指定的按键迅速准确地作出判断，反应时间由电脑记录并精确到毫秒。被试没有被告知的是，测试中包含和他们的任务不相关但和实验目的有关的干扰信息：第二张图片的位置。第一张图片始终出现在屏幕中央，而第二张会出现在第一张的上/下或左/右。实验结果显示，当早的时间点出现在上方或下方时，中文使用者在第一种情况下的反应更快；英文使用者在两种情况下的反应时间没有差别。这就意味着在表征时间时，，只有中文使用者才将之放在虚拟竖轴上，此发现与语言隐喻中的规律相一致。当早的时间点出现在左侧或右侧时，中英文使用者都是在第一种情况下反应更快，因此证明了时间表征存在由左及右的导向，这与两种语言的书写/阅读方向一致。结合前人的研究，这些结果表明了语言隐喻和书写/阅读方向对时间认知的影响。更重要的是，它们可以为时间表征以外的通用理论和主张提供证据。譬如，该研究证明了隐喻思维的心理现实性。此外，研究结果还可以进一步证明思维（至少在某些概念域）受语言的影响，但不依赖于语言。在实践价值方面，该文指出了中英文使用者在时间认知上的异同，有助于促进跨文化交际并增进相互理解。
[Abstract]:The spatial representation of time is recognized as a universal phenomenon of human cognition. However, the specific spatial models constructed by people for time may vary from language to culture. Time representation is closely related to language (such as metaphor) and cultural (such as writing / reading) experience. There are more and more comparative studies on the temporal representation of Chinese and English users. When talking about time, Chinese users use vertical metaphors much more frequently than English speakers. Chinese speakers are more likely than English speakers to put it on a virtual vertical axis. Another interesting finding in recent studies has been the writing / reading direction or the influence of time cognition. The writing directions of both Chinese and English are left and right. Therefore, it is speculated that in representing time, users of both languages may arrange their time on the virtual horizontal axis from left to right. The purpose of this study is to examine the psychological reality of temporal and spatial representation, and to examine the relationship between temporal cognition and language metaphor and writing / reading direction. Are Chinese users more likely than English speakers to put it on a virtual vertical axis?) is there a left and right temporal representation in the mind of both Chinese and English speakers. In order to answer these questions, In this paper, a new experimental paradigm was constructed. In each test, the subjects were shown two images on the computer screen in turn. Their task was to determine whether the second picture was painted earlier or later than the first. The subjects were asked to make a quick and accurate judgment by clicking or double-clicking the specified key. The reaction time was recorded by computer and was accurate to milliseconds. The test contains interfering information that is not relevant to their task but related to the purpose of the experiment: the location of the second picture. The first image always appears in the center of the screen. The second one appears on the top / bottom or left / right of the first one. The experimental results show that the Chinese users react more quickly in the first case when the early time points appear at the top or the bottom. There is no difference in the reaction time of English speakers in both cases. This means that when representing time, only Chinese users place it on the virtual vertical axis. This finding is consistent with the pattern in linguistic metaphors. When early time points appear on the left or right, both Chinese and English users react more quickly in the first case, thus proving that the time representation is guided by both left and right. This is consistent with the direction of writing / reading in both languages. Combined with previous studies, these results demonstrate the influence of linguistic metaphor and writing / reading direction on temporal cognition. More importantly, they can provide evidence for general theories and claims beyond temporal representation. For example, This study proves the psychological reality of metaphorical thinking. In addition, the results can further prove that thinking (at least in some conceptual domains) is influenced by language, but not dependent on language. This paper points out the similarities and differences between Chinese and English users in time cognition, which helps to promote cross-cultural communication and mutual understanding.
【学位授予单位】：江南大学
【学位级别】：硕士
【学位授予年份】：2013
【分类号】：H315;H15

【共引文献】