Constructing the Prototypical Structure of Concrete Concepts in Algerian Arabic as Spoken in Tiaret

Abstract

The primary purpose of current study is to investigate the relationship between gender and semantic categorization of a set of concrete concepts used in Algerian Arabic. This study seeks to find out the extent to which gender may influence the prototypical semantic structure of the concept „bird‟, „furniture‟, „weapon‟, „vehicle‟, „cosmetic‟, and „sewing‟. This study aims to examine the semantic features and members that male and female students, at Ibn Khaldoun university, use to conceive these concepts and the prototypical structure of these features and members. To reach the objectives of this research work, two experiments were conducted with fifty male and fifty female second year EFL university students. In the first experiment, the participants were asked to list all the attributes and the semantic entities that come to their minds when hearing, reading, or using the concepts „bird‟, „furniture‟, „weapon‟, „vehicle‟, „cosmetic‟, and „sewing‟. In the second experiment, the participants were asked to rate, the extent to which the attributes and the semantic entities, listed in the first experiment, represent the target concepts. The results of the study revealed that gender influences poorly the semantic conceptualization of some concrete concepts; however, it plays a significant role in the semantic structure of other concepts.