ETHNOCULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN THE USE OF SPATIAL PREPOSITIONS (LINGUISTICS, ESL, ESD)

The spatial prepositions in front and behind can be deictically interpreted in two opposing ways: a field can be constructed facing toward the deictic center (ordinarily the language user) in which case the nearer object is described as in front and the farther behind (the mirror-image pattern) or a field can be constructed facing away from the deictic center so the nearer object is described as behind and the farther in front (in-tandem pattern). Either pattern can be used by speakers of any language, but generally one pattern dominates: in European languages it is the mirror-image, and in West African languages it is the in-tandem. Two kinds of factors can influence pattern choice even within a given language: those concerning the language-use situation (whether the farther object is visible), and those concerning the language user (ethnocultural background, age, gender).;In this study 458 7th, 9th, and 11th graders (divided between mainstream and minority) played a card game that forced a choice between the two patterns. Each student made twelve choices, six in an oral version and six in a written. Students' choice of pattern was then related to a number of factors such as ethnocultural background, age, and gender. The major findings were: (1) ethnocultural background was the most significant variable: more than two-thirds of minority students consistently used the in-tandem pattern, whereas less than one-third of mainstream did. This suggests ethnocultural influences from West African or other sources on minority students' language. (2) Minority students' use of in-tandem pattern decreased sharply with age: the in-tandem pattern was used by 89.9% of 7th graders, but by only 53.5% of 11th graders. This, in the context of minority students' high dropout rate, suggests that students who remain in school adapt more to mainstream norms. The findings of this research are of particular interest because they confirm that language differences between mainstream and minority students are not merely formal (phonological and grammatical), but functional as well (semantic and pragmatic). These differences in the encoding of spatial relations may also be reflected in other semantic domains such as temporal relations (e.g., before/after).