Representation and embodiment of meaning in L2 communication: Motion events in the speech and gesture of advanced L2 Korean and L2 English speakers

This study investigates the interface between speech and gesture in second language (L2) narration within Slobin's (2003) thinking-for-speaking (TFS) framework as well as with respect to McNeill's (1992, 2005) growth point (GP) hypothesis. Specifically, our interest is in whether speakers shift from a first language (L1) to a L2 TFS pattern as manifested in the GP of narrations they produce. The data are drawn from the narrations of an animated cartoon story produced by advanced L2 speakers of Korean (L1 English) and L2 speakers of English (L1 Korean). Korean is a verb-framed language (Talmy, 2000) that conflates path of motion on the verb and expresses manner, if at all, through separate lexical items, onomatopoeia, or gesture alone. English is a satellite-framed language (Talmy, 2000) that encodes manner on verbs, expresses path through satellite phrases, and synchronizes manner-path conflated gestures with manner verbs when manner is in focus. The typological difference between the languages presents significant challenges for the L2 speakers, who, despite their high level of proficiency in their respective L2s, appear to retain their L1 TFS patterns.