Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching
Volume 2 (2011) Issue 1
pp. 195 - 214
pp. 195 - 214
Clearing Up Native English-Speaking Students’
Semantic and Morphosyntactic Confusion with Spanish porand para
Zahir Mumin (Albany (New York), USA)
Abstract
Native English-speaking students continue to face major language acquisition problems when learning how to use the Spanish prepositions por and para for various different reasons which include L1 English interference of the preposition for as a literal or dynamic equivalent of L2 Spanish por and para and memorizing and translating English prepositions and prepositional phrases such as in order to, by, and to in the case of para, and because of, through, and in in the case of por. Teachers make students’ language acquisition process even more difficult by providing them with and having them memorize long lists of semantic categories and isolated sentence examples of por and para. Lam (2009) argues that instructors should teach por and parasimultaneously, using explanatory approaches, whereas Pinto & Rex (2006) favor teaching these prepositions independently with non-explanatory approaches. Although these opposing arguments foster substantial insight, the fields of linguistics and language teaching have not developed a simplified approach which allows students to acquire the aforementioned Spanish prepositions more easily. This paper provides an original contribution to linguistics and language teaching by creating and proposing a new semantic conceptual model and by linguistically applying this model to a wide variety of cases of por and para to demonstrate why and how it facilitates and enhances students’ acquisition of these prepositions.
Key words: Spanish prepositions, semantics, morphosyntax, applied linguistics, language teaching
Resumen
Los alumnos angloparlantes siguen enfrentándose a problemas graves de adquisición lingüística cuando aprenden a usar las preposiciones por y para en español por varias razones diferentes que incluyen la interferencia lingüística de la preposición for del inglés (L1) como una equivalencia literal o dinámica de por y para en español (L2) y el aprendizaje de memoria y la traducción de preposiciones y frases preposicionales inglesas como in order to, by, y to en casos de para ybecause of, through e in en casos de por. Los profesores hacen que el proceso de adquisición lingüística de los alumnos sea aún más difícil, proporcionándoles listas largas de categorías semánticas y ejemplos de por y para usados en oraciones aisladas y obligándoles a que aprendan de memoria dichas listas y ejemplos. Lam (2009) discute que los profesores deben enseñar por y para simultáneamente, empleando acercamientos explicativos en tanto que Pinto y Rex (2006) favorecen la enseñanza de estas preposiciones independientemente con acercamientos no explicativos. Aunque estos argumentos opuestos proveen perspicacia importante, los campos de lingüística y enseñanza de lenguas no han desarrollado un acercamiento simplificado que permita que los alumnos adquieran más fácilmente antedichas preposiciones en español. Este trabajo escrito les proporciona a la lingüística y a la enseñanza de lenguas una contribución original, creando y proponiendo un modelo semántico nuevo de conceptualización y aplicando lingüísticamente este modelo a una gran variedad de casos de pory para para demostrar por qué y cómo facilita y realiza la adquisición estudiantil de estas preposiciones.
Palabras clave: preposiciones en español, semántica, morfosintaxis, lingüística aplicada, enseñanza de lenguas
1 INTRODUCTION
At the beginning of the 21st century, native English-speaking students continue to struggle in correctly identifying and using the Spanish prepositions por and parafor a wide variety of reasons which include the following:
● associating the English preposition for with the aforementioned prepositions as a literal and/or dynamic equivalent;
● not paying attention to the contexts in which these Spanish prepositions are being used;
● believing that isolated sentence examples with por and para are standard general rules for all uses, and
● disregarding other words in sentences that are dynamically connected through the use of por or para.
On the other hand, teachers continue to struggle with facilitating students’ acquisition of por and para because they often initially tell students that the English preposition for is equivalent to Spanish por and para and provide students with examples such as Lo hice para mi hermano (‘I did it for my brother’) or Trabajo para mis padres (‘I work for my parents’) without addressing the semantic and morphosyntactic significance of these examples, which shows how the grammatical composition of these sentences conveys meaning. Hancock (2005) argues that grammar is a meaning-making system which constitutes dynamic relationships amongst sentence components such as subjects, objects, verbs, complements, and modifiers.
In the first aforementioned example, the verb hice is the preterit simple past tense which represents the first-person-singular grammatical subject and actor, and the word group lo hice is the unmarked theme which initiates the sentence and includes lo as the neutral direct object. The preposition para links the relationship between the aforementioned word group and the object of this preposition mi hermano in order to foster the semantic meaning of the brother benefiting from what the grammatical subject and actor did.
In the second example, Trabajo is the Spanish verb which represents the first-person-singular subject in the present tense indicative form, grammatical subject, actor, and unmarked theme. The preposition para links the relationship between this verb and the object of this preposition, mis padres, in order to provide the semantic meaning of the subject working in the employ of his parents who benefit from the work done by the subject.
In addition to not informing students about these types of semantic and morphosyntatic issues which deal with the integral understanding of por and para, teachers often use textbooks to provide students with a long list of isolated sentences in which por and para are used in combination with an additional list of semantic categories such as deadline, future time, and toward, in the case of paraand duration of time, means of use, and cause in the case of por. For example, Knorre et al.’s textbook fosters students with a list of isolated sentences with semantic categories such as by means of, because of, and during, in (time of day) in the case of por and in order to + infinitive, to be used for, and in the employ of in the case of para (Knorre et al.’ 2009: pp. 368). Two examples taken from this textbook—one for por and one for para—are provided below to show the load of input to which students are initially exposed through this type of teaching methodology:
(1) because of, due to a. Estoy nervioso por la entrevista.
b. I’m nervous because of the interview.
b. I’m nervous because of the interview.
(Knorre et al. 2009: 368)
(2) in order to + infinitive a. Regresaron pronto para estudiar.
b. They returned soon (in order) to study.
(Knorre et al. 2009: 369)
Loading students with input through category lists and isolated examples encourages them to translate from English to Spanish and from Spanish to English whenever they are in doubt about how to appropriately use the Spanish prepositions por and para. Translating between English and Spanish and vice versa so as to try and learn the aforementioned prepositions is very ineffective for students’ L2 acquisition of Spanish (Lam 2003, Lafford & Salaberry 2003, Pinto & Rex 2006, Lam 2009) because por and para often carry different semantic meanings and morphosyntactic structures in English, which can be shown in the following sentences: Camino para el parque (‘I am walking to the park’) or (‘I am headed for the park’)—the subject is not yet physically at the park, and Camino por el parque (‘I am walking around or through the park’)—the subject is physically already at the park. As teachers have struggled so much in teaching these Spanish prepositions, and as students have had so many problems in mastering their use, extensive primary and secondary research has been conducted in an attempt to enhance students’ acquisition and improve teachers’ methodological techniques.
The next section of the paper will foster a literature review of previous research and provide an original contribution to the fields of linguistics and language teaching by creating and proposing a new semantic conceptual model which teachers can use for facilitating students’ acquisition of por and para and which students can use to enhance their understanding and use of most cases dealing with por and para. This paper will also foster an original contribution to the aforementioned fields by linguistically applying this new semantic model to a wide variety of different examples of por and para employed in different contexts to demonstrate how it can be effectively used in classroom instruction.
2 Literature Review
Two major cognitive studies of the Spanish prepositions por and para have been conducted—one by Delbeque (1994, 1996) and the other one by Lam (2009). Delbeque (1996) provides a conceptual diagram, consisting of conceptualizer, landmark (LM), and trajectory (TR) to explain how por and para are generally used, and argues that they can often be associated with spatial and/or directional prepositions which, to a certain extent, restrict the context in which subjects, objects, and modifiers are identified in sentences. The conceptualizer represents the basic thought processes inside foreign-language and second-language learners’ minds as they are attempting to differentiate between por and para. The trajectory is the grammatical subject and/or actor of a sentence which is involved in carrying out an action. The landmark represents the content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc.) and some system words (definite articles, indefinite articles, determiners, quantifiers, etc.) which help contextualize the physical setting in which the action takes place. For example, in the sentences El profesor enseña para ganar dinero (‘The professor teaches in order to earn money’) and Los alumnos estudian por los exámenes (‘The students study because of the exams’), the former sentence demonstrates the TR (El professor) being directed towards the LM (ganar dinero) as a single conceptualization process but in the latter sentence, the conceptualizer is simultaneously directed towards the TR (los alumnos) and the LM (los exámenes). This cognitive analysis argument has provided important insight with regard to comparing these two prepositions. However, this conceptual diagram may not be applicable to very common uses ofpor and para in Spanish where the syntactic structure is changed to include cases of marked theme: Para conseguir un buen trabajo, rellenamos muchas solicitudes (‘In order to get a good job, we filled out a lot of applications’) and Por el frío, llevamos guantes y abrigos (‘Because of the cold weather, we wore gloves and coats’). In the first example, it is not possible for the TR (rellenamos) to be directed towards the LM (el frío) because the LM is found in the word group which functions as a marked theme and known previous information to both interlocutors, which is directed towards the TR functioning as a matrix clause with new information being conveyed to the receivers of the message. In the second example, it is possible for the conceptualizer to be simultaneously directed towards both the LM and the TR, but this may cause semantic confusion in an attempt to apply this conceptual model to this marked theme case of por because the TR (llevamos) is part of a matrix clause which includes new - not old - information being conveyed to the receivers of the message.
The second major cognitive study, conducted by Lam (2009), examines the extent to which college students in intermediate-level Spanish courses acquire the correct use of por and para by employing a series of pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test with different activities such as fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, and essays. Students in two experimental groups are provided a general prototypical description for the uses of por and para in addition to semantic category lists, and sentence examples of these prepositions used in context with pictures. Students in one control group are provided everything that the experimental group has except for the prototypical descriptions. The prototypical descriptions used for the experimental group are the following:
…an object aimed towards another object [for para and]…an object passing through another object [for por]… (Lam 2009: pp. 6)
The results of this study show that the combination of the explanatory approach with prototypical descriptions and that of the non-explanatory approach, used for the experimental group, with category lists and sentence examples enhances students’ long term acquisition of por and para. Mason (1992) argues that the best way for students to learn how to master the uses of the prepositions por and paradeals with first learning how to use para and then, by default, using por where standard rules for para do not apply. This argument is supported by the Purpose, Effect, Recipient, Future, Employment, Comparison, Towards (P.E.R.F.E.C.T.) mnemonic device which has been useful for students learning how to identify cases of para:
(3) Toward - indicates movement toward in terms of direction
a. (Pablo camina para el parque)
b. [Pablo is walking to the park]. (Mason 1992: 198)
The most controversial issue regarding this mnemonic device is that it encourages students to memorize specific cases of para which may not be applicable to a lot of different contexts in which para is used; students are unaware of why they use the preposition por when the aforementioned standard rules do not apply to para; and there exist a lot of contexts in which por and para can be used in the same morphosyntactic position of a sentence and convey different meanings. For example, the sentences Juan trabaja para su hermano (‘Juan is working for his brother’) and Juan trabaja por su hermano (‘Juan is working on behalf of his brother’) or (‘Juan is working because of his brother’) convey completely different meanings. The first sentence with para indicates that his brother is the beneficiary of Juan’s work, but the second sentence can either indicate that Juan is physically working instead of his brother or that Juan is working because of (cause orreason) a certain event, happening in the present or past, which involves his brother. If students attempt to apply this mnemonic device to these types of cases involving para, they may use para inappropriately if they are not well informed about how these prepositions convey different meanings when they replace each other. Lafford & Ryan (1995) propose an order of acquisition interlanguage hierarchy for por and para based on their findings about native English-speaking college students from Arizona State University—who studied abroad in Granada, Spain for four months—which show that students acquire canonical uses of porand para much earlier than non-canonical uses. Through this interlanguage hierarchy, the authors argue that the non-canonical use of para (para que (so that) + subjunctive) and the non-canonical use of por (dealing with paths or space) are not acquired until students reach advanced levels of L2 acquisition in Spanish. Pinto & Rex (2006) conducted a corpus data study of speech samples collected from 80 English-speaking L2 Spanish learners of beginning and intermediate courses at the University of California at Davis. Based on the results of this study, which show that student errors with por and para are often not directly related to the comparative relationship of the prepositions, but to the semantic categories used to describe examples of their usage, these authors argue that, in classroom instruction, por and para should be taught independently and not simultaneously. Guntermann (1992) argues that it is possible to teach por and para in opposition, but instructors must be aware that less than half of student errors are attributed to the opposition of these prepositions with regard to replacing por for para and vice versa. However, Lunn (1987) argues that these prepositions should be taught in opposition because the morphosyntactic and semantic changes caused by the use of one preposition or the other allow students to realize that it is often not possible to directly transfer their knowledge from L1 English to L2 Spanish. All the aforementioned studies have provided innovative contributions to the fields of linguistics and language teaching and learning. However, teachers still lack a simplified way to teach the Spanish prepositions por and para, and students lack a more simplified way to learn and acquire the correct use of these prepositions (López 1970, Boers & Demecheleer 1998).
Therefore, this paper is fostering an original contribution by proposing the following new semantic conceptual model for teachers and students, and will linguistically apply this model to cases of por and para, semantically categorized in research studies and textbooks, used in common expressions, and employed in set phrases. This paper will also discuss different activities which teachers can use to help facilitate students’ acquisition of por and para when they use this new semantic conceptual model:
Brief descriptions of each of the three conceptualization concepts of por and parawill be provided in order to help teachers to better facilitate students’ acquisition process as they apply this model to different cases of por and para. These descriptions are not intended to be semantic or absolute rules of por and para, but they are intended to be used as a semantic conceptual guide to help students to master the correct use and identification of these prepositions in a wide variety of different contexts:
Imprecision versus precision refers to the extent to which the message being conveyed is accurate.
Reason refers to the extent to which the grammatical subject and/or the actor has a motive to justify a certain action.
Purpose refers to the extent to which the grammatical subject and/or the actor has an intent to or strives to meet a certain goal or achieve a certain result.
General versus specific refers to the extent to which something or someone is limited.
This paper fundamentally argues the following: Students do not have to – and should not - attempt to translate from English to Spanish or from Spanish to English in order to try to better understand the uses of por and para. This new semantic model is useful for helping students to acquire the majority of the uses ofpor and para. Students can use this simplified semantic model instead of memorizing lists of semantic categories and isolated sentence examples in order to master the uses of por and para.
3 The Semantic Category of Deadline in Cases of para
A lot of textbooks such as Boyles et al. (2004), Knorre et al. (2009), and Zayas-Bazán et al. (2010), and research studies such as Lunn (1987), Guntermann (1992), Pinto & Rex (2006), and Rodríquez López (2006) use the semantic category of deadline to describe cases of para in which an expected time frame is conveyed in a message which includes a time limit:
(4) a. Pensaban estar en la reunión para las seis de la tarde.
b. They were planning to be at the meeting by six in the afternoon.
b. They were planning to be at the meeting by six in the afternoon.
(Zayas-Bazán et al. 2010: 226)
(5) a. Debemos terminar el trabajo para el lunes.
b. [We should finish the work by Monday.]
b. [We should finish the work by Monday.]
(Boyles et al. 2004: 171)
These examples clearly show that students are being provided with too much input when trying to learn these prepositions. The new semantic model proposed in this paper can be applied to these deadline cases of para by referencing the concept of specific because the time limit which the subjects have in order to arrive at the meeting and for completing their work is specified by the hour in the first case and by the day in the second. The use of this semantic model to resolve these cases ofpara is very effective for teachers’ methodology as well as students’ language acquisition process. Teachers do not have to teach multiple different examples under the category of deadline, and students do not have to memorize possible examples of how deadline is represented after conceptualizing the specific nature of the prepositional use of para. Students therefore do not have to and should not try to translate from L1 English to L2 Spanish because they will often become confused by the multiple different prepositional phrases which can be represented in English when para is used in Spanish (Galloway 1980, Herskovitz 1986, Gómez Torrego 1997). A useful classroom activity for instructors to use when applying this new semantic model to cases of deadline, without explicitly identifying deadline as a semantic category rule of para, would be to have students write a paragraph in the past tense about certain events having happened in their lives, which deal with their opinions about how people react to homework and project assignment deadlines. Through the writing of these paragraphs, students can acquire a better sense of the specific concept of the semantic model by way of conceptualization and will be able to more accurately use para without memorizing isolated sentence examples and associating them with the category of deadline.
4 The Semantic Category of Destination or Direction in Cases of para
The use of this semantic category, combined with explanations, is also very common in second and foreign language classrooms. The common problems which students have with examples they are provided with, which deal with this category, are that they do not understand why they are using para. Therefore, although students understand the initial examples they are provided with, they often struggle when trying to complete fill-in-the-blank paragraph activities, write practice sentences, and have conversations with their fellow classmates. Trujillo (1995) and Rodríquez (2006) argue that this type of prepositional use of para is spatial andshould be taught to students with regard to spatial limitations of a given context. Most instructors use the examples, provided in textbooks or research studies, and do not associate these contexts of sentence examples with the aforementioned spatial limitations. With regard to the new semantic model proposed in this paper, it is not necessary for students to use spatial limitations or the semantic category of destination or direction to understand these uses of para because they can apply the specific concept of the model to their overall conceptualization of the use of para.
(6) a. En unos minutos nos vamos para la playa.
(6) a. En unos minutos nos vamos para la playa.
b. [In a few minutes, we are going to the beach].
(Boyles et al. 2004: 171)
(7) a. Le di un libro para su hijo.
b. I gave her a book for her son.
(Knorre et al. 2009: 369)
In the first example, the specific direction of movement of the subject is indicated, and in the second example, the specific destination of the book is for the son. These examples further demonstrate the effectiveness of this new semantic model for cases of para because instead of students thinking about how to associate isolated examples with semantic categories, they conceptualize how the overall meanings of the use of para are conveyed. Therefore, students do not have to worry about struggling with trying to develop the English prepositional phrases for her son and to the beach or translating these phrases into Spanish in an effort to try and understand the semantic meaning of para according to the relationships linked between the objects of the preposition para (la playa and su hijo) and the subjects[1] (nos vamos and di) both in English and Spanish. Students can exclusively focus on their L2 acquisition of Spanish through their integral conceptualization of the precision, purpose, and specific concepts of para in the new semantic model. On the other hand, teachers can use conversational activities such as allowing students to have small group discussions about their daily routines and gifts which they purchase for family and friends to provide students with opportunities to use para without explicitly identifying destination and directionas specific semantic category rules.
5 The Semantic Category of Comparison / Opinion in Cases of para
The semantic category of comparison / opinion also causes problems for L2 Spanish learners because textbooks often use a prepositional phrase beginning with para as the marked theme of the sentence. Students often attempt to analyze isolated cases of por and para by searching for the Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) word order of the initiating word groups of the sentence first, and then they try to figure out the meaning of para. However, in the case of the prepositional phrase with para being used as part of the marked theme of a sentence, the subject of the matrix clause comes after the initial prepositional phrase. A more effective way for students to understand the meaning of para with regard to these cases of comparison / opinion is to apply the new semantic model, proposed in this paper, to the context of the sentences which they are examining:
(8) a. Para el científico las estadísticas eran fáciles de entender.
b. [For the scientists, statistics were easy to understand.]
(Zayas-Bazán 2010: 226)
(9) a. Para mí, el español es fácil.
b. For me, Spanish is easy.
(Knorre et al. 2009: 369)
In both of these examples, students can use the new semantic model by applying the concepts of precision and specific. In the first example, it is specified that scientists, out of all other people from different specializations, do not have any difficulty with statistics. In the second example, it is specified that the speaker, out of all of the people learning Spanish, does not have any difficulty. Also, the first and second examples are conceptually precise with regard to establishing the comparison between the objects of the preposition para (el científico and mí), and the subject matter of comparison (Statistics and Spanish). Therefore, students can more easily acquire an understanding of these comparison cases of para by using the new semantic model and referring to the precise and specific conceptual meaning of the message being conveyed in these comparisons. A useful activity which teachers could use to enhance students’ application of this semantic model and their acquisition of para is to have them compare their personal preferences and characteristics to those of their peers and famous people who they idolize.
6 The Semantic Category of Motion in Cases of por
The semantic category of motion belongs to the most confusing ones for L2 Spanish students because there is often linguistic interference from English—the direct association of the preposition for with por. In addition to this interference, students have to pay closer attention to the question why por is used in contexts of discussing the movement of objects or people because para can replace por in these cases and change the meaning of the message sent to the receiver (Berman 1979, Tyler & Evans 2003, Lam 2009). For example, the sentences, Juan corre para el parque (‘Juan is running to the park’) and Juan corre por el parque (‘Juan is running through or around the park’) have two different meanings with regard to the action of running in which the subject is involved. In the case of para, Juan is not yet physically at the park, but is running towards the park. In the case of por, Juan is already physically at the park and running. The new conceptual model proposed in this paper can easily be applied to both of these cases in that students are guided to internalize the general concept of por and the specific concept of para. The general concept in this case of por refers to the general direction of movement of Juan running around the park, and the specific concept in this case of para refers to the specific direction of movement of Juan headed toward the park. A fruitful activity which teachers can use in order to facilitate students’ acquisition of por andpara using this semantic conceptual model is to have students give each other directions to different local places in the town in which they live and also have them look up directions on an online website and specifically explain to their fellow classmates how to get to certain places. Instructors should not indicate direction as a semantic category rule—because it is explicitly applicable to both por andpara—but they must apply the new semantic conceptual model to the context of the activity so that students enhance their ability to conceptualize the general and specific concepts of this model.
7 The Semantic Category of Time of Day in Cases of por
The semantic category of time of day often causes students problems because they confuse it with the para semantic category of deadline discussed above. In order to accurately differentiate between these two categories, students are often burdened with the task of memorizing isolated examples of por and para to try and understand why both of these prepositions are used in contexts in which time is relevant to the events which are occurring. However, the new semantic model proposed in this paper will effectively help students to resolve this issue through the conceptualization of the meanings of these prepositions described in the aforementioned contexts:
(10) a.Trabajo por la mañana.
b. I work in the morning.
(Knorre et al. 2009: 368)
(11) a. Fuimos a visitar el asilo de ancianos por la tarde.
b. We went to visit the nursing home during the afternoon.
(Zayas-Bazán 2010: 225)
(12) a.Tengo que volver a trabajar para mañana.[2]
b. I have to return to work by tomorrow.
Students can apply the general concept of the new semantic model to the first two examples by conceptualizing the general time frame during which the work and the nursing home visit are taking place. They can also apply the specific concept of the semantic model to the last example by conceptualizing the specified deadline for returning to work. These examples clearly show that students’ acquisition process of por and para can be facilitated and further enhanced by the use of this conceptual model and that teachers do not have to use long lists of semantic categories to explain to students why these prepositions are used in different contexts. An effective activity which teachers can use to stimulate the students’ interest and increase their linguistic competence in the use of por and para is to have them, in groups of five or more, write short dialogues about when they do certain things on a regular basis in their personal lives and role play them in class so that they can meaningfully use different cases of por and para in real-life situations.
8 The Semantic Category of Reason in Cases of por and Purpose in Cases of para
The semantic categories of reason (por) and purpose (para) have been extremely difficult for students to understand due to the fact that they often do not comprehend the fundamental difference between reason and purpose as it is conveyed in the Spanish language. Teachers currently continue to provide students with multiple examples of different cases in which por conveys reason and para conveys purpose, but students still struggle with differentiating between these two categories even after completing a lot of practice exercises (Lam 2003). The new semantic conceptual model’s concepts of reason and purpose are different from those included in textbooks and previous research studies; they are not presented as thematic rules, but as conceptual techniques and/or guidelines useful for mastering the uses of por and para:
b. They are studying for the exams.
(14) a. Estudian por los exámenes.
b. They are studying for the exams.
Students can easily apply the new conceptual model to the aforementioned cases by conceptualizing the overall specific purpose of the subjects to pass their exams and/or to get a good grade on the exams in the case of para versus their general reason for taking the exams in the case of por. This semantic model allows students to work exclusively in the Spanish language when acquiring por and parawithout considering semantic category rules or the very ineffective translation strategies from English to Spanish. A very effective activity that instructors can use to help students conceptualize reason and purpose—not categorize and regulate reason and purpose as thematic rules—is to have them talk to native Spanish speakers from a school in a Spanish-speaking country about their short-term and long-term goals as well as their motives why and how they react to certain people in certain ways. This fosters students with an excellent full immersion experience from which they can acquire both conscious and subconscious knowledge about their overall conceptualization of por and para.
9 Common Expressions and Set Phrases Used with por and para
Although this new semantic conceptual model might not be applicable to a lot of common expressions and/or set phrases such as en un dos por tres (‘right away’),ser tal para cual (‘to be two of a kind’), and por supuesto (‘of course’), it can be applied to expressions such as por lo general (‘generally’), ver para creer (‘seeing is believing’), and hablar por hablar (‘speaking for the sake of speaking’). The interesting case of por lo general is that students can apply the general concept ofpor of the semantic conceptual model in order to acquire further insight into the meaning of por used in this set phrase. This is because this set phrase is often used as marked theme before a matrix / independent clause which will provide a general description of an action or event:
(15) a. Por lo general, nos gusta viajar durante las vacaciones del verano.[4]
(15) a. Por lo general, nos gusta viajar durante las vacaciones del verano.[4]
b. Generally, we like to travel during summer vacation time.
Furthermore, the new semantic model can be applied to cases such as ver para creer by conceptualizing the purpose of seeing in order to believe what one has previously heard. This model can also be applied to hablar por hablar by conceptualizing the imprecision concept of por because the message which the speakers transmit to the receivers does not have sufficient relevant content to allow the said receivers to carry on a fluid conversation with the said speakers. A possible activity which teachers could do with common expressions and set phrases would be to have students read an online Spanish language newspaper article in which these expressions and set phrases are used and have students apply the new semantic conceptual model to these expressions and phrases so that they can enhance their overall conceptual competence in understanding porand para.
10 Conclusion
This paper has shown that teachers should not be loading students with input on the Spanish prepositions por and para by using extensive lists of semantic categories combined with isolated examples which students have to memorize. This paper has also shown that students should not be trying to use L1 English forto try and learn L2 Spanish por and para. This makes things more complicated because students first have to develop the respective morphosyntactic structures in English—often single or compound prepositional phrases in the cases of hablar por hablar (‘speaking for the sake of speaking’) and Escriben libros por los requisitos (‘They are writing books because of the requirements’)—and then attempt to translate these phrases into Spanish with dynamically similar semantic meanings. Finally, this paper has shown that, on a systematic level, the new semantic conceptual model is very effective for students’ acquisition of por andpara by linguistically applying the said model to various different cases of por andpara used in different contexts, common expressions, and set phrases. Clearing up students’ semantic and morphosyntactic confusion with por and para depends on their ability to conceptualize imprecision, reason, and general in the case ofpor and precision, purpose, and specific in the case of para.
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Author:
Zahir Mumin
Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
College of Arts & Sciences, Humanities, Second Floor
University at Albany, State University of New York
1400 Washington Avenue
Albany, New York, USA 12222
Email: zm227418@albany.edu
[1] In this case, in Spanish, the inflections of the verb forms nos vamos (from the infinitive irse) anddi (from the infinitive dar) represent both the action initiated by the subjects and the first person singular or first person plural subjects “we” and “I”, respectively, in English.
[2] Example provided by Zahir Mumin
[3] Both examples provided by Zahir Mumin
[4] Example provided by Zahir Mumin