再探「現時延長理論」——中文使用者的時間概念研究

Revisiting the Extended Present Hypothesis: Chinese Speakers' Perception of Time

Chen、Su及O' Seaghdha（2013）提出「現時延長假說」，實驗發現，中文的使用者相較於英文使用者，對「現在」的概念理解具有較高的延伸性；在劃分時間區塊時，中文使用者所標記的「現在」較英文使用者為長，且傾向將「過去」和「未來」的事件都表達為正在進行。本研究採用Cottle的「畫圓測驗」和「時間區段查點測驗」，進一步探討此一假說。從「畫圓測驗」的結果發現，當中文受試者畫三個圓圈來表達「過去」、「現在」和「未來」時，圓圈有66.7%的機會重疊，而「現在」通常在其描繪中扮演連結「過去」和「未來」的橋梁。「時間區段查點測驗」的結果顯示，定義「現在」的單位可以是秒、分，以及小時；相較之下，英文使用者的「現在」主要是以「秒」為單位。我們重新檢視「現時延長假說」，發現本研究支持其所提出的兩個概念：「現時延長」以及「時間融合」。雖然Chen等人認為這些差異主要是受到語言形態的影響，本研究認為即使在非語言的任務中，中文社群仍然有這些傾向，因此中文的因素也必須納入考量，方能得到最適當的解釋。

A recent study by Chen, Su, and O'Seaghdha (2013) found that Chinese speakers maintain an extended present time frame in which the present lasts for a longer duration compared to English participants, and that Chinese speakers tend to perceive past and future events as ongoing. We tested this Extended Present Hypothesis further with Cottle's Circle Test and the Duration Inventory. The Circle Test showed that when native Chinese speakers drew three circles representing the present, past, and future, 66.7% of the circles overlap one another, with the present in the middle bridging the past and the future. In the Duration Inventory Test, native Chinese speakers viewed the present as lasting from seconds, minutes and hours. This contrasted with results of English speakers, which showed the present to last for just seconds. These results are consistent with the Extended Present Hypothesis in terms of its two postulations: the elongated present and integrated time. Beyond their postulations, the present study extends the Hypothesis to nonlinguistic frames, arguing that linguistic difference may not be the only influence, and that cultural practices should be taken into account for better explanations.