Alternative Construals on Relative Spatial Locations of Two Objects

Sungchool Im 현대문법학회 2013 현대문법연구 Vol.71 No.-

This study aims to find out how Figure and Ground, perspective, and orientation interact with each other and why alternative construals of the same situation are available in the conceptualization of relative spatial locations of objects. It focuses on the availability of alternative construals when one object/two objects have their own inherent orientation. With respect to the objects within a scene, the perspective may be on the speaker or the object, which results in different conceptualizations of relative spatial locations between the two objects. Perspective point can be shifted from the speaker to an object with its own inherent orientation, and that object has the role of a Ground with respect to a Figure. Each object may receive the perspective and an alternative construal is available depending on its orientation. If the principle of Figure and Ground alignment and perspective interact with each other, the former works first: if the reversal of Figure and Ground is allowed, an alternative construal is available. Furthermore, if the perspective point is shifted to an object and the object has its own inherent orientation, an alternative construal of the relative spatial locations is available.

Lexicalization Patterns of Motion Events in Korean Revisited

Sungchool Im 언어과학회 2018 언어과학연구 Vol.0 No.87

This study aims to reexamine the lexicalization patterns of motion events and clarify the language typology of Korean, together with Japanese and Chinese, in terms of the conflation patterns of semantic elements in motion verbs and the Path framing in a motion event, especially in a serial verb construction. The findings are as follows: First, as for the conflation patterns, English belongs to the type of a Co-event language, whereas Korean, Japanese, and Chinese belong to the type of a Path language. Second, as for the Path framing in a motion event, Co-event languages exhibit the type of satellite-framed languages, whereas Path languages reveal the type of verb-framed languages. As a result, English, as a Co-event language, is classified as a satellite-framed language, whereas Korean, as a Path language, follows the type of a verb-framed language.

Linguistic Construals on Relative Spatial Locations of Objects

Sungchool Im(임성출) 언어과학회 2016 언어과학연구 Vol.0 No.76

The purpose of this study is to compare the linguistic construals of relative spatial locations between objects between Chinese and Korean native speakers to find out whether those construals are language-universal, language-specific, or individual differences. In order to achieve these goals, an empirical study has been conducted with picture-based instruments, using the participants of Chinese and Korean native speakers. The findings are as follows: First, when the Ground does not bear its inherent orientation, the perspective is mostly located on the speaker in both groups, whereas when the Ground bears its inherent orientation, the perspective is mostly located on the Ground in both groups. Second, whether the perspective is located on the speaker or on the Ground, a higher percentage of the Korean speakers neutralized the distinction between left and right than did the Chinese group. Finally, when the Ground has its inherent orientation, an alternative construal is available, based on either a speaker-based or Ground-based perspective.

Figure Precedence vs. Ground Precedence

Sungchool Im 언어과학회 2017 언어과학연구 Vol.0 No.83

The segregation of Figure and Ground in our perception is represented in language. In a clause, a perceptually prominent object standing out from a situation is Figure and the object more backgrounded is Ground. This distinction is also applicable to the structures of modification, temporal and spatial adverbials, and complex events. The purpose of this study is to provide a unified account of diverse syntactic structures above in English and Korean in terms of Figure and Ground organization, and to present a language typology between the two languages. The results of this study showed a systematic difference in the alignment of Figure and Ground in English and Korean: Figure precedence over Ground in English and Ground precedence over Figure in Korean.

Fictive Motion and Its Conventionality

Sungchool Im 현대문법학회 2011 현대문법연구 Vol.64 No.-

Stationary circumstances are systematically and extensively conceptualized as moving with linguistic expressions used to refer to actual motion. This is called subjective or fictive motion in the literature. Research has been done on subjective/fictive motion expressions but most of them have focused on descriptions of different types of fictive motion. The purpose of this paper is to provide a unified account of conceptualization of different types of fictive motion in terms of Figure and Ground organization. In this study, three representative types of fictive motion are considered : coextensiveness, relative motion, and change of state.

A Corpus-Based Study on the Positioning of Concessive Clauses with although

Mikyung Lee,Sungchool Im 언어과학회 2019 언어과학연구 Vol.0 No.91

This paper aims to provide an integrated account of the affectedness of semantic factors such as the Figure precedence principle, the sequence principle, and the end-focus principle on the positioning of the concessive clauses introduced by the subordinate conjunction although, based on the COCA"s recently updated data. The results of this paper show that these three principles are involved in the positioning of the although-clause either independently or interactively with each other. The Figure precedence principle has the greatest influence on the positioning of the although-clause. The Sequence principle works by itself or with the initial although-clause, playing the role of a bridge when the main clause gets an end-focus. Some although-clauses are positioned to avoid the reinterpretation process of the main clause without being affected by the three principles.

An Interactive Approach to Interpretation of Emotion Metaphor

Chenxi Fan,Sungchool Im 언어과학회 2017 언어과학연구 Vol.0 No.80

The purpose of this study is to further investigate the mechanism of emotion metaphor based on the conceptual metaphor theory proposed by Lakoff and Johnson (1980). In order to fulfill this purpose, this study creates an interactive approach to the interpretation of the emotion metaphor. In this paper it is proposed that the interpretation of the emotion metaphor is not simply generalized as understanding one conceptual domain with another conceptual domain (the “elements of the source domain are mapped onto elements of the target domain” (KOvecses 2002: 6), but is an interactive process in which the comprehension of the emotion metaphor is achieved through three interactive levels: the surface linguistic level, the mediate psychological level, and the underlying cognitive level.

An Analysis of Conceptual Metaphors in the Gospel of John

Yoonyoung Choi,Sungchool Im 한국영미어문학회 2010 영미어문학 Vol.- No.95

This study aims to examine the metaphorical linguistic expressions from the Gospel of John in the Bible and find out their conceptual metaphors based on the conceptual metaphor theory. From the analysis of this figurative speech in the Gospel of John, we can find the followings: First, one abstract concept is understood in terms of several concrete concepts, and vice versa; second People, including St. John, at that time had metaphorical thinking like modern people; finally, social and cultural backgrounds in Mediterranean countries 2000 years ago are reflected in the language at that time, e.g., vine farming and sheep raising.

A Comparative Study on Linguistic Expressions of RESULT and Its Realization in Force Dynamicsbetween English and Chinese

Yanlu Zhang,Sungchool Im 담화·인지언어학회 2014 담화와 인지 Vol.21 No.2

This paper is a comparative study on force-dynamic expressions between English and Chinese. Although English and Chinese share a seemingly uniform surface structure in expressing force dynamics, they differ greatly in encoding the realization of RESULT. In English, the successful realization of the RESULT is unambiguously lexicalized in the matrix verb. On the other hand, in Chinese, the realization of the RESULT is often left unspecified from the lexical meaning of the verb. Instead, this language turns to collocations, such as aspect marker, complements, and auxiliaries to create a specific context in which the realization of the RESULT is interpreted. The difference between English and Chinese in encoding the realization of RESULT is traceable to the different cognitive patterns used by English and Chinese speakers. English speakers are analytic, paying attention primarily to the objects and using rules which are independent of context to understand the behavior of the objects. In contrast, Chinese speakers are holistic, attending to the entire field and preferring to explain the behavior of objects as context-dependent.

Take a Chance on Me: Applied Cognitive Linguistics and SLT

Rolf I. Naidoo,Sungchool Im 한국영미어문학회 2014 영미어문학 Vol.- No.113

This paper situates the research on cognitive linguistics and language teaching in context by blending the interdisciplinary nature of cognitive linguistics and its application to English as a foreign language. This paper focuses on cognitive linguistics, intelligibility, and interdisciplinary support for applied cognitive linguistics; together they provide a clear picture of the research landscape and the orientation of this complex phenomenon to SL T. 106 learners participated in a posttreatment student self assesment questionnaire (SSAQ) that measured awareness and production of target phonemes in this study. The results show a significant difference among the different instruction groups, i.e, the treatment group that received the figure - ground treatment displayed the most progress for the variables measured. This highlights the value of applying cognitive linguistic concepts to second language teaching.