7. The effects of the first language on the description of motion events: Focusing on L2 Japanese learners of english and hungarian

This is a cross-linguistic study on motion event descriptions, which examines the effects of the native language on second language acquisition. Talmy (1985, 1991, 2000) suggests the typology of motion event descriptions, in which languages can be classified into S-languages and V-languages based on the patterns by which languages code the path of motion. The study examines how the description types of first language (L1) influence their event descriptions in second language (L2) through a production experiment. After reviewing the data obtained from the descriptions of caused motions, we found that L1 English and L1 Hungarian show different patterns, though both languages have means to express complex events in one simple sentence. The analysis of Japanese learner’s L2 data (English and Hungarian) in comparison with their L1 data (Japanese) shows that the coding patterns of L2 are considered to be influenced by the ones of L1, showing distinctive use of deictic expressions. It is also argued that the learners use some strategies to overcome difficulty in expressing complex caused motion events. These findings demonstrate the necessity of deeper understanding for the coding patterns of languages when teaching.