This article discusses three claims of the Graded Salience Hypothesis presented in
Rachel Giora’s book On our mind. It is argued that these claims
may give second language researchers the chance to revise the way they think about
word meaning, the literal meaning-figurative meaning dichotomy and the role of
context in language processing. Giora’s arguments are related to recent
second language research and their relevance is explained through examples. There
are also several suggestions made for further research.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abel, B.2003:
English idioms in the first language and second language lexicon: a dual
representation approach
. Second Language Research19,
329-358
.
2.
Adamson, H. D.1988: Variation theory and second language acquisition.
Georgetown University Press
.
3.
Barro, A.
,
Byram, M.
,
Grimm, H. H.
,
Morgan, C.
and
Roberts, C.1993: Cultural studies for advanced language learners.
In
Graddol, D.
,
Thompson, L.
and
Byram, M.
, editors, Language and culture.
Multilingual Matters
, 55-70.
4.
Bates, E.1999: On the nature and nurture of language. In
Bizzi, E.
,
Calissano, P.
and
Volterra, V.
, editors, Frontiere della biologia il cervello di homo sapiens
[Frontiers of biology: the brain of homo sapiens].
Instituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
, 241-265.
5.
Bibok, K.
and
Németh T., E.2001: How the lexicon and context interact in the meaning
construction of utterances. In
Németh T., E.
and
Bibok, K.
, editors, Pragmatics and the flexibility of word meaning.
Elsevier
, 289-321.
6.
Bierwisch, M.1997: Lexical information from a minimalist point of
view. In
Wilder, C.
,
Gärtner, H. M.
and
Bierwisch, M.
, editors, The role of economy principles in linguistic theory.
Studia grammatica 40.
Akademie Verlag
, 227-266.
7.
Bortfeld, H.2002: What native and non-native speakers’ images for
idioms tell us about figurative language. In
Heredia, R.
and
Altarriba, J.
, editors, Bilingual Sentence Processing.
North Holland/Elsevier
, 275-295.
Cieślicka, A.
in press:
Literal salience in on-line processing of idiomatic expressions by L2 learners
. Journal of Pragmatics.
10.
Cook, V.1997:
Monolingual bias in second language acquisition research
. Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses34,
35-50
.
11.
Dycus, D.1997:
Guessing word meaning from context: should we encourage It?Literacy Across Cultures.
1-2
.
12.
Engelbart, S.
and
Theuerkauf, B.1999:
Defining context within vocabulary acquisition
. Language Teaching Research3,
57-69
.
13.
Fillmore, C.1976:
The need for a frame semantics within linguistics
. SMIL Skriptor,
5-29
.
14.
Fillmore, C.
and
Atkins, B.1992: Toward a frame-based lexicon. The semantics of RISK and its
neighbors. In
Lehrer, A.
and
Kittay, E. F.
, editors, Frames, fields, and contrasts.
Lawrence Erlbaum
, 75-102.
15.
Fraser, C. A.1999:
Lexical processing strategy use and vocabulary learning through reading
. Studies in Second Language Acquisition21,
225-241
.
16.
Gardenfors, P.1997: Meanings as conceptual structures. In
Carrier, M.
and
Machamer, P.
, editors, Mindscapes.
University of Pittsburgh Press
.
17.
Gee, J. P.1999: An introduction to discourse analysis.
Routledge
.
18.
Gibbs Jr., R. W.1994: The poetics of mind.
Cambridge University Press
.
19.
Gibbs Jr., R. W.1996: What’s cognitive about cognitive
linguistics. In
Casad, E. H.
, editors, Cognitive linguistics in the redwoods: the expansion of a new
paradigm in linguistics. Cognitive Linguistics Research, 6.
Mouton de Gruyter
, 27-53.
20.
Gibbs Jr., R. W.2002:
A new look at literal meaning in understanding what is said and implicated
. Journal of Pragmatics34,
457-486
.
21.
Giora, R.1997:
Understanding figurative and literal language. The graded salience hypothesis
. Cognitive Linguistics7,
183-206
.
22.
Giora, R.2003: On our mind: salience, context and figurative language.
Oxford University Press
.
23.
Grosjean, F.1989:
Neurolinguistics, beware! The bilingual is not two monolinguals in one person
. Brain and Language36,
3-15
.
24.
Gumperz, J.1982: Discourse strategies.
Cambridge University Press
.
25.
Gumperz, J.1992: Contextualization and understanding. In
Duranti, A.
and
Goodwin, C.
, editors, Rethinking context: language as an interactive
phenomenon.
Cambridge University Press
, 229-252.
26.
Hang, S.1995:
The effects of a context-embedded approach to second-language vocabulary learning
. System23,
43-55
.
27.
Jackendoff, R.2002: Foundations of Language.
Oxford University Press
.
28.
Kecskes, I.2001: The ‘graded salience hypothesis’ in
second language acquisition. In
Niemeier, S.
and
Puetz, M.
, editors, Applied cognitive linguistics.
Mouton de Gruyter
, 249-271.
29.
Kecskes, I.2002: Situation-bound utterances in L1 and L2.
Mouton de Gruyter
.
30.
Kecskes, I.2004a:
Lexical merging, conceptual blending and cultural crossing
. Intercultural Pragmatics1,
1-21
.
31.
Kecskes, I.2004b:
The role of salience in processing pragmatic units
. Acta Linguistica Hungarica51,
309-324
.
32.
Kecskes, I.
and
Papp, T.2000: Foreign language and mother tongue.
Lawrence Erlbaum
.
33.
Kecskes, I.
and
Cuenca, I. M.2005:
Lexical choice as a reflection of conceptual fluency
. International Journal of Bilingualism9,
49-69
.
34.
Kövecses, Z.1993: Minimal and full definition of meaning. In:
Geiger, R. A.
and
Rudzka-Ostyn, B.
, editors, Conceptualization and mental processing in language.
Mouton de Gruyter
, 247-266.
35.
Levinson, S. C.2002: Contextualizing contextualization cues. In
Eerdmans, S.
,
Prevignano, C.
and
Thibault, P.
, editors, Language and interaction: discussions with John J.
Gumperz.
John Benjamins
, 31-39.
36.
Morris, W.
, editor 1976: The American heritage dictionary of the English
language.
Houghton Mifflin
.
37.
Nation, P.
and
Coady, J.1988: Vocabulary and reading. In
Carter, R.
and
McCarthy, M.
, editors, Vocabulary and language teaching.
Longman
.
38.
Paradis, M.
, editor 1995: Aspects of bilingual aphasia.
Pergamon
.
39.
Rapaport, W. J.
2003:
What is the ‘context’ for contextual vocabulary acquisition?
In
Slezak, P. P.
, editor, Proceedings of the 4th Joint International Conference on
Cognitive Science/7th Australasian Society for Cognitive Science
Conference. ICCS/ASCS-2003. Volume 2. University of New South
Wales,
547-552
.
40.
Sperber, D.
and
Wilson, D.1995: Relevance: communication and cognition.
Blackwell
.
41.
Strauss, C.
and
Quinn, N.1997: A cognitive theory of cultural meaning.
Cambridge University Press
.
42.
Violi, P.2000: Prototypicality, typicality and context. In
Albertazzi, L.
, editor, Meaning and cognition.
John Benjamins
, 103-123.
43.
Wray, A.2002: Formulaic language and the lexicon.
Cambridge University Press
.
