Innovation in Language Learning

Interconnections between the languages of bilinguals and their memory organization represent some of the major topics in psycholinguistic studies. In light of these explorations, this paper investigates the semantic space of equivalent L1 and L2 words as reflected in their connotative meanings. For the purpose of the study, the widened Semantic Differential method was used. Two groups of 30 L1 Croatian speakers, with B2 proficiency, evaluated meanings of either L1 or L2 words and assigned corresponding values on 18 bipolar 7-point scales. Each scale represented specific semantic feature built around a specific examined factor. Besides the classical factors introduced by Osgood, that is, Evaluation (bad-good, ugly-beautiful), Potency (weak - strong, small - big), and Activity (passive - active, slow - fast), we also included factors introduced in recent cross-cultural studies, represented by the following contrasting oppositions: Typicallity (regular - rare, typical - exclusive), Reality (imaginary -  real, concrete - abstract), Complexity (simple - complex, limited - unlimited), Organization (changeable - constant, vague - precise), and Stimulation (boring - interesting, trivial - significant). The obtained data were collected and analyzed using independent samples t-tests to compare the means of the two groups. In accordance with the findings of previous research, as well as Paradis’ Integrated Model of Neurolinguistic Organization, the results of the study indicate that speakers tend to attribute different connotative meanings to L1 and L2 words. Specifically, they assign more extreme values to L1 words, especially those that are emotionally saturated and reflect their own experiences. These findings suggest that L1 and L2 representations maintain some level of specificity even at a relatively high level of L2 proficiency, despite the assumed shared conceptual stores for the speakers' two languages.   

Key words: L1 and L2 representations, semantic space, connotative meanings

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