Linguistic variation in the interpretation and production of Italian motion event constructions in younger and older adults: evidence for language change?
Languages vary in the way they encode motion. Following Talmy, languages can be divided into verb-framed (VF, henceforth) or satellite-framed (SF, henceforth), based on how they encode path of motion. However, this difference is not always clear-cut. Italian, for instance, is typically considered a...
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Cambridge University Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Language and Cognition |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1866980824000747/type/journal_article |
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| author | Anna Michelotti Ioli Baroncini Helen Engemann |
| author_facet | Anna Michelotti Ioli Baroncini Helen Engemann |
| author_sort | Anna Michelotti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Languages vary in the way they encode motion. Following Talmy, languages can be divided into verb-framed (VF, henceforth) or satellite-framed (SF, henceforth), based on how they encode path of motion. However, this difference is not always clear-cut. Italian, for instance, is typically considered a VF language but has also been shown to display a hybrid pattern. Since variation has typically been considered a prerequisite for language change, we investigated whether variation in encoding Italian motion events could indicate incipient language change. We simulated the chain of language change adopting an apparent-time approach and investigated whether the impact of semantic properties (the manner verb’s association with directional motion) on the interpretation and productions of SF Italian constructions was affected by participants’ age. We found that, although this semantic property affects both the interpretation and production of SF constructions, younger participants more readily accepted SF constructions than older participants; this age difference, however, was not significant in the production task. We suggest that these findings might speak for incipient language change, which starts from comprehension and subsequently gradually influences production. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-217a847311a44c22aa25e21ec3aa7069 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1866-9808 1866-9859 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Language and Cognition |
| spelling | doaj-art-217a847311a44c22aa25e21ec3aa70692025-01-23T09:44:57ZengCambridge University PressLanguage and Cognition1866-98081866-98592025-01-011710.1017/langcog.2024.74Linguistic variation in the interpretation and production of Italian motion event constructions in younger and older adults: evidence for language change?Anna Michelotti0Ioli Baroncini1Helen Engemann2Department of English, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, GermanyDepartment of English, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, GermanyDepartment of English, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, GermanyLanguages vary in the way they encode motion. Following Talmy, languages can be divided into verb-framed (VF, henceforth) or satellite-framed (SF, henceforth), based on how they encode path of motion. However, this difference is not always clear-cut. Italian, for instance, is typically considered a VF language but has also been shown to display a hybrid pattern. Since variation has typically been considered a prerequisite for language change, we investigated whether variation in encoding Italian motion events could indicate incipient language change. We simulated the chain of language change adopting an apparent-time approach and investigated whether the impact of semantic properties (the manner verb’s association with directional motion) on the interpretation and productions of SF Italian constructions was affected by participants’ age. We found that, although this semantic property affects both the interpretation and production of SF constructions, younger participants more readily accepted SF constructions than older participants; this age difference, however, was not significant in the production task. We suggest that these findings might speak for incipient language change, which starts from comprehension and subsequently gradually influences production.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1866980824000747/type/journal_articleMotion eventsLinguistic variationLanguage changeApparent-time approachComprehension vs. production |
| spellingShingle | Anna Michelotti Ioli Baroncini Helen Engemann Linguistic variation in the interpretation and production of Italian motion event constructions in younger and older adults: evidence for language change? Language and Cognition Motion events Linguistic variation Language change Apparent-time approach Comprehension vs. production |
| title | Linguistic variation in the interpretation and production of Italian motion event constructions in younger and older adults: evidence for language change? |
| title_full | Linguistic variation in the interpretation and production of Italian motion event constructions in younger and older adults: evidence for language change? |
| title_fullStr | Linguistic variation in the interpretation and production of Italian motion event constructions in younger and older adults: evidence for language change? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Linguistic variation in the interpretation and production of Italian motion event constructions in younger and older adults: evidence for language change? |
| title_short | Linguistic variation in the interpretation and production of Italian motion event constructions in younger and older adults: evidence for language change? |
| title_sort | linguistic variation in the interpretation and production of italian motion event constructions in younger and older adults evidence for language change |
| topic | Motion events Linguistic variation Language change Apparent-time approach Comprehension vs. production |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1866980824000747/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT annamichelotti linguisticvariationintheinterpretationandproductionofitalianmotioneventconstructionsinyoungerandolderadultsevidenceforlanguagechange AT iolibaroncini linguisticvariationintheinterpretationandproductionofitalianmotioneventconstructionsinyoungerandolderadultsevidenceforlanguagechange AT helenengemann linguisticvariationintheinterpretationandproductionofitalianmotioneventconstructionsinyoungerandolderadultsevidenceforlanguagechange |