Register-specific semantic prosody and its application into L2 teaching

Abstract

This thesis examines the phenomenon of semantic prosody, together with its register-specific nature. Moreover, its applications in second language (L2) acquisition and its implications for teaching methodologies are explored. Semantic prosody refers to the evaluative connotations that words or phrases acquire through habitual collocational patterns. While this phenomenon has been extensively studied in theoretical linguistics, there is a lack of unified perspective. Additionally, its practical applications in L2 teaching remain underexplored. This dissertation addresses this gap by providing a comprehensive, integrated view on the phenomenon of semantic prosody, integrating the findings of the last decades. As a secondary objective, the thesis investigates how the understanding of semantic prosody can enhance language pedagogy. The thesis is structured into eleven chapters, beginning with an introduction to the theoretical framework.