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The reduced embodiment of a second language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2021

Tal Norman Open the ORCID record for Tal Norman [Opens in a new window]  and
Orna Peleg
Tal Norman*
Affiliation:
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
Orna Peleg
Affiliation:
The program of cognitive studies of language use and Sagol school of neuroscience Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
*
Address for correspondence: Tal Norman, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders University of Haifa, 199 Abba Khoushi Ave., 3498838, Haifa, Israel[email protected]
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Abstract

Substantial evidence indicates that first language (L1) comprehension involves embodied visual simulations. The present study tested the assumption that a formally learned second language (L2), which is less related to real-life experiences, is processed in a less embodied manner relative to a naturally acquired L1. To this end, bilingual participants completed the same task in their L1 and L2. In the task, they read sentences and decided immediately after each sentence whether a pictured object had been mentioned in the preceding sentence. Responses were significantly faster when the shape of the object in the picture matched rather than mismatched the sentence-implied shape, but only in the L1, and only when the L1 block was performed before the L2 block. These findings suggest that embodied visual simulations are reduced in a formally learned L2 and may be subjected to cross-language influences.

Keywords

L2 sentence comprehensionL1-L2 processing differencesCross-language influencesEmbodied cognitionSentence picture verification task
Type
Research Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , May 2022 , pp. 406 - 416
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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