Does grammatical aspect influence event conceptualization? The description of translational events in a second language / ¿Influye el aspecto gramatical en la conceptualización del evento? La descripción de eventos de translación en la segunda lengua

Abstract

It has been proposed that there is a relationship between grammatical aspect and event conceptualization. In addition, it has been proposed that grammaticized concepts that do not have obvious counterparts in the world, like aspect, would be more resistant to restructuring when acquiring a second language. Russian and Catalan both have grammatical aspect, though their habitual uses do not completely overlap. In two studies, we analysed the oral narrative production in Catalan of advanced L2 speakers of Catalan whose L1 is Russian and of native Catalan speakers. In study one, we analysed the aspectual framing of the narrative, while in study two, the participants described 48 short video clips depicting different types of translational movement. Although Russian L1 speakers have acquired the means to express aspectual nuances in Catalan, they consistently differed from Catalan native speakers.