An empirical study of the classifier effect in advanced L2 users of Chinese
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20506867 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sanmao Zhu (0000-0001-6103-734X, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 151-167 |
| Publication date | 2021-02-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Bilingualism (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1367-0069 • E-ISSN: 1756-6878 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1367006920943301 |
| OpenAlex | W3045811372 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 32 |
Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: This article examines the classifier effect on categorization among advanced Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners. More specifically, it aims to answer this question: Is non-classifier language speakers’ categorization of objects influenced by the acquisition of the Chinese classifier system? Design/methodology/approach, data and analysis: Native Chinese speakers, advanced CSL learners and non-CSL participants were asked to rate the relatedness of drawing pairs based on either classifier or taxonomy/theme; advanced CSL learners and non-CSL participants were then asked to immediately recall two lists of nouns, one associated with three taxonomic categories and the other with three classifiers. Repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted to examine the major effect between drawing relations (classifier related, taxonomically/thematically related and unrelated) and participant groups. Two measures of NCR (number of correct recall) and RR (ratio of repetition) were calculated and analysed to examine effective memory retrieval as well as subjective clustering. Findings/conclusions: Results showed that preferences for classifier-based and taxonomy/theme -based categorizations differed between advanced CSL learners and non-CSL participants. CSL learners’ knowledge of the classifier system also facilitated their performance in recalling and clustering objects. The findings revealed that concepts in bilingual minds may be language-specific and an alternative interpretation of the real world is internalized by learning a new language. Originality: Unlike previous studies, this article extended the examination of the cognitive consequences of classifiers to late bilinguals whose second language (L2) proficiency was formally assessed. Significance/implications: This study contributes empirical data supporting the importance of nonverbal behavioural evidence in the study of bilingual cognition. The degree and nature of the restructuring of real-world referents as a consequence of acquiring Chinese classifiers is of pedagogical value to second-language acquisition (SLA)
Categorization · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Linguistics · Natural language processing · Noun · Recall · Categorization, perception, and language · Computer Science · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Psychology · Artificial Intelligence
Grammatical Categories and Cognition
The Bilingual Mind
Does Language Shape Thought?
Time in the mind
Number as a cognitive technology
Unconscious effects of language-specific terminology on preattentive color perception
Culture and systems of thought
Classifier effects on human categorization
The effects of numeral classifiers and taxonomic categories on Chinese and English speakers’ recall of nouns
Changes in encoding of path of motion in a first language during acquisition of a second language
The Occurrence of Clustering in the Recall of Randomly Arranged Associates
Is It Culture or Is It Language? Examination of Language Effects in Cross-Cultural Research on Categorization
Thinking Is Modulated by Recent Linguistic Experience
Linguistic Relativity in SLA
Introduction to the Special Issue
Semantic universals in classifier systems
Classifiers
Language Structure and Categorization
| Citations per year | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |