Will it take long, or a lot? Do language-specific metaphors change the way we calculate durations? - Archive ouverte HAL
Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2024

Will it take long, or a lot? Do language-specific metaphors change the way we calculate durations?

Résumé

This project intends to tackle whether the language we speak influences the way we think – also known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic relativism (Whorf, 1939). More specifically, we aim to contribute to a line of works suggesting that time perception may differ depending on the language spoken (Casasanto et al., 2004, 2007). Building on previous findings according to which English and Indonesian speakers tend to use distance-related expressions to talk about time (e.g., “a long time”), while Spanish and Greek speakers tend to use amount-related expressions instead (e.g., “much time”), we intend to evaluate whether those differences impact the way that individuals calculate durations. We propose to contrast the performance of native speakers of 4 different languages on arithmetic word problems involving durations. Those problems are meant to elicit different solving strategies based on the mental encodings constructed by the participants (Gros et al., 2021). In previous studies in French and in English, it was shown that duration problems elicit an ordinal encoding, compatible with a 1-step solving strategy. However, this effect might not replicate in languages using amount-related expressions to talk about time. We aim to investigate whether the use of distance-related or amount-related expressions in one’s native language influences the way they think about time and solve duration problems. Hypotheses We intend to evaluate whether participants speaking languages predominantly using 'distance-related’ phrases about time will be more likely to construct an ordinal encoding of situations involving durations, compared to those speaking languages using ‘amount-related' phrases to talk about time, resulting indifferent solving strategies being used. Methods Linguistic Analysis Following the methods described in existing literature (Casasanto et al., 2004, 2007) and incorporating recent criticism of using Google as a corpus (Carrion &Valenzuela, 2021), we used Sketch Engine to classify languages into two categories. We observed that English and French primarily use "distance-related «time expressions, while Spanish and Portuguese predominantly use "amount-related" phrases for time. Participants A total of 1200 participants will be recruited online, using Prolific, on the basis of their native language. All participants will be compensated for their time. Our target sample size is 300 participants per language. Design Each participant will be asked to solve 12mathematical word problems in their native language, comprising 6 ordinal (duration & height) and 6 cardinal (collections & price) problems. All problems are adapted from former studies (Gros et al., 2019, 2021)and share a common mathematical structure. Procedure The experiments will be executed simultaneously in 4languages on Qualtrics: English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Each participant will be provided with the mathematical word problems and necessary instructions in their native language. Problem order will be controlled across participants. Statistical Analysis We will use a generalized linear mixed model with a binomial distribution to evaluate inter-languages differences in solving strategies on durations problems. We will include participants as well as problem statements as random effects, to account for threepeated measures in the design. plan to explore how the two independent variables may interact with each other and also influence the way participants construct mental encodings of different problems and solve them using specific problem-solving strategies.
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Dates et versions

hal-04678646 , version 1 (27-08-2024)

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  • HAL Id : hal-04678646 , version 1

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Ann Mary John, Mônica Macedo-Rouet, Hippolyte Gros. Will it take long, or a lot? Do language-specific metaphors change the way we calculate durations?. Workshop Relations between space, language, and numbers, University of Tübingen, Apr 2024, Tubingen, Germany. ⟨hal-04678646⟩
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