Case Studies: Subjectivity of Construal in the Language of the Blind

Posted: 21 Nov 2008

Date Written: October 20, 2008

Abstract

Cognitive linguistics is considered to be usage-based, but its theoretical bias is still evident and may result in sweeping generalizations and abstractions. This paper attempts to counterbalance these general tendencies and validate previous findings related to the language of the blind, i.e., a shift in scalar adjustment from schematicity to specificity, and the vantage point that indicates a different position of the conceptualizer (Geld & Stanojevi 2006).

We conducted two case studies involving five visually impaired individuals. The aim was to identify the idiosyncratic aspects of mental imagery with regard to perspective and attention. The results partly confirmed previous findings, and suggested a need for a constant "re-calibration of standards" in defining perspective and attention, because of participants' diverse perceptive capacities.

The first case study involved a blind speaker of English as L2, a 16-year-old Croatian boy who suffers from an inherited retinal degenerative disease characterized by severe loss of vision. His effective use of residual vision enables him to watch TV and play on his computer from immediate proximity to the screen. We used a modified Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ), an essay and an unstructured interview to elicit relevant linguistic and meta-linguistic data, and performed a qualitative analysis. For instance, in the interview the participant reports seeing a wide-scope scene (e.g. a landscape involving mountains and a lake) as if in a frame or on the screen of his computer. More generally, the results show that the participant profiled those aspects of the scene that are readily available considering the nature of his disorder: he contextualizes the scene by framing it into something he has experienced visually (from TV or computer games), and he relies on the tactile (and olfactory) sensory input he has experienced in the "real world".

The second study involved four 18-year-old girls, two totally blind and two with some residual vision. A battery of linguistic instruments (e.g. VVIQ, interviews, and guided essays) was used to elicit relevant L1 data. For instance, when describing a path one of the participants reported relying on her hearing (saying "when the traffic quiets down"; i.e. listening for the traffic to cross the road safely) and physical elements as guides along the path (e.g. saying "I usually find a groove or wall to follow"). In sum, the results show that the extraordinary experience of the blind, their reliance on haptic exploration of environment, their adaptability and considerable individual differences in effective usage of residual vision all contribute to specific meaning construal.

Thus, we suggest situating the cognitive linguistic model of perspective and attention in terms of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, which enables us to provide a comprehensive framework allowing us to systematically account for individual perceptive capacities.

References Geld, R. and M. Stanojevi (2006). Salience and situatedness in the language of the blind, paper presented at the 8th CSDL Conference: Language in Action. University of California, San Diego, 2006. Levin, Beth. 1993. English Verb Classes and Alternations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Keywords: construal, blind

Suggested Citation

Geld, Renata, Case Studies: Subjectivity of Construal in the Language of the Blind (October 20, 2008). 9th Conference on Conceptual Structure, Discourse, & Language (CSDL9), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1304945

Renata Geld (Contact Author)

University of Zagreb ( email )

Trg maršala Tita 14
Zagreb
Croatia

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