Motion Verbs in Learner Corpora

Motions verbs differ across languages in respect of spatial relations and syntactic/semantic conceptualization. Languages have two typological groups for motion events: (a) verb-framed languages in which the main verb expresses the core information of the path of movement, and the manner information is expressed in a subordinate structure (e.g. a gerundive) and (b) satellite-framed languages where the main verb expresses information about manner of movement and a subordinate satellite element (e.g., a verb particle) to the verb conveys the path of movement (Talmy, 1985; Chen & Guo, 2009). In this corpus-based study, two learner corpora from two different native languages as Turkish as a verb-framed language and German as satellite-framed language are investigated in terms of motion verbs in English like move, fly, walk, go via frequency and statistical analysis for corpora comparison. The purpose of the study is to find out whether there is a statistical difference in the use of motion verbs by Turkish (as a verb-framed L1) and German (as a satellite-framed L1) learners in due of cross-linguistic difference between Turkish and German which may be a factor that influence learners essay writing in English (as a satellite-framed L2) in the use of motion verbs. Results indicated that German learners of English use especially manner of motion verbs in English statistically more frequent and lexically more diverse in their essays than Turkish learners of English.