The paper raises the question of whether the linguistic relativity proposal, also known as the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, should be used as a frame of reference for modern research into the relationship of language to cognition. The question is discussed in the context of Whorf’s (1956) writings, with emphasis on factors that are crucial to the proposal, i.e. language, thought, and behavior.
The second issue addressed by the paper is whether linguistic categories provide an accurate window on cognition, as was suggested by Whorf and in some of the more recent debates. The analysis takes the form of a correlational study which examines the categorization criteria applied in tests that require language-based and language-neutral judgments.

The article presents a philosophical conceptualization of multilingualism. Philosophy’s general task is to subject human experience to reflective scrutiny and the experience of present day society has changed drastically. Multilingualism, as the vehicle of a new linguistic dispensation, plays a central role in it. We apply the metaphor ‘edge’ to explore the way multiple languages are deployed in, and intensively shape, the postmodern world. We also demonstrate how multilingualism is an edge, not only metaphorically, but involving true and real boundaries of various kinds, and all of them are essential for its nature.

This article reports the results of a study of self-perception of their language identity by advanced FL students. The aim of the study is to observe what students’ language choices are and what guides them in these choices.  The concepts related to bi/multilingualism are taken into consideration, following Cook’s opinion (1992: 558) that L2 users should be compared to bilinguals rather that monolinguals. The perception of the language self is related to language competence acquired in formal education. The findings will be referred to recent research on language and identity in a foreign language context conducted elsewhere, and  suggestions for further study in the field will be provided.

The semantically fine-grained ditransitive constructions in Mandarin Chinese show complex interaction between lexical semantics, constructional semantics and syntactic frames. This study examines the acquisition process of the syntax as well as the semantics of these constructions by launching two experiments with French leaners of Chinese. The experiment results reveal a ‘syntax-before-semantics’ learning process and the important role of input in implicit learning.

This study is concerned with L2 Japanese learners’ interpretation of scopally ambiguous sentences containing negation and universal quantifier using prosodic cues. It has been argued, in previous literature, that native adult speakers of English as well as Japanese interpret such sentences both on their surface (total negation) as well as inverse scope (partial negation) readings in the presence of prosodic cues. The present study shows, however, that L2 Japanese speakers predominantly favor the total negation reading even in situations where the prosodic cues point them to the partial reading. These outcomes indicate that L2 learners of Japanese do not attach “optimal relevance” to prosodic cues when disambiguating scopally ambiguous sentences. The results also imply that for L2 Japanese learners, clues other than prosody may be required to carry out disambiguation.

Classroom language in EFL classrooms comprises the core of communication between teachers and learners. Teacher talk plays a central role in understanding the nature of classroom language in this respect. According to Krashen input hypothesis, teacher talk also constitutes an important source of comprehensible input for the language acquisition of the learner (Krashen, 1981). To make the input comprehensible, teachers may make modifications in their vocabulary, syntax, rate of speech or discourse. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to discover whether native speakers of English and non-native speakers of English make any syntactical modifications in their teacher talk at elementary and pre-intermediate levels and to try to find out what kind of syntactical modifications they make if they modify their syntax during their speech. The study was carried out with eight EFL instructors (both NSs and NNSs) at Çağ University in Turkey using their audio-recordings, a questionnaire and interviews. Antconc 3.2.1 Programme and SPSS 17.0 Programme were used to analyse the quantitative data. The findings of the data were incorporated with the results of interviews forming the qualitative part of the study. The results of the data revealed that native speakers of English and non-native speakers of English made syntactical modifications in their teacher talk at elementary and pre-intermediate levels. They ranged from subordinate clauses to the types of sentences. The findings of the study also demonstrated that syntactical modifications in the teacher talk of native speakers and non-native speakers at both levels depended on the proficiency level of the learners although not all of these modifications formed a statistically meaningful difference.

This study explores the dynamic, interactive relationship between teacher identity and authenticity. Through an examination of several socio-cultural (social identity, situated learning, and image text) and psycholinguistic (individual differences) second language acquisition theories, a conceptualization of identity is provided. Subsequently, language teacher authenticity is characterized from both a philosophical and pedagogical perspective and connected to the notion of teacher identity. The final section of the paper presents research-based applications that include reflecting critically, redefining personal credibility, discovering one’s personal style, displaying emotion and recognizing diversity to facilitate the positive-broadening quest of aligning one’s identity (i.e., who I am) with authenticity (i.e., what I do).