Vietnamese English Speakers’ Conception of Time Through Spatial Metaphors and Its Implications on Cross-Cultural Communication

Tran Thanh Du; Au Minh Triet; Nguyen Tran Uy Vu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13

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Vietnamese English Speakers’ Conception of Time Through Spatial Metaphors and Its Implications on Cross-Cultural Communication

Tran Thanh Du, Au Minh Triet, Nguyen Tran Uy Vu

Published in Communication and Linguistics Studies (Volume 8, Issue 4)

Received: 16 October 2022 Accepted: 7 November 2022 Published: 16 November 2022

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Abstract

This study briefly reviews the empirical history of the aforementioned questions and describes the process of designing and conducting two experiments that demonstrate the role of language in shaping habitual thought, with the subjects being Vietnamese English speakers (2^nd and 3^rd year English majors from Thu Dau Mot University - TDMU). The results are placed and analyzed in contrast with a similar study done on Chinese English speakers to determine whether Vietnamese English speakers utilize similar spatiotemporal metaphors of their first language when thinking about time in English and whether their patterns differ from that of Mandarin and native English speakers. It is concluded that (1) conception of abstract domains such as time can be shaped in a speaker's thought by the language (s) they speak and (2) one's native tongue has a significant influence in shaping habitual thought but does not wholly regulate one's cognitive power as espoused by the Whorfian view of linguistics. From the research results, this research help to call to attention the fascinating intersectionality of language, culture, and history within a language of a non-dominant culture and former colony, as expressed through its speakers' way of thinking about time. In language education at large, these experiment's results should provide understandings regarding the changing nature of student's cognitive habits in relation to their foreign language proficiency. Since TDMU English majors could possibly possess both English and Mandarin's perception of time, it would be interesting if their results from these experiments are put into comparison with students from non-linguistic majors but attending one of the aforementioned secondary language class provided by TDMU's Foreign Language Center in order to paint a clear picture regarding the thought-shaping properties of potentially all three subject languages (Vietnamese, English, and Mandarin).

Published in	Communication and Linguistics Studies (Volume 8, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13
Page(s)	71-79
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Conception, Cross-Cultural Communication, Metaphor, Spatial Metaphor, Time

References

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[2]	Altmann, G. (1993). Science and Linguistics. Contributions to Quantitative Linguistics, 6 (6), 3–10.
[3]	Boroditsky, L. (2001). Does Language Shape Thought?: Mandarin and English Speakers’ Conceptions of Time. Cognitive Psychology, 43 (1), 1–22.
[4]	Boroditsky, L., Fuhrman, O., & McCormick, K. (2011). Do English and Mandarin speakers think about time differently? Cognition, 118 (1), 123–129.
[5]	Caroll, J. B. (1956). Language, Thought and Reality: Selected Writings of Benjamin Lee Whorf. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
[6]	Chen, C. (2014). A contrastive study of time as space metaphor in English and Chinese. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 4 (1), 129–136.
[7]	Culler, J. (1976). Saussure. In Historiographia Linguistica (Vol. 4, Issue 2, pp. 56–59). Fontana/Collins.
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[9]	Haspelmath, M. (1997). From Space to Time: temporal adverbials in the world’s languages. Futures, 23 (2), 179–188.
[10]	Hivert, A.-F. (2021, March 20). Rapatriement depuis la Syrie : pour la Finlande, les droits des enfants passent en priorité. Lemonde. Fr. https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/03/20/rapatriement-depuis-la-syrie-pour-la-finlande-les-droits-des-enfants-passent-en-priorite_6073853_3210.html
[11]	Hunt, E., & Agnoli, F. (1991). The Whorfian Hypothesis: A Cognitive Psychology Perspective. Psychological Review, 98 (3), 377–389.
[12]	Linh Thuy, B. (2014). Vietnamese demonstratives : A spatially-based polysemy network. University of Queensland.
[13]	McCornmick, M. (2017). Kant, Immanuel: Metaphysics \| Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. California State University, Sacramento, USA. https://iep.utm.edu/kantmeta/#H4
[14]	Moore, K. (2015). The Spatial Language of Time. Metaphor, Metonymy and Frames of Reference. Metaphor and the Social World, 5 (1), 155–163.
[15]	Núñez, R. E., & Sweetser, E. (2006). With the future behind them: Convergent evidence from Aymara language and gesture in the crosslinguistic comparison of spatial construals of time. Cognitive Science, 30 (3), 401–450.
[16]	Prawati, M. T., & Bundamulia, U. (2017). SPATIOTEMPORAL METAPHOR : 7 (1), 23–28.
[17]	Radden, G. (2011). Spatial time in the West and the East. Space and Time in Language, January 2004, 1–40.
[18]	Rosch, E. (n. d.). Principles of Categorization. Physiology (Bethesda, Md.), 13 (1), 279–306.
[19]	Rynasiewicz, R. (2014). Newton’s Views on Space, Time, and Motion (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2014 Edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/newton-stm/
[20]	Slobin, D. I. (n. d.). Thinking for Speaking. Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society, 13 (June 2014), 435.
[21]	Sullivan, K., & Bui, L. T. (2016). With the future coming up behind them: Evidence that Time approaches from behind in Vietnamese. Cognitive Linguistics, 27 (2), 205–233.

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APA Style

Tran Thanh Du, Au Minh Triet, Nguyen Tran Uy Vu. (2022). Vietnamese English Speakers’ Conception of Time Through Spatial Metaphors and Its Implications on Cross-Cultural Communication. Communication and Linguistics Studies, 8(4), 71-79. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13

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ACS Style

Tran Thanh Du; Au Minh Triet; Nguyen Tran Uy Vu. Vietnamese English Speakers’ Conception of Time Through Spatial Metaphors and Its Implications on Cross-Cultural Communication. Commun. Linguist. Stud. 2022, 8(4), 71-79. doi: 10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13

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AMA Style

Tran Thanh Du, Au Minh Triet, Nguyen Tran Uy Vu. Vietnamese English Speakers’ Conception of Time Through Spatial Metaphors and Its Implications on Cross-Cultural Communication. Commun Linguist Stud. 2022;8(4):71-79. doi: 10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13

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@article{10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13,
  author = {Tran Thanh Du and Au Minh Triet and Nguyen Tran Uy Vu},
  title = {Vietnamese English Speakers’ Conception of Time Through Spatial Metaphors and Its Implications on Cross-Cultural Communication},
  journal = {Communication and Linguistics Studies},
  volume = {8},
  number = {4},
  pages = {71-79},
  doi = {10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cls.20220804.13},
  abstract = {This study briefly reviews the empirical history of the aforementioned questions and describes the process of designing and conducting two experiments that demonstrate the role of language in shaping habitual thought, with the subjects being Vietnamese English speakers (2nd and 3rd year English majors from Thu Dau Mot University - TDMU). The results are placed and analyzed in contrast with a similar study done on Chinese English speakers to determine whether Vietnamese English speakers utilize similar spatiotemporal metaphors of their first language when thinking about time in English and whether their patterns differ from that of Mandarin and native English speakers. It is concluded that (1) conception of abstract domains such as time can be shaped in a speaker's thought by the language (s) they speak and (2) one's native tongue has a significant influence in shaping habitual thought but does not wholly regulate one's cognitive power as espoused by the Whorfian view of linguistics. From the research results, this research help to call to attention the fascinating intersectionality of language, culture, and history within a language of a non-dominant culture and former colony, as expressed through its speakers' way of thinking about time. In language education at large, these experiment's results should provide understandings regarding the changing nature of student's cognitive habits in relation to their foreign language proficiency. Since TDMU English majors could possibly possess both English and Mandarin's perception of time, it would be interesting if their results from these experiments are put into comparison with students from non-linguistic majors but attending one of the aforementioned secondary language class provided by TDMU's Foreign Language Center in order to paint a clear picture regarding the thought-shaping properties of potentially all three subject languages (Vietnamese, English, and Mandarin).},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Vietnamese English Speakers’ Conception of Time Through Spatial Metaphors and Its Implications on Cross-Cultural Communication
AU  - Tran Thanh Du
AU  - Au Minh Triet
AU  - Nguyen Tran Uy Vu
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DO  - 10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13
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JO  - Communication and Linguistics Studies
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PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2380-2529
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13
AB  - This study briefly reviews the empirical history of the aforementioned questions and describes the process of designing and conducting two experiments that demonstrate the role of language in shaping habitual thought, with the subjects being Vietnamese English speakers (2nd and 3rd year English majors from Thu Dau Mot University - TDMU). The results are placed and analyzed in contrast with a similar study done on Chinese English speakers to determine whether Vietnamese English speakers utilize similar spatiotemporal metaphors of their first language when thinking about time in English and whether their patterns differ from that of Mandarin and native English speakers. It is concluded that (1) conception of abstract domains such as time can be shaped in a speaker's thought by the language (s) they speak and (2) one's native tongue has a significant influence in shaping habitual thought but does not wholly regulate one's cognitive power as espoused by the Whorfian view of linguistics. From the research results, this research help to call to attention the fascinating intersectionality of language, culture, and history within a language of a non-dominant culture and former colony, as expressed through its speakers' way of thinking about time. In language education at large, these experiment's results should provide understandings regarding the changing nature of student's cognitive habits in relation to their foreign language proficiency. Since TDMU English majors could possibly possess both English and Mandarin's perception of time, it would be interesting if their results from these experiments are put into comparison with students from non-linguistic majors but attending one of the aforementioned secondary language class provided by TDMU's Foreign Language Center in order to paint a clear picture regarding the thought-shaping properties of potentially all three subject languages (Vietnamese, English, and Mandarin).
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Author Information

Tran Thanh Du

Faculty of Foreign Languages, Thu Dau Mot Universiy, Thu Dau Mot City, Vietnam
Au Minh Triet

Faculty of Foreign Languages, Thu Dau Mot Universiy, Thu Dau Mot City, Vietnam
Nguyen Tran Uy Vu

Faculty of Foreign Languages, Thu Dau Mot Universiy, Thu Dau Mot City, Vietnam

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Tran Thanh Du, Au Minh Triet, Nguyen Tran Uy Vu. (2022). Vietnamese English Speakers’ Conception of Time Through Spatial Metaphors and Its Implications on Cross-Cultural Communication. Communication and Linguistics Studies, 8(4), 71-79. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13

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ACS Style

Tran Thanh Du; Au Minh Triet; Nguyen Tran Uy Vu. Vietnamese English Speakers’ Conception of Time Through Spatial Metaphors and Its Implications on Cross-Cultural Communication. Commun. Linguist. Stud. 2022, 8(4), 71-79. doi: 10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13

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AMA Style

Tran Thanh Du, Au Minh Triet, Nguyen Tran Uy Vu. Vietnamese English Speakers’ Conception of Time Through Spatial Metaphors and Its Implications on Cross-Cultural Communication. Commun Linguist Stud. 2022;8(4):71-79. doi: 10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13

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@article{10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13,
  author = {Tran Thanh Du and Au Minh Triet and Nguyen Tran Uy Vu},
  title = {Vietnamese English Speakers’ Conception of Time Through Spatial Metaphors and Its Implications on Cross-Cultural Communication},
  journal = {Communication and Linguistics Studies},
  volume = {8},
  number = {4},
  pages = {71-79},
  doi = {10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cls.20220804.13},
  abstract = {This study briefly reviews the empirical history of the aforementioned questions and describes the process of designing and conducting two experiments that demonstrate the role of language in shaping habitual thought, with the subjects being Vietnamese English speakers (2nd and 3rd year English majors from Thu Dau Mot University - TDMU). The results are placed and analyzed in contrast with a similar study done on Chinese English speakers to determine whether Vietnamese English speakers utilize similar spatiotemporal metaphors of their first language when thinking about time in English and whether their patterns differ from that of Mandarin and native English speakers. It is concluded that (1) conception of abstract domains such as time can be shaped in a speaker's thought by the language (s) they speak and (2) one's native tongue has a significant influence in shaping habitual thought but does not wholly regulate one's cognitive power as espoused by the Whorfian view of linguistics. From the research results, this research help to call to attention the fascinating intersectionality of language, culture, and history within a language of a non-dominant culture and former colony, as expressed through its speakers' way of thinking about time. In language education at large, these experiment's results should provide understandings regarding the changing nature of student's cognitive habits in relation to their foreign language proficiency. Since TDMU English majors could possibly possess both English and Mandarin's perception of time, it would be interesting if their results from these experiments are put into comparison with students from non-linguistic majors but attending one of the aforementioned secondary language class provided by TDMU's Foreign Language Center in order to paint a clear picture regarding the thought-shaping properties of potentially all three subject languages (Vietnamese, English, and Mandarin).},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Vietnamese English Speakers’ Conception of Time Through Spatial Metaphors and Its Implications on Cross-Cultural Communication
AU  - Tran Thanh Du
AU  - Au Minh Triet
AU  - Nguyen Tran Uy Vu
Y1  - 2022/11/16
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13
T2  - Communication and Linguistics Studies
JF  - Communication and Linguistics Studies
JO  - Communication and Linguistics Studies
SP  - 71
EP  - 79
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2380-2529
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cls.20220804.13
AB  - This study briefly reviews the empirical history of the aforementioned questions and describes the process of designing and conducting two experiments that demonstrate the role of language in shaping habitual thought, with the subjects being Vietnamese English speakers (2nd and 3rd year English majors from Thu Dau Mot University - TDMU). The results are placed and analyzed in contrast with a similar study done on Chinese English speakers to determine whether Vietnamese English speakers utilize similar spatiotemporal metaphors of their first language when thinking about time in English and whether their patterns differ from that of Mandarin and native English speakers. It is concluded that (1) conception of abstract domains such as time can be shaped in a speaker's thought by the language (s) they speak and (2) one's native tongue has a significant influence in shaping habitual thought but does not wholly regulate one's cognitive power as espoused by the Whorfian view of linguistics. From the research results, this research help to call to attention the fascinating intersectionality of language, culture, and history within a language of a non-dominant culture and former colony, as expressed through its speakers' way of thinking about time. In language education at large, these experiment's results should provide understandings regarding the changing nature of student's cognitive habits in relation to their foreign language proficiency. Since TDMU English majors could possibly possess both English and Mandarin's perception of time, it would be interesting if their results from these experiments are put into comparison with students from non-linguistic majors but attending one of the aforementioned secondary language class provided by TDMU's Foreign Language Center in order to paint a clear picture regarding the thought-shaping properties of potentially all three subject languages (Vietnamese, English, and Mandarin).
VL  - 8
IS  - 4
ER  -

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