What is it about?
Mainland Southeast Asia unifies great linguistic richness consisting of numerous languages and countless varieties of genetically diverse language families. Nevertheless, the area is known as a prime example of linguistic convergence. Exemplified by spatial reference in Thai, Khmer, Lao and Vietnamese, this study reveals conceptual borrowing due to language contact as an areal defining feature.
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Why is it important?
A speaker’s cultural background might have a strong impact on the choice of speaking about spatial notions.
Perspectives
The study can be seen as a significant contribution to analysing possibly existing conceptual areas empirically and exemplarily. Additionally, the investigation can serve as an important complement to empirical assumptions of conceptual transfer. This research may help to understand to what extent cultural impact can be used as evidence for the existence of linguistic areas.
PD Dr Stefanie Siebenhütter
Johannes Gutenberg Universitat Mainz
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This page is a summary of: Conceptual Transfer as an Areal Factor, November 2019, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1515/9781501506642.
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