I-Ru Su & Yi-Chun Chou
National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan

 

Abstract

Most of the research on second language (L2) narratives has focused on whether or how L2 learners carry their L1 narrative styles into L2 narration; few studies have explored whether L2 learners’ knowledge of the L2 also in turn affects their L1 narrative performance. The present study attempted to probe the issue of cultural transfer in narrative styles from a bi-directional perspective. The L2 subjects of the study were Chinese EFL learners at the intermediate and advanced levels. They were asked to write a fright narrative in their two languages, and their essays were compared to those of English and Chinese native control groups. The participants’ written narratives were examined in terms of narrative structure and evaluative devices. Transfer from both directions was found. Moreover, the advanced learners appeared to have merged the narrative styles of L1 and L2 in their writing of personal narratives in both languages. The results of the present study suggested that cultural transfer in narrative styles could occur bi-directionally and that advanced EFL learner’s narrative repertoires of their two languages may form an interconnected system instead of independent systems. 

 

Key Words:written personal narratives, narrative styles, bi-directional transfer

 

雙向語言移轉: 以書寫個人經驗的敘事風格為例

 

蘇怡如 & 周怡君
國立清華大學

 

摘要

過去在敘事言談(narrative discourse)分析的研究發現人們的敘事風格因文化而異,且外語學習者的母語知識與能力會影響其外語的敘事表現,但鮮少研究探討外語的知識是否會反過來影響其母語的敘事表現。因此,本研究以台灣英語學習者為研究對象,以 Cook ( 1991 ) 提出的「多元語言能力」(multi-competence)觀點探討他們在外語習得中,其中語及英語的敘事寫作策略是否有雙向影響的現象。研究結果顯示學習者的母語敘事風格會影響其英語的敘事表現。寫英文敘事文時,英語學習者比英語單語人傾向提供開場白(prologue)和結尾(coda),特別是跟道德訓誡(moral lesson)有關的結尾,而在評價方法上,英語學習者也比英語單語人使用較多的引述結構(reported speech),這些現象都是受到母語的敘事文化所影響。然而,英語學習者的英語影響母語的敘事表現比較不明顯,且只在英語程度較高的學習者身上發現。他們受到英語的影響,在寫中文敘事文時,評價子句(evaluative clause)的使用比例較高。本研究結果讓我們對外語學習者其母語與外語的互動有更進一步的瞭解。

 

關鍵字: 個人經驗敘事寫作、敘事風格、雙向語言移轉