A NEUROCOGNITIVE ANALYSIS OF IDIOSYNCRATIC SEMANTIC BORROWINGS IN THE DISCOURSE OF BILINGUAL ROMANIAN IMMIGRANTS IN SPAIN

Paul BUZILĂ

doi:10.24193/subbphilo.2020.4.03

Authors

Paul BUZILĂ University of Bucharest. Email: paul.buzila@lls.unibuc.ro https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2728-3787

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/subbphilo.2020.4.03

Keywords:

relational network theory, semantic borrowing, Romanian, Spanish, Rumañol, neurocognitive linguistics.

Abstract

A neurocognitive Analysis of Idiosyncratic Semantic Borrowings in the Discourse of Bilingual Romanian Immigrants in Spain. In this paper we look at the semantic borrowings that spontaneously emerge in the oral discourse of bilingual Romanian immigrants who live in Spain, and we analyze them from a neurocognitive perspective. Also known as Relational Network Theory, this approach conceives language as an interconnected relational network composed of nodes and lines. Linguistic processing is a result of spreading activation through the network. We use this approach to explore the mechanisms underlying the oral production of semantic borrowings selected from corpora of Romanian spoken in Spain, and we model them, using the NeuroLab tool, in relational network terms. The network modeling shows that these hybrid forms emerge naturally from the properties of the system and can be explained in terms of shared parts of either phonological or semantic subnetworks involved in the production of analogous forms. It also delivers additional explanation to the proliferation of mixed meaning and sound induced semantic borrowings in the form of a higher pressure for rewiring coming from two different parts of the system.

REZUMAT. O analiză neurocognitivă a calcului semantic spontan în vorbirea imigranților români bilingvi din Spania. În această lucrare, ne ocupăm de cazurile de calc semantic care apar în mod spontan în vorbirea imigranților români din Spania și le analizăm dintr-o perspectivă neurocognitivă. Cunoscută și sub numele de Teoria Rețelelor Relaționale, abordarea neurocognitivă concepe limbajul ca pe o mare rețea relațională interconectată, compusă din linii și noduri. Procesarea lingvistică este rezultatul răspândirii activării prin rețea. Folosim această abordare pentru a explora mecanismele interne care stau la baza apariției unor cazuri de calc semantic, selectate din corpusuri de limbă română vorbită în Spania și le modelăm, cu ajutorul aplicației NeuroLab, sub forma rețelelor relaționale. Modelul de tip rețea arată că aceste forme hibride rezultă în mod natural din proprietățile sistemului și pot fi explicate prin faptul că rețelele distribuite implicate în producția formelor analoage au în comun anumite porțiuni ale rețelelor fonologice sau semantice. Modelul oferă de asemenea o explicație adițională proliferării formelor mixte bazate atât pe sens cât și pe forme fonologice similare, sub forma unei presiuni mai ridicate de a se forma noi legături în rețea sub influența a două regiuni diferite ale sistemului.

Cuvinte-cheie: Teoria Rețelelor Relaționale, calc semantic, română, spaniolă, rumañol, lingvistică neurocognitivă.

Author Biography

Paul BUZILĂ, University of Bucharest. Email: paul.buzila@lls.unibuc.ro

Paul BUZILĂ is a lecturer of Spanish and General Linguistics at the University of Bucharest, where he has been teaching since 2012. His research focuses on bilingualism and language contact phenomena, specially in the context of Romanian immigrant communities in Spain. Recently, he has started to look into the neurocognitive aspects of bilingual processing and has been applying the Relational Network Theory model to bilingualism. E-mail: paul.buzila@lls.unibuc.ro

References

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