A comparative study of motion verbs used by Turkish EFL learners in their L1 and L2

For the last four decades, researchers have shown interest in motion events and their descriptions in typologically different languages. Talmy (1985, 2000) and his lexicalization patterns formed a ground for this interest. Slobin's (1996a) Thinking for Speaking hypothesis proposed that lexicalization patterns have certain consequences for the ways in which speakers express motion events as their choices and syntax structures might change by typological variations. Much of the research so far has focused on the expression of these events in first languages while less research has been conducted on foreign languages especially in terms of Turkish EFL learners. To fill this gap, this study aims to provide with an explanation to the problem of foreign language acquisition by limiting its scope to the semantic domain of motion within the definite language typology suggested by Talmy's verb-framed language vs. satellite-framed language typology and Slobin's thinking for speaking hypothesis as the theoretical framework. By classifying two languages namely English and Turkish according to their lexicalization patterns and making use of tasks that are specifically designed to elicit language production and language comprehension data, this study seeks the linguistic expression differences of motion verbs, compares the linguistic comprehension of motion verbs in these two languages and reveals the cross-linguistic effects on the linguistic expression of motion verbs when translated from English to Turkish and Turkish to English. While some results of the study are in line with Jackendoff's Universalist view (1990, 1996), some support Slobin's Thinking for Speaking hypothesis (1996a) as an extension of Whorf's linguistic relativity hypothesis (1956). These results present important implications about the perceptions and idiosyncratic lexicalization patterns of language learners in terms of their linguistic expression which could be used by language teachers in evaluating their students' language production and comprehension. Key Words: motion verbs, verb-framed languages, satellite-framed languages, lexicalization pattern, linguistic comprehension.