Time as Cultural Construct: Some Preliminary Remarks on the Conceptualization of Time in L1 and L2

Abstract

One of the major competences within any model of communicative competence has to do with the socio-cultural aspects of appropriate functioning in another language. A significant category within this socio-cultural component is the construct of time. This is evidenced at the level of perception of time in our daily functioning, for example being rigorous about keeping the time or being (let’s call it) flexible in this respect (Sp. mañana or Port. amanhã). It may also be assumed that this attitude to time will be well-reflected in the way language functions, i.e.,, its linguistic expression in single words or phrases and idioms. Cognitive linguists have a lot to say about this phenomenon. As a consequence, it may be assumed that the conceptualization of time in L1 will find its way into L2 production, observed at the level of lexical transfer, for example in the incorrect use of prepositions, which is a common lexical error for Polish learners of English. This study looks at subjects who are native speakers of Polish (Group 1) and Portuguese (Group 2) and at the same time advanced users of English as L2, and the way they conceptualize time in both languages. The data collected comes from two association tasks administered to both groups of subjects, in which the first task elicits the subjects’ thinking about time at the level of semantics: What do you associate with time? (both in Polish/Portuguese and in English). The other task elicits linguistic responses to the stimulus word Time, by asking the subjects to produce words and phrases expressing time (both in Polish/Portuguese and in English). The focus of this study is the extent to which perception of time is idiosyncratic in its nature or whether it is marked as a phenomenon grounded in one’s native culture and hence characteristic of each group. Also, interest centres on the degree to which conceptualization of time is carried across languages (L1 and L2) in terms of its meaning (perception of time—task 1) and its linguistic realization (lexical transfer—task 2). The preliminary data from the study may shed light on the way the construct of time can be dealt with in formal language instruction as a significant aspect of the cross-cultural awareness of a bilingual.