Loanword perception vs. native word perception
Results
In mid-2013 a free association study was prepared and performed in order to investigate the differences of perception in certain word pairs, one element of which is borrowed, the other one native, or both of which are variants of the same loanword, but differing in the degree of adaptation. The study is reported and discussed in the following downloadable files.
Report 1 • Appendix 1 • Appendix 2 • Appendix 3 • Appendix 4
Between May and July 2014, two surveys were conducted by questionnaire in order to find out whether the distinctions in perception between a lexical loan and its native synonym, or between an unassimilated and assimilated variant of a loan, are strong enough to affect the subjects' reactions in circumstances when their attention has not been directed to the distinctions between the words in question. The survey is reported and discussed below.
Report 2 • Appendix 1 • Appendix 2
The results of our earlier investigations indicated that while distinctions in perception between a lexical loan and its native synonym, or between an unassimilated and an assimilated variant of a loan, do influence the different connotations these words suggest to subjects, this influence is too weak to affect their responses when their attention has not been directed specifically to the words in question. In this study, therefore, we tried a more straightforward method of checking whether the meaning potential of lexical loans differs from that of their native synonyms, and whether the meaning potential of unassimilated variants of loanwords differs from that of their assimilated counterparts. A new questionnaire was designed in which subjects were expected to choose which member of such word pairs they found more appropriate in the given set of circumstances. The questionnaire was used in a survey conducted in October 2014. The results are reported and discussed below.