چکیده:
This study investigated Iranian English language learners’ use of circumlocution for culture-specific referents. A discourse completion test (DCT) was designed in English and Persian, consisting of items dealing with Iranian culture-specific notions and distributed among 3 groups. The Persian language group received the Persian version, whereas the English language learners, divided into high and low, received the English version of the DCT. Data were analyzed according to Salazar’s (2006) categorization of circumlocution, namely description, function, superordination, location, and combination. Results revealed that the high group had a stronger tendency to use circumlocution, in general, and in terms of its categories of description, function, and combination, in particular, as compared to the low group. Furthermore, cross-linguistic analysis suggested signs of linguistic transfer with regard to circumlocution. Our findings revealed that it is not so much the familiarity of learners with cultural concepts as it is their knowledge of linguistic and communicative strategies that enables them to overcome communicative problems. Finally, this study points to the facilitative role of compensatory strategies, particularly circumlocution, as a tool to cope with communication breakdowns in an L2.
خلاصه ماشینی:
Investigating Iranian Language Learners’ Use of Circumlocution for Culture-Specific Referents Nadia Mayahi¹ & Maryam Alirezaee² ¹Corresponding author, Sama Technical and Vocational Training College, Islamic Azad University, Mahshahr Branch, Mahshahr, Iran, nadiamayahi@yahoo.
Results revealed that the high group had a stronger tendency to use circumlocution, in general, and in terms of its categories of description, function, and combination, in particular, as compared to the low group.
For instance, Tarone and Yule (1987, as cited in Wongsawang, 2001), focusing on specific CSs used between Asian and South American nonnative speakers of English, noted the use of culturally bound information in the participants’ CSs. Similarly, Paribakht (1985) reported that Persian-speaking participants made use of translated L1 idioms and proverbs for some notions, supporting the idea that the CSs choices pertaining to some specific concepts appear to be context or culture bound, although this was not the main focus of the study.
In sum, though our contrastive analysis revealed important differences in the frequency of circumlocution types between the two groups, regardless of proficiency, the pattern of use remained unchanged, with "combination," "description," "function," and "superordination" in a descending order of presentation, that is, from the most to the least favored strategies.
What follows are the responses to item 9 of the DCT (Shabe Yalda), one by an English language learner and one by a Persian participant: It is the longest night of the year (superordinate) at which Iranian families stay awake all night and try to take joy by celebrating the night (description).