The specifics of linguocgnitive representation of the concept “privacy”

Abstract

Against the backdrop of globalization and digitalization, “privacy” has evolved into a core concept spanning linguistics, sociology, ethics, law and other academic disciplines, with its cross-cultural communication patterns and cognitive divergences attracting extensive scholarly attention . As a linguistic symbol, the term “privacy” not only carries objective semantic meanings but also embodies subjective cognitive connotations shaped by cultural backgrounds, linguistic proficiency and personal experiences. For non-native English speakers, particularly Chinese speakers, the process of comprehending and using “privacy” involves not merely lexical acquisition, but a cognitive adaptation process that entails the transformation of cultural values and the reconstruction of semantic categories. However, a review of existing relevant research reveals a notable gap: most studies either focus on theoretical discussions of the concept of “privacy” within a single cultural context or merely compare the semantic differences of “privacy” across different languages, with a lack of in-depth exploration of its linguocognitive representation mechanisms from the dual perspectives of cross-cultural studies and second language acquisition (SLA).To address the aforementioned research gaps, this study takes ENS and ENNS as the research subjects, collects empirical data through a word association test, and adopts a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative analyses to explore the specific characteristics of the linguocognitive representation of “privacy” and its crosscultural divergences.