Testing Lexical Competence Through Cultural Conceptualisations: A Methodological Framework in Analysing Nativised Lexical Items

Research on lexical competence has traditionally focused on dimensions such as vocabulary size, depth, and use of word knowledge, with limited attention to the role of cultural knowledge in shaping lexical meaning. This paper addresses this gap by proposing a novel methodological framework, the Word Association-Interpretation (WAI) framework for investigating cultural conceptualisations embedded in nativised lexical items. In this study, participants were presented with a list of 11 nativised English lexemes in Malaysian English (ME) and were asked to produce spontaneous word associations while elaborating on their understanding of the lexemes as well as their practical use in interactions within the Malaysian speech community. The analysis employs Nvivo 14 to identify patterns and map responses to these constructs, offering insights into the dynamic interplay between language and culture. Responses from the 13 participants revealed underlying cultural schemas and cultural categories that reflect shared cultural knowledge within the community. By analysing the patterns that emerged from these associations, the framework demonstrates how processes of semantic shift and lexical nativisation give rise to culturally grounded meanings, particularly in multilingual settings where English has undergone local adaptation. The study argues that such meanings represent an additional dimension of lexical competence, extending beyond conventional measures of vocabulary knowledge. The proposed model therefore expands current understandings of lexical competence by integrating cultural conceptualisations as a measurable component of lexical knowledge.

lexical competence, cultural conceptualisations

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