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Four-Character Idioms in Advanced Spoken Chinese: Perception and Reaction of Native Speakers and A Pedagogy of C2 Expectations

Zhang, Xin
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1471797737

Abstract Details

2016, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, East Asian Languages and Literatures.
The current study examines native Chinese subjects’ reactions towards chengyu usage in a variety of social situations from the most formal speech to casual conversations among close friends. Specifically, native perceptions of chengyu performances conducted by native and non-native speakers are compared. The results reveal that foreign language learners benefit from employing chengyu when engaging in verbal communications with native Chinese counterparts by presenting a desirable C2 persona as perceived by native Chinese speakers. In formal, professional contexts, adequate chengyu capacities contribute to non-native speakers’ presentation of authority and professionalism. In casual settings they enable a delightful persona who excels in the Chinese language and is knowledgeable in the cultural mores: one that opens doors for the foreigner to establish more intimate social relationships by taking the accommodation burden off the Chinese native speaker. Meanwhile, the unequal response towards native and non-native chengyu performance makes explicit the constraints on non-native speakers’ sovereignty over chengyu usage. The unequal treatment of native and nonnative chengyu performance revealed in the experiment data draw attentions to the existence of the “native speaker effect”. Particularly to the point is the native speakers’ mentality as the self-perceived, rightful owner of Chinese, which has substantial consequences in the way foreign language learners anticipate and get ready for participating in, and getting evaluated by, another culture. The construct of a pedagogy of expectations is proposed, which raises our awareness of the receptivity of learners in C2 environment. A pedagogy of expectations aims at enabling foreign language learners to recognize native speakers in C2 as the judges of their C2 performances, to identify what is culturally expected of themselves as “cultural outsiders”, and to develop strategies of using that expectations to achieve their own agenda. The end goal is creation of a set of increasingly effective C2 personae that help learners achieve their intentions and remove the anticipation of accommodation burden on the part of the native interlocutors. Grounded in a practical view of language as a form of human actions, this dissertation proposes a new framework of pedagogically treating chengyu and other literary conventional expression as cultural performances. Accordingly, specific pedagogical guidance, including cataloguing chengyu items and incorporating chengyu instructions in all levels in a CFL curriculum, has been provided that aims to transform the old translation-based treatment of chengyu in the current CFL field.
Galal Walker, Dr. (Advisor)
Mari Noda, Dr. (Committee Member)
Xiaobin Jian, Dr. (Committee Member)
241 p.
Asian Studies; Foreign Language; Language; Sociolinguistics
Four-character Chinese idioms; Chengyu; Truly advanced CFL instruction; A pedagogy of C2 Expectations; Performed Culture Approach; Native speaker effect; Native perception of non-native chengyu performances; C2 personae; Matched Guise; expectations game

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Zhang, X. (2016). Four-Character Idioms in Advanced Spoken Chinese: Perception and Reaction of Native Speakers and A Pedagogy of C2 Expectations [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1471797737

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Zhang, Xin. Four-Character Idioms in Advanced Spoken Chinese: Perception and Reaction of Native Speakers and A Pedagogy of C2 Expectations . 2016. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1471797737.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Zhang, Xin. "Four-Character Idioms in Advanced Spoken Chinese: Perception and Reaction of Native Speakers and A Pedagogy of C2 Expectations ." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1471797737

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1471797737
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.