Abstract
This paper explores the application of conceptual metonymy (Lakoff, 1987; Ruiz de Mendoza, 2000; Langacker, 2009; Panther, Thornburg and Barcelona, 2009; Barcelona, 2013) in the development of pedagogical resources for the teaching of the Spanish verbal system to L2/FL learners. To this end, a description is given of the advantages of introducing inferential reasoning using metonymy based on certain principles taken from the Cognitive Grammar model (Langacker, 1987, 1991, 2000, 2001, 2008, 2009) in grammar teaching materials — both descriptions and activities. We focus on tense uses that involve metonymic processes, particularly, the meaning extensions in two Spanish past tenses: (1) the actional meaning of stative verbs when conveyed in pretérito indefinido (preterit), as in Pudimos comprar la casa 'We could buy the house', metonymically extended to Compramos la casa 'We bought the house'; and (2) the distancing use (uso citativo) of pretérito imperfecto (imperfect) when referring to current facts, as in ¿Cómo te llamabas? (How PRO.REFL.2SG call.IPFV.PST.2SG?) 'What was your name again?', which is metonymically extended to (Se me ha dicho/No recuerdo/No he oído) cómo te llamas [('I have been told/I can't recall/I couldn't hear') how PRO.REFL.2SG call.PRES.2SG]. In order to discuss the kind of contribution that this conceptual standpoint can make to the teaching of the Spanish verbal system, the pedagogical potential of some techniques and resources is explored in terms of (a) metonymic and metaphorical reasoning in pedagogical grammar descriptions, (b) consciousness-raising paraphrase exercises focused on meaning indeterminacy, and (c) network building and the use of (dynamic) images to show variable construals in grammatical meaning
Highlights
The advantages of Cognitive Linguistics (Cadierno & Hijazo Gascón, 2013; Castañeda Castro, 2018, 2019; Ibarretxe Antuñano, Cadierno & Castañeda Castro, 2019) and, Cognitive Grammar (Langacker, 1987, 1991, 2001; Castañeda Castro, 2004a) for teaching Spanish L2/FL grammar are supported by a considerable amount of research
Some of the ideas that have been deemed crucial in this regard are: (a) the close relationship between language and other cognitive abilities such as the perceptual ones; (b) the relevance given to meaning – lexical but grammatical as well; (c) the complex nature of linguistic categories – with prototypical and non-prototypical uses intertwined through processes of metaphorical and metonymic extension; (d) the role of constructions as basic descriptive units
The role of metonomy in the process of building a coherent and entrenched conceptualization of the different meanings and uses of verbal forms in relation to tense, mood and aspect remains largely unexplored in the realm of Spanish L2/FL. This paper addresses this issue and argues for the learning potential of the development of awareness of metonymic extensions, especially if this process is facilitated by appropriate pedagogical grammar descriptions
Summary
The advantages of Cognitive Linguistics (Cadierno & Hijazo Gascón, 2013; Castañeda Castro, 2018, 2019; Ibarretxe Antuñano, Cadierno & Castañeda Castro, 2019) and, Cognitive Grammar (hereinafter CG) (Langacker, 1987, 1991, 2001; Castañeda Castro, 2004a) for teaching Spanish L2/FL grammar are supported by a considerable amount of research. The differences in the conceptualization of the same event by means of the preterit (Corrí, run.PRET.1SG) as opposed to the pretérito perfecto compuesto (present perfect) (He corrido, run.PRF.1SG) or the imperfect (Corría, run.IPFV.PST.1SG) have been thoroughly examined through the CG lens (see Castañeda Castro, 2006; Alhmoud & Castañeda Castro, 2014; Ruiz Campillo, 2019, among others), in our study we will focus on the specific use of preterit with stative verbs such as saber ‘to know’ or poder ‘can/to be able to’ When used with this type of verbs, the preterit usually implies a shift of meaning from the potentiality of the action conveyed by the lexical item to the actual completion of the action itself (in the case of poder), or a shift from the resultative state to the process that leads to that state (in the case of saber). It is not our purpose here to present a complete sequence of teaching activities on the imperfect / preterit opposition, but rather to suggest some examples of activities that contain metonymic and metaphorical reasoning for the initial consciousness-raising phase in the learning process of these tenses, on the assumption that this kind of inferential abilities are more relevant in the initial conceptualization phase than in the subsequent automatization phase
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