Schema, culture, and language : a cognitive linguistic study

الملخص EN

The current work is a comparative qualitative study between Iraqi and American participants.

It aims at examining from the cognitive linguistic point of view the different types of frames highlighted by the participants when deciphering a short story sentence.

A short story sentence (flash fiction) is a genre usually with an ambiguous end even after reading its brief words.

Thus, the readers intend to comprehend the text by filling in the gaps which are open to multiple interpretations depending on their schema including knowledge, personal experiences and perceptions.

Some studies have investigated schema and its relationship to culture, yet no study using schema theory has examined how two groups from different cultures, the United States and Iraq, interpret the same text.

The study adopts Fillmore's model (1982) Frame semantics in analyzing the reflectors' interpretations collected by a reflection test.

Results have shown that the cognitive contexts, represented by the interpretations, are different although the given text is the same due to being produced by people with different schema in different cultures.

The current work is a comparative qualitative study between Iraqi and American participants.

It aims at examining from the cognitive linguistic point of view the different types of frames highlighted by the participants when deciphering a short story sentence.

A short story sentence (flash fiction) is a genre usually with an ambiguous end even after reading its brief words.

Thus, the readers intend to comprehend the text by filling in the gaps which are open to multiple interpretations depending on their schema including knowledge, personal experiences and perceptions.

Some studies have investigated schema and its relationship to culture, yet no study using schema theory has examined how two groups from different cultures, the United States and Iraq, interpret the same text.

The study adopts Fillmore's model (1982) Frame semantics in analyzing the reflectors' interpretations collected by a reflection test.

Results have shown that the cognitive contexts, represented by the interpretations, are different although the given text is the same due to being produced by people with different schema in different cultures.