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This thesis proposes to explore some aspects of strategic construal of English verb-particle constructions, with the focus on factors that are theorized to influence learners’ visual representations of particle verbs. In order to determine what features of idiomatic particle verbs influence learners’ visual conceptualizations, a study was conducted on 80 Croatian high school students who are learning English. The participants were asked to draw the meaning of 24 verb-particle constructions containing 4 particles (out, in, up and down) and verbs that can semantically be described as either light (less specific, schematic) or heavy (more specific, denoting concrete actions). It was determined that the semantic nature of the verb played a role in how the participants visually represented the chosen particle verbs, as they were able to meaningfully decompose particle verbs more consistently when the lexical part of the construction was a heavy verb. Additionally, particle verbs with a heavy lexical element produced more responses that were characterized as lexical determination, while topological determination was prevalent in the case of light verbs. An overwhelming number of analyzed drawings contained concrete symbols and props, suggesting that learners favor this type of self-generated visual representations, and potentially implying that detailed illustrations might be more accessible to high school students, compared to decontextualized schematic diagrams. Another insight gleaned from the study was that Croatian high school learners of English are capable of conceptual integration, since their drawings incorporated the literal meaning of either one or both components of the relevant particle verb and its target figurative meaning in 31.74% of all drawings. Cilj ovog rada je istražiti aspekte strateškog konstruiranja značenja engleskih fraznih glagola s naglaskom na čimbenike koji utječu na slikovni prikaz fraznih glagola kod učenika engleskog jezika. Kako bi se utvrdilo koje značajke idiomatskih fraznih glagola određuju kako će učenici vizualno koncipirati te strukture, provedeno je istraživanje na 80 hrvatskih srednjoškolaca koji uče engleski. Od sudionika se tražilo da nacrtaju značenje 24 frazna glagola, u kojima su bila zastupljena 4 različita prijedloga (out, in, up i down), kao i jednak broj značenjski određenih te značenjski neodređenih glagola. Utvrđeno je da značenjska struktura (određenost) glagola igra ulogu u tome kako sudionici slikovno prikazuju frazne konstrukcije, s obzirom na to da su u većem broju slučaja prikazali jednu ili obje komponente fraznih glagola u crtežima koji se odnose na konstrukcije sa značenjski određenim glagolima. Nadalje, frazne konstrukcije sa značenjski određenim glagolima polučile su više crteža koje karakterizira leksičko određenje, dok se gramatičko/topološko određenje pokazalo svojstvenim za neodređene glagole. Veliki udio svih analiziranih crteža sadržava konkretne simbole i specifične predmete, što ukazuje na to da učenici preferiraju takav oblik individualnih vizualnih prikaza, i što potencijalno implicira da bi konkretne ili detaljne ilustracije mogle biti razumljivije srednjoškolcima, u usporedbi sa shematičnim dijagramima lišenima konteksta. Također je utvrđeno da su hrvatski srednjoškolci koji uče engleski sposobni konceptualno integrirati doslovna značenja elemenata fraznog glagola s cjelokupnim prenesenim značenjem izraza, što predočuje činjenica da su ispitanici u crtežima prikazali doslovno značenje jedne ili obiju komponenti frazne konstrukcije uz ciljano preneseno značenje fraznog glagola u 31.74% svih crteža.

The main focus of this thesis is the analysis of visualisations of English particle verb (PV) constructions. More specifically, we were interested in the strategies Croatian and Omani English speakers used to depict different PV constructions after being given their meaning. The first part of the thesis provides a theoretical background to key terms and concepts of this thesis: PV constructions, strategic construal, heavy and light verbs. The second part focuses on the results of the study, that is, the role of the semantic nature of the verbs (light vs. heavy) in PV constructions. More specifically, we focused on the frequency of topological and lexical determination in the PV constructions and their representations. Finally, we were interested in establishing potential differences in the way our participants depicted meanings as well as in the strategies used in the representation of the PV constructions based on the participants’ cultural background.

The focus of this thesis is on the ways Croatian elementary and secondary school learners of English strategically construe the meaning of particle-verb (PV) constructions with particles in and out through visual representations. The participants were asked to represent the meanings of given PVs by drawing, which is considered to be a challenging task because learning through visualization is not particularly encouraged in Croatian schools. The aim of the research was also to detect possible differences in the participants’ pictorial answers in relation to age and semantic nature of the verb. According to the results, all the participants, regardless of their age, relied mostly on the strategy of visual paraphrase in meaning construal. However, there were some instances, especially among older learners, of a successful analysis of PV components and figurative meanings, which points to the ability of EFL learners to perceive cognitive motivation behind meaning. This leads us to the conclusion that age factor has a major role in meaning construal through the pictorial mode and that metaphoric thinking, as well as introduction of visual instruction may help learners process PV constructions meaningfully and consequently facilitate their acquisition. Cilj ovog rada bio je istražiti načine na koje hrvatski učenici engleskog jezika koji pohađaju osnovnu i srednju školu strateški konstruiraju značenja engleskih fraznih glagola s česticama in i out koristeći vizualne metode. Zadatak je bio prikazati značenja zadanih fraznih glagola crtežom, što je sudionicima predstavljalo velik izazov jer se učenje kroz vizualizaciju naročito ne potiče u hrvatskim školama. Cilj istraživanja bio je također otkriti moguće razlike u slikovnim odgovorima sudionika koje su se mogle javiti pod utjecajem čimbenika kao što su dob ili semantička priroda glagola. Rezultati su pokazali da su se svi sudionici, bez obzira na dob, uglavnom oslanjali na strategiju vizualnog parafraziranja značenja. Međutim, bilo je i slučajeva uspješnog analiziranja zasebnih komponenti fraznih glagola i njihovih figurativnih značenja, osobito među starijim učenicima, što upućuje na sposobnost govornika kojima engleski nije materinski jezik da prepoznaju kognitivnu motivaciju značenja. To dovodi do zaključka da dob ima značajan utjecaj na konstruiranje značenja fraznih glagola vizualnim metodama i da bi metaforičko razmišljanje, kao i uvođenje vizualnog poučavanja, moglo pomoći učenicima da smisleno analiziraju engleske frazne glagole i time olakšati njihovo učenje.

The central aim of this study was to explore visual representation of English particle-verb (PV) constructions in Croatian secondary school students. The task was to investigate in what way PV constructions were represented. More specifically, we were interested if the participants would find the PV construction’s components important enough for the meaning of the PV construction to include them in their drawings. There is a number of existing studies on strategic construal of particle verbs and on beneficial effects of pictures in the learning process. However, few studies analyse the nature of self-generated visual representations in connection to the meaning. Self-generated visual representations offer an insight into the collaboration of other cognitive processes and cognitive motivation in the process of the construal of meaning. Therefore, we were interested in seeing what the visual representations of particle-verb constructions would show. The sample consisted of four grades of high-school students aged 15 to 18 (N=92). The instrument included 24 English particle-verb constructions, but only 16 constructions were analysed in this study. Participants were provided with the meaning of each PV constructions with the task of drawing it. The results offered interesting findings. A large part (74.04%) of subjects’ drawings corresponded to the PV constructions’ figurative meanings provided in the questionnaire. A part of the subjects’ drawings (22.07%) included meanings of one or both components, which means the data offered evidence of conceptual integration of meaning. In addition, the data offered insight into the use of conventional symbols and body language when presented with a task of visual representation of meaning. Cilj ovog rada bio je istražiti vizualnu reprezentaciju engleskih fraznih glagola hrvatskih učenika srednje škole. Cilj je bio istražiti na koji se način frazni glagoli prikazuju, to jest, smatraju li sudionici komponente fraznih glagola dovoljnih bitnima za značenje da bi ih prikazali svojim crtežima. Postoje razna istraživanja na temu strateškog konstruiranja značenja fraznih glagola te na temu pozitivnih učinaka slika u procesu. Međutim, ne postoji mnogo istraživanja koja proučavaju sam sadržaj individualnih vizualnih prikaza te vezu istih sa značenjem. Individualne vizualne reprezentacije pružaju uvid u suradnju drugih kognitivnih procesa i kognitivne motivacije u procesu konstruiranja značenja. Stoga, zanimalo nas je što će biti prikazano u vizualnim prikazima fraznih glagola. Uzorak se sastojao od 4 razreda srednjoškolaca u dobi od 15 do 18 godina (N = 92). Instrument se sastojao od 24 engleska frazna glagola, ali samo je 16 glagola analizirano u ovom radu. Sudionici su uz svaki frazni glagol imali dano značenje, te zadatak crtanja navedenog značenja. Iz rezultata su proizašli zanimljivi zaključci. Veliki dio (74.04%) crteža ispitanika odgovarao je figurativnim značenjima fraznih glagola koji su dani u upitniku. Dio crteža ispitanika (22.07%) uključivao je značenje jedne ili obje komponente fraznog glagola, što znači da su podaci pružali dokaze o konceptualnoj integraciji značenja. Osim toga, nova otkrića uključuju podatke koji pružaju uvid u uporabu konvencionalnih simbola i gesta u zadatku vizualne reprezentacije značenja.

The aim of this study was to investigate L2 speakers’ ability to think strategically about linguistic meaning by asking them to make sense of particle verb (PV) constructions, a particularly demanding aspect of the English language for L2 speakers. Our focus was on meaning construal strategies in textual and pictorial representations of 22 figurative PVs with the particle down. The participants were asked to express themselves verbally and visually, and we were interested in the nature of their answers as well as their relationship. More specifically, we wished to determine the salience of particular elements in the participants’ strategic meaning construal, the type of relationship between textual and pictorial representations and, finally, potential dominance of one mode over another, which was examined in terms of the well-established concepts of “relay” and “anchorage”. The results showed that participants generally related the meaning of the PV construction to its components in their textual answers, whereas in pictorial answers their main tendency was to attend to the figurative meaning of the PV. Furthermore, their textual and pictorial answers most frequently depended on each other, which allowed us to determine that the text-picture relationship was predominantly that of relay, i.e. that text was perceived as more significant in the text-picture relationship., Cilj je ovog istraživanja bio ispitati sposobnost strateškog razmišljanja o značenju kod govornika engleskoga kao drugog jezika. Od sudionika se tražilo uočiti potencijalnu smislenost 22 figurativna značenja engleskih fraznih glagola s topološkom česticom down, što je iznimno zahtjevan zadatak za govornike engleskog kao drugog jezika. U središtu nam je zanimanja bilo dvomodalno konstruiranje značenja, odnosno prikaz značenja riječju i slikom. Analizirali smo sadržaj odgovora te odnos dvaju modaliteta. Željeli smo utvrditi koji elementi su najistaknutiji, na koji način ulaze u međusobne odnose, te koja vrsta odnosa dominira. Od osobitog su nam interesa bile sastavnice fraznoga glagola – topološke i leksičke čestice. Rezultati su pokazali da su sudionici skloniji smislenost značenja fraznih glagola pripisati topološkim i leksičkim sastavnicama u svojim pisanim odgovorima. S druge strane, u crtežima su naglašenija figurativna značenja ponuđena u upitniku. Također je ustanovljeno da su tekstualni odgovori i crteži uglavnom povezani. U analizi odnosa korištene su Barthesove funkcije – relej i sidrište. Pokazalo se da je odnos tekstualnih odgovora i crteža najčešće imao relejnu funkciju, odnosno da je u odnosu teksta i slike značajnija bila uloga teksta.

The aim of this study was to investigate L2 speakers’ ability to think strategically about linguistic meaning by asking them to make sense of particle verb (PV) constructions, a particularly demanding aspect of the English language for L2 speakers. Our focus was on meaning construal strategies in textual and pictorial representations of 22 figurative PVs with the particle down. The participants were asked to express themselves verbally and visually, and we were interested in the nature of their answers as well as their relationship. More specifically, we wished to determine the salience of particular elements in the participants’ strategic meaning construal, the type of relationship between textual and pictorial representations and, finally, potential dominance of one mode over another, which was examined in terms of the well-established concepts of “relay” and “anchorage”. The results showed that participants generally related the meaning of the PV construction to its components in their textual answers, whereas in pictorial answers their main tendency was to attend to the figurative meaning of the PV. Furthermore, their textual and pictorial answers most frequently depended on each other, which allowed us to determine that the text-picture relationship was predominantly that of relay, i.e. that text was perceived as more significant in the text-picture relationship. Cilj je ovog istraživanja bio ispitati sposobnost strateškog razmišljanja o značenju kod govornika engleskoga kao drugog jezika. Od sudionika se tražilo uočiti potencijalnu smislenost 22 figurativna značenja engleskih fraznih glagola s topološkom česticom down, što je iznimno zahtjevan zadatak za govornike engleskog kao drugog jezika. U središtu nam je zanimanja bilo dvomodalno konstruiranje značenja, odnosno prikaz značenja riječju i slikom. Analizirali smo sadržaj odgovora te odnos dvaju modaliteta. Željeli smo utvrditi koji elementi su najistaknutiji, na koji način ulaze u međusobne odnose, te koja vrsta odnosa dominira. Od osobitog su nam interesa bile sastavnice fraznoga glagola – topološke i leksičke čestice. Rezultati su pokazali da su sudionici skloniji smislenost značenja fraznih glagola pripisati topološkim i leksičkim sastavnicama u svojim pisanim odgovorima. S druge strane, u crtežima su naglašenija figurativna značenja ponuđena u upitniku. Također je ustanovljeno da su tekstualni odgovori i crteži uglavnom povezani. U analizi odnosa korištene su Barthesove funkcije – relej i sidrište. Pokazalo se da je odnos tekstualnih odgovora i crteža najčešće imao relejnu funkciju, odnosno da je u odnosu teksta i slike značajnija bila uloga teksta.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of the particles up and down in the strategic meaning construal of particle verbs (PVs) in blind and sighted users of English as L2. The paper is situated within the cognitive linguistic framework. Based on the results of a speaker-judgment study with 20 blind and 20 sighted users of English, we show that PVs with down are more informative to all the participants, and that blind users rely on the particles (particularly the particle up) more than sighted users. We claim that the difference in informativeness is related to the experiential status of up and down. Down is more informative because it is at human scale, which limits its metaphorization potential. Up is more open-ended, making it more schematic and allowing greater departure from its original topology. Blind users rely on the particles more because they are more inclined to analyzing linguistic cues, since they often serve as additional experiential input. Moreover, the blind rely more on egocentric topology, which produces similar results for down, and different for the particle up.

L’objectiu principal d’aquest treball es descriure la determinacio semantica, es a dir, la determinacio topologica davant de la lexica, mitjancant la investigacio dels aspectes de construccio conceptual (Langacker 1987) dels verbs preposicionals (VPs) de l’angles amb in i out . L’article se centra en el processament de la segona llengua en relacio amb el que podriem anomenar pensament estrategic sobre el significat linguistic. Concretament, es tractava de demostrar el seguent: a) com la naturalesa dels verbs afecta a la determinacio semantica general de les construccions de verbs preposicionals, i b) si/com els usuaris d’angles donen sentit als verbs preposicionals, i fins a quin punt depenen dels components topologics/gramaticals en el proces de construccio del significat. Els resultats suggereixen que la naturalesa dels verbs afecta la conceptualitzacio estrategica del significat dels usuaris – difereix en la tendencia que mostren cap a un dels tipus de determinacio semantica: a) topologica, b) lexica, i c) composicional.

The central aim of this work is to describe the strategic construal of in and out in English particle verbs. The term strategic construal assumes the following: 1) exploration of strategic thinking in L2 learning and processing, and 2) exploration of dynamic and subjective construction of meaning pertaining to the human ability to understand and portray the same situation in alternate ways (Langacker 1987). In other words, the paper relies on two theoretical paradigms with self-evident commonalities – a strong link between language and cognition, and the insistence on the individual and subjective nature of meaning construction. The aim was to investigate whether L2 users of English are aware of the symbolic nature of language when dealing with highly schematic linguistic categories. Our hypotheses were that construal of in and out is comparable to their cognitive linguistic description in English as L1 and that it shows a cognitively motivated path from the topological to the aspectual. Both hypotheses have been confirmed. El objetivo central de este trabajo es describir la conceptualización estratégica de entrada y salida en los verbos de partículas inglés. La conceptualización estratégica a largo plazo presupone lo siguiente: 1) la exploración del pensamiento estratégico en el aprendizaje de una L2 y procesamiento, y 2) la exploración de construcción dinámica y subjetiva del significado perteneciente a la capacidad humana de comprender y describir la misma situación de maneras alternativas (Langacker 1987). en otro palabras, el documento se basa en dos paradigmas teóricos con evidentes puntos en común - una sólida relación entre el lenguaje y la cognición, y la insistencia en el carácter individual y subjetivo de significado construcción. El objetivo fue investigar si los usuarios L2 de Inglés son conscientes de la naturaleza simbólica de lengua cuando se trata de categorías lingüísticas muy esquemáticos. Nuestra hipótesis fue que la conceptualización de y salir es comparable a la descripción lingüística cognitiva en Inglés como L1 y que muestra una cognitivamente motivado camino de la topológica a la aspectual. Ambas hipótesis han sido confirmadas.

The central aim of this work is to describe semantic determination, i.e., topological vs. lexical determination, by investigating aspects of construal (Langacker 1987) in English PVs with in and out. The paper focuses on L2 processing related to what we might call strategic thinking about linguistic meaning. More specifically, it attempts to demonstrate the following: a) how the nature of verbs affects the overall semantic determination of particle verb constructions, and b) if/how the users of English make sense of particle verbs, and how much they rely on topological/grammatical components in the process of constructing meaning. The results suggest that the nature of verbs does affect the users’ strategic meaning construal – it differs in terms of their tendency towards one of the following types of semantic determination: a) topological, b) lexical, and, c) compositional. El objetivo central de este trabajo es describir la determinación semántica, es decir, la determinación topológica vs léxico, mediante la investigación de los aspectos de la conceptualización Langacker (1987) en inglés PVs con entrada y salida. El documento se centra en el procesamiento de L2 en relación con lo que podríamos llamar el pensamiento estratégico del significado lingüístico. Más específicamente, se trata de demostrar lo siguiente: a) cómo la naturaleza de los verbos afecta a la determinación global semántica de las construcciones verbales de partículas, y b) si / cómo los usuarios de Inglés sentido de los verbos de partículas, y lo mucho que dependen topológico components / gramaticales en el proceso de construcción de significado. Los resultados sugieren que la naturaleza de los verbos afecta conceptualización de los usuarios significado estratégico - que difiere en términos de su tendencia hacia uno de los siguientes tipos de determinación semántica: a) topológico, b) léxico, y, c) de la composición.

L’objectiu principal d’aquest treball es descriure les estrategies de construccio conceptual que els parlants d’angles com a segona llengua utilitzen en l’adquisicio de verbs amb particula. El terme “estrategies de construccio” suggereix ja una vessant teorica d’aquest treball, i pressuposa dues questions basiques: 1) l’exploracio de les estrategies mentals que operen en el processament i aprenentatge d’una segona llengua i 2) l’exploracio de la construccio dinamica i subjectiva del significat, propies de la capacitat humana de comprendre i representar una mateixa situacio de maneres alternatives (Langacker 1987). Dit d’una altra manera, l’article es basa en dos paradigmes teorics amb evidents punts en comu: l’estreta relacio entre llenguatge i cognicio, i la insistencia en el caracter individual i subjectiu de la construccio del significat. La finalitat es investigar si els usuaris d’angles com a segona llengua son conscients de la naturalesa simbolica del llenguatge quan es tracta de categories linguistiques molt esquematiques. Partim de les hipotesis que les estrategies de construccio mental d’ in (dins) i out (fora) empleades pels parlants de la segona llengua son equiparables a les descripcions cognitives que fan els parlants natius d’angles i que aquestes estrategies mostren l’existencia d’una serie de trajectories cognitives que van des de l’aspecte topologic cap a l’aspectual amb un alt nivell de motivacio. Ambdues hipotesis han sigut confirmades per les dades d’aquesta investigacio.

L’objectiu principal d’aquest treball és descriure les estratègies de construcció conceptual que els parlants d’anglès com a segona llengua utilitzen en l’adquisició de verbs amb partícula. El terme “estratègies de construcció” suggereix ja una vessant teòrica d’aquest treball, i pressuposa dues qüestions bàsiques: 1) l’exploració de les estratègies mentals que operen en el processament i aprenentatge d’una segona llengua i 2) l’exploració de la construcció dinàmica i subjectiva del significat, pròpies de la capacitat humana de comprendre i representar una mateixa situació de maneres alternatives (Langacker 1987). Dit d’una altra manera, l’article es basa en dos paradigmes teòrics amb evidents punts en comú: l’estreta relació entre llenguatge i cognició, i la insistència en el caràcter individual i subjectiu de la construcció del significat. La finalitat és investigar si els usuaris d’anglès com a segona llengua són conscients de la naturalesa simbòlica del llenguatge quan es tracta de categories lingüístiques molt esquemàtiques. Partim de les hipòtesis que les estratègies de construcció mental d’in (dins) i out (fora) empleades pels parlants de la segona llengua són equiparables a les descripcions cognitives que fan els parlants natius d’anglès i que aquestes estratègies mostren l’existència d’una sèrie de trajectòries cognitives que van des de l’aspecte topològic cap a l’aspectual amb un alt nivell de motivació. Ambdues hipòtesis han sigut confirmades per les dades d’aquesta investigació., The central aim of this work is to describe strategic construal of in and out in English particle verbs. The term subsumes the basic framework assumed in the work: 1) exploration of strategic thinking in L2 learning and processing, and 2) exploration of dynamic and subjective construction of meaning pertaining to the human ability to understand and portray the same situation in alternate ways (Langacker 1987). In other words, the paper relies on two theoretical paradigms with self-evident commonalities – a strong link between language and cognition, and the insistence on the individual and subjective nature of meaning construction. The aim was to investigate whether L2 users of English are aware of the symbolic nature of language when dealing with highly schematic linguistic categories. Our hypotheses were that construal of in and out is comparable to their cognitive linguistic description in English as L1 and that it shows a cognitively motivated path from the topological to the aspectual. Both hypotheses have been confirmed., El objetivo central de este trabajo es describir las estrategias de construcción conceptual que los hablantes de inglés como segunda lengua emplean en la adquisición de verbos con partícula. El término “estrategias de construcción” sugiere ya la vertiente teórica de este trabajo. Presupone dos cuestiones fundamentales: 1) la exploración de las estrategias mentales que operan en el procesamiento y el aprendizaje de segundas lenguas, y 2) la exploración de la construcción dinámica y subjetiva en la conformación del significado como parte de las habilidades humana que se despliegan para entender y representar la misma situación de maneras alternas (Langacker 1987). En otras palabras, el artículo se basa en dos paradigmas teóricos con evidentes rasgos en común: una fuerte asociación entre lenguaje y cognición y una notable insistencia en el carácter individual y subjetivo de la construcción del significado. El objetivo es investigar si los hablantes de inglés como segunda lengua son conscientes de la naturaleza simbólica de la lengua cuando se enfrentan con categorías de alto grado de esquematicidad. Partimos de las hipótesis de que las estrategias de construcción mental de in ‘adentro’ y out ‘afuera’ que emplean los hablantes de L2 son equiparables con las descripciones cognitivas que hacen los hablantes nativos de inglés y que tales estrategias ponen de manifiesto la existencia de trayectorias cognitivas que van desde lo topológico hasta lo aspectual con un alto nivel de motivación. Ambas hipótesis son confirmadas por los datos que arroja esta investigación.

L’objectiu principal d’aquest treball es descriure la determinació semàntica, és a dir, la determinació topològica davant de la lèxica, mitjançant la investigació dels aspectes de construcció conceptual (Langacker 1987) dels verbs preposicionals (VPs) de l’anglès amb in i out. L’article se centra en el processament de la segona llengua en relació amb el que podríem anomenar pensament estratègic sobre el significat lingüístic. Concretament, es tractava de demostrar el següent: a) com la naturalesa dels verbs afecta a la determinació semàntica general de les construccions de verbs preposicionals, i b) si/com els usuaris d’anglès donen sentit als verbs preposicionals, i fins a quin punt depenen dels components topològics/gramaticals en el procés de construcció del significat. Els resultats suggereixen que la naturalesa dels verbs afecta la conceptualització estratègica del significat dels usuaris – difereix en la tendència que mostren cap a un dels tipus de determinació semàntica: a) topològica, b) lèxica, i c) composicional., The central aim of this work is to describe semantic determination, i.e., topological vs. lexical determination, by investigating aspects of construal (Langacker 1987) in English PVs with in and out. The paper focuses on L2 processing related to what we might call strategic thinking about linguistic meaning. More specifically, it attempts to demonstrate the following: a) how the nature of verbs affects the overall semantic determination of particle verb constructions, and b) if/how the users of English make sense of particle verbs, and how much they rely on the topological/grammatical components in the process of constructing meaning. The results suggest that the nature of verbs does affect the users’ strategic meaning construal – it differs in terms of their tendency towards one of the following types of semantic determination: a) the topological, b) lexical, and, c) compositional., El objetivo principal de este trabajo es describir la determinación semántica, es decir, la determinación topológica frente a la léxica, mediante la investigación de los aspectos de construcción conceptual (Langacker 1987) de los verbos preposicionales (VPs) del inglés con in y out. El artículo se centra en el procesamiento de la segunda lengua en relación con lo que podríamos llamar pensamiento estratégico sobre el significado lingüístico. Concretamente, se trataba de demostrar lo siguiente: a) cómo la naturaleza de los verbos afecta a la determinación semántica general de las construcciones de verbos preposicionales, y b) si/cómo los usuarios de inglés dan sentido a los verbos preposicionales, y lo mucho que dependen de los componentes topológicos/gramaticales en el proceso de construcción del significado. Los resultados sugieren que la naturaleza de los verbos afecta a la conceptualización estratégica del significado de los usuarios – difiere en la tendencia que muestran hacia uno de los siguientes tipos de determinación semántica: a) topológica, b) léxica, y c) composicional.

This is an interdisciplinary thesis dealing with semantic determination (lexical/topological/compositional)of particle verb (PV)constructions and strategic construal (i.e. meaning construal in L2)of in and out in PV constructions in English as L2. It examines the data obtained from 100 users of English as L2 and analyzes the results in relation to several language internal and language external factors such as language typology (verb-framed vs. satellite-framed languages), language proficiency, different L1, educational background, etc.).

Cilj je ovoga rada iznijeti i opisati rezultate istraživanja strateške konceptualizacije kod 120 ispitanika kojima je drugi jezik engleski te pokazati koliko su kognitivne strategije u procesu učenja drugog jezika preslika općih kognitivnih sposobnosti prisutnih u prvom jeziku (L1), a opisanih u radovima kognitivnolingvističkog usmjerenja. Strateška se konceptualizacija odnosi na konstruiranje značenja u drugom jeziku, dakle na dinamično predočavanje i shvaćanje jezičnog značenja koje je uvjetovano ljudskom sposobnošću da se objektivno ista situacija vidi, tj. shvati na različite načine. Dinamičnost i subjektivnost jezičnog značenja te nedjeljivost jezika od ostalih kognitivnih sustava osnovne su pretpostavke ovoga rada. Iz navedenog cilja proizlazi nužnost opisa temeljne prirode povezanosti usvajanja prvog i drugog jezika te značenja kao kognitivne pojavnosti koja je znanstveno istraživa i čija je struktura i organizacija opisiva. Pretpostavka je da se uvidom u procese učenja i shvaćanja jezičnog značenja može dokazati povezanost kognitivnih strategija opisanih u okviru teorije usvajanja drugog jezika s općim kognitivnim sposobnostima prisutnim u usvajanju prvoga jezika., As opposed to formal approaches to language, cognitive linguistics regards language as a means of conceptualization which crucially depends on human cognitive abilities and processes. Meaning is seen as an inseparable part of the human cognitive system, thus necessarily making it dynamic and subjective. Subjectivity and dynamicity are the key elements of meaning construal – human ability to conceive and portray the same situation in alternate ways. This paper presents results of research into strategic construal in 120 subjects whose second language is English. The aim of this paper is to show to what extent cognitive strategies in the acquisition of a second language reflect the general cognitive abilities appearing in the first language (as described by cognitive linguists). There are two main results of our research. Firstly, we have shown that first and second language acquisition and meaning construal in first and second language are both accessible to scientific purview using the methods of cognitive linguistics. Secondly, we have shown that meaning construal can be used as evidence towards the connection of cognitive strategies (as described by second-language acquisition scholars) and general cognitive abilities appearing in first language acquisition.