Positivity Bias and Cultural Differences in Acquiring <i>Haihao</i> in Chinese as a Second Language

This study examines how Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) learners acquire the Chinese stance marker <i>haihao</i> with a focus on type and saliency. A total of 56 participants took part in the research, including 28 English-speaking CSL learners and 28 native Chinese speakers. The stud...

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Main Authors: Chun-Yin Doris Chen, Pin-Yu Ruby Lu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Languages
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/12/379
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author Chun-Yin Doris Chen
Pin-Yu Ruby Lu
author_facet Chun-Yin Doris Chen
Pin-Yu Ruby Lu
author_sort Chun-Yin Doris Chen
collection DOAJ
description This study examines how Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) learners acquire the Chinese stance marker <i>haihao</i> with a focus on type and saliency. A total of 56 participants took part in the research, including 28 English-speaking CSL learners and 28 native Chinese speakers. The study utilized two evaluation judgment tasks. Results showed that participants categorized <i>haihao</i> into two simplified groups, guided by the economy principle and a positivity bias. English-speaking learners, influenced by a stronger positivity bias, tended to select more positive options, while Chinese participants favored slightly negative ones. Saliency improved the accuracy of recognizing negative <i>haihao</i> among American learners and low positive <i>haihao</i> among Chinese participants, though it was less effective for ambiguous expressions. These findings highlight how cultural differences and language saliency impact the interpretation of stance markers, offering insights for improving CSL teaching strategies.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2226-471X
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
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series Languages
spelling doaj-art-420e3a83eef84393a252d87308f0ead32024-12-27T14:35:42ZengMDPI AGLanguages2226-471X2024-12-0191237910.3390/languages9120379Positivity Bias and Cultural Differences in Acquiring <i>Haihao</i> in Chinese as a Second LanguageChun-Yin Doris Chen0Pin-Yu Ruby Lu1Department of English, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 106308, TaiwanDepartment of English, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 106308, TaiwanThis study examines how Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) learners acquire the Chinese stance marker <i>haihao</i> with a focus on type and saliency. A total of 56 participants took part in the research, including 28 English-speaking CSL learners and 28 native Chinese speakers. The study utilized two evaluation judgment tasks. Results showed that participants categorized <i>haihao</i> into two simplified groups, guided by the economy principle and a positivity bias. English-speaking learners, influenced by a stronger positivity bias, tended to select more positive options, while Chinese participants favored slightly negative ones. Saliency improved the accuracy of recognizing negative <i>haihao</i> among American learners and low positive <i>haihao</i> among Chinese participants, though it was less effective for ambiguous expressions. These findings highlight how cultural differences and language saliency impact the interpretation of stance markers, offering insights for improving CSL teaching strategies.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/12/379polysemystance markerpositive biassaliencyChinese as a second language
spellingShingle Chun-Yin Doris Chen
Pin-Yu Ruby Lu
Positivity Bias and Cultural Differences in Acquiring <i>Haihao</i> in Chinese as a Second Language
Languages
polysemy
stance marker
positive bias
saliency
Chinese as a second language
title Positivity Bias and Cultural Differences in Acquiring <i>Haihao</i> in Chinese as a Second Language
title_full Positivity Bias and Cultural Differences in Acquiring <i>Haihao</i> in Chinese as a Second Language
title_fullStr Positivity Bias and Cultural Differences in Acquiring <i>Haihao</i> in Chinese as a Second Language
title_full_unstemmed Positivity Bias and Cultural Differences in Acquiring <i>Haihao</i> in Chinese as a Second Language
title_short Positivity Bias and Cultural Differences in Acquiring <i>Haihao</i> in Chinese as a Second Language
title_sort positivity bias and cultural differences in acquiring i haihao i in chinese as a second language
topic polysemy
stance marker
positive bias
saliency
Chinese as a second language
url https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/12/379
work_keys_str_mv AT chunyindorischen positivitybiasandculturaldifferencesinacquiringihaihaoiinchineseasasecondlanguage
AT pinyurubylu positivitybiasandculturaldifferencesinacquiringihaihaoiinchineseasasecondlanguage