CULTURAL CONCEPTUALISATIONS OF ENGLISH WORDS AMONG BASOTHO WHO STUDY ENGLISH AS AN L2

Abstract

This study explores the cultural conceptualisations of English words among Basotho who study English as an L2. Eighteen Basotho students majoring in English Language and Linguistics were given three tasks intended to reveal the cultural conceptualisations of English words. The participants were asked to define and use some English words. In addition, the participants were requested to show relationships between some English words and to provide meanings of some words as they are used in a reading passage. The findings reveal that Basotho who study English as an L2 use some words in a unique way due to the unique set of cultural conceptualisations that the words encode. I argue that these findings have implications for the teaching of English in Lesotho and for intercultural communication between Basotho and other speakers of English.