Is Embodied Cognition Bilingual? Current Evidence and Perspectives of the Embodied Cognition Approach to Bilingual Language Processing

Horizontal mapping of time-related words in first and second language

The existence of a consistent horizontal spatial-conceptual mapping for words denoting time is a well-established phenomenon. For example, words related to the past or future (e.g., yesterday/tomorrow) facilitate respective leftward/rightward attentional shifts and responses, suggesting the visual-spatial grounding of temporal semantics, at least in the native language (L1). To examine whether similar horizontal bias also accompanies access to time-related words in a second language (L2), we tested 53 Russian-English (Experiment 1) and 48 German-English (Experiment 2) bilinguals, who classified randomly presented L1 and L2 time-related words as past- or future-related using left or right response keys. The predicted spatial congruency effect was registered in all tested languages and, furthermore, was positively associated with higher L2 proficiency in Experiment 2. Our findings (1) support the notion of horizontal spatial-conceptual mapping in diverse L1s, (2) demonstrate the existence of a similar spatial bias when processing temporal words in L2, and (3) show that the strength of time-space association in L2 may depend on individual L2 proficiency.

The Role of the Motor System in L1 and L2 Action Verb Processing for Chinese Learners of English: Evidence from Mu Rhythm Desynchronization

The nature of semantic representation has long been a key question in linguistic research. The Embodied Cognition theory challenges the traditional view of language representation, stating that semantic information stems from the sensory-motor cortex, which is activated automatically during semantic processing. However, most of the evidence comes from monolingual studies; it remains unclear whether second-language (L2) comprehension involves different semantic representations or mirrors the pattern seen in first-language (L1) processing. Therefore, the present study investigated the role of the sensory-motor system in language processing via making Electroencephalography (EEG) recordings during the processing of L1 and L2 action verbs. The results showed that L1 (Chinese) action verbs generated higher mu-event-related desynchronization (ERD) than L1 abstract verbs in the early processing stage (250 ms after verb presentation), and the same phenomenon was also observed for L2 (English). The results also indicated that language modulated the processing of action verbs, with L1 action verbs eliciting stronger ERD than L2 action verbs. These results demonstrate that the sensory-motor cortex plays a crucial role in comprehending both L1 and L2 action verbs.

The embodiment of emotion-label words and emotion-laden words: Evidence from late Chinese-English bilinguals

Although increasing studies have confirmed the distinction between emotion-label words (words directly label emotional states) and emotion-laden words (words evoke emotions through connotations), the existing evidence is inconclusive, and their embodiment is unknown. In the current study, the emotional categorization task was adopted to investigate whether these two types of emotion words are embodied by directly comparing how they are processed in individuals' native language (L1) and the second language (L2) among late Chinese-English bilinguals. The results revealed that apart from L2 negative emotion-laden words, both types of emotion words in L1 and L2 produced significant emotion effects, with faster response times and/or higher accuracy rates. In addition, processing facilitation for emotion-label words over emotion-laden words was observed irrespective of language operation; a significant three-way interaction between the language, valence and emotion word type was noted. Taken together, this study suggested that the embodiment of emotion words is modulated by the emotion word type, and L2 negative emotion-laden words tend to be affectively disembodied. The disassociation between emotion-label and emotion-laden words is confirmed in both L1 and L2 and therefore, future emotion word research should take the emotion word type into account.

Involvement of the sensorimotor system in less advanced L2 processing: Evidence from a semantic category decision task

There is increasing evidence indicating that the sensorimotor system is involved in advanced L2 processing, which raises the question of what role sensorimotor information plays in the course of less advanced L2 comprehension. In the current study, two experiments were conducted using a lexical decision task (LDT) and semantic category task (SCT). The results showed that, in the LDT, a task more likely to result in participants making judgments based on the physical properties of words (e.g., familiarity, orthography), “up” words (e.g., sun, plane) did not result in faster upward than downward responses, and “down” words (e.g., tunnel, cave) also did not result in faster downward than upward responses. In the SCT, compatibility effects were found; specifically, searching for the up target after “up” words was faster than after “down” words and searching for the bottom target after “down” words was faster than after “upward-pointing” words. Hence, we concluded that L2 sensorimotor association, at least for L2 with low proficiency, not automatic in nature and is dependent upon deeper semantic task demands.

Tracking Object-State Representations During Real-Time Language Comprehension by Native and Non-native Speakers of English

The present "visual world" eye-tracking study examined the time-course of how native and non-native speakers keep track of implied object-state representations during real-time language processing. Fifty-two native speakers of English and 46 non-native speakers with advanced English proficiency joined this study. They heard short stories describing a target object (e.g., an onion) either having undergone a substantial change-of-state (e.g., chop the onion) or a minimal change-of-state (e.g., weigh the onion) while their eye movements toward competing object-states (e.g., a chopped onion vs. an intact onion) and two unrelated distractors were tracked. We found that both groups successfully directed their visual attention toward the end-state of the target object that was implied in the linguistic context. However, neither group showed anticipatory eye movements toward the implied object-state when hearing the critical verb (e.g., "weigh/chop"). Only native English speakers but not non-native speakers showed a bias in visual attention during the determiner ("the") before the noun (e.g., "onion"). Our results suggested that although native and non-native speakers of English largely overlapped in their time-courses of keeping track of object-state representations during real-time language comprehension, non-native speakers showed a short delay in updating the implied object-state representations.

Neural substrates of the interplay between cognitive load and emotional involvement in bilingual decision making

Prior work has reported that foreign language influences decision making by either reducing access to emotion or imposing additional cognitive demands. In this fMRI study, we employed a cross-task design to assess at the neural level whether and how the interaction between cognitive load and emotional involvement is affected by language (native L1 vs. foreign L2). Participants completed a Lexico-semantic task where in each trial they were presented with a neutrally or a negatively valenced word either in L1 or L2, either under cognitive load or not. We manipulated cognitive load by varying the difficulty of the task: to increase cognitive demands, we used traditional characters instead of simplified ones in L1 (Chinese), and words with capital letters instead of lowercase letters in L2 (English). After each trial, participants decided whether to take a risky decision in a gambling game. During the Gamling task, left amygdala and right insula were more activated after having processed a negative word under cognitive load in the Lexico-semantic task. However, this was true for L1 but not for L2. In particular, in L1, cognitive load facilitated rather than hindered access to emotion. Further suggesting that cognitive load can enhance emotional sensitivity in L1 but not in L2, we found that functional connectivity between reward-related striatum and right insula increased under cognitive load only in L1. Overall, results suggest that cognitive load in L1 can favor access to emotion and lead to impulsive decision making, whereas cognitive load in L2 can attenuate access to emotion and lead to more rational decisions.

Positive effects of grasping virtual objects on memory for novel words in a second language

Theories of embodied cognition describe language processing and representation as inherently connected to the sensorimotor experiences collected during acquisition. While children grasp their world, collect bodily experiences and name them, in second language (L2), students learn bilingual word lists. Experimental evidence shows that embodiment by mean of gestures enhances memory for words in L2. However, no study has been conducted on the effects of grasping in L2. In a virtual scenario, we trained 46 participants on 18 two- and three-syllabic words of Vimmi, an artificial corpus created for experimental purposes. The words were assigned concrete meanings of graspable objects. Six words were learned audio-visually, by reading the words projected on the wall and by hearing them. Another 6 words were trained by observation of virtual objects. Another 6 words were learned by observation and additional grasping the virtual objects. Thereafter participants were subministered free, cued recall, and reaction time tests in order to assess the word retention and the word recognition. After 30 days, the recall tests were repeated remotely to assess the memory in the long term. The results show that grasping of virtual objects can lead to superior memory performance and to lower reaction times during recognition.

Action processing in the motor system: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) evidence of shared mechanisms in the visual and linguistic modalities

In two experiments, we compared the dynamics of corticospinal excitability when processing visually or linguistically presented tool-oriented hand actions in native speakers and sequential bilinguals. In a third experiment we used the same procedure to test non-motor, low-level stimuli, i.e. scrambled images and pseudo-words. Stimuli were presented in sequence: pictures (tool + tool-oriented hand action or their scrambled counterpart) and words (tool noun + tool-action verb or pseudo-words). Experiment 1 presented German linguistic stimuli to native speakers, while Experiment 2 presented English stimuli to non-natives. Experiment 3 tested Italian native speakers. Single-pulse trascranial magnetic stimulation (spTMS) was applied to the left motor cortex at five different timings: baseline, 200 ms after tool/noun onset, 150, 350 and 500 ms after hand/verb onset with motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) recorded from the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) and abductor digiti minimi (ADM) muscles. We report strong similarities in the dynamics of corticospinal excitability across the visual and linguistic modalities. MEPs' suppression started as early as 150 ms and lasted for the duration of stimulus presentation (500 ms). Moreover, we show that this modulation is absent for stimuli with no motor content. Overall, our study supports the notion of a core, overarching system of action semantics shared by different modalities.

Too late to be grounded? Motor resonance for action words acquired after middle childhood

Though well established for languages acquired in infancy, the role of embodied mechanisms remains poorly understood for languages learned in middle childhood and adulthood. To bridge this gap, we examined 34 experiments that assessed sensorimotor resonance during processing of action-related words in real and artificial languages acquired since age 7 and into adulthood. Evidence from late bilinguals indicates that foreign-language action words modulate neural activity in motor circuits and predictably facilitate or delay physical movements (even in an effector-specific fashion), with outcomes that prove partly sensitive to language proficiency. Also, data from newly learned vocabularies suggest that embodied effects emerge after brief periods of adult language exposure, remain stable through time, and hinge on the performance of bodily movements (and, seemingly, on action observation, too). In sum, our work shows that infant language exposure is not indispensable for the recruitment of embodied mechanisms during language processing, a finding that carries non-trivial theoretical, pedagogical, and clinical implications for neurolinguistics, in general, and bilingualism research, in particular.

The modality switching costs of Chinese-English bilinguals in the processing of L1 and L2

Modality switching cost indicates that people's performance becomes worse when they judge sequential information that is related to different sensory modalities than judging information that is related to the same modality. In this study, we conducted three experiments on proficient and non-proficient bilingual individuals to investigate the modality switching costs in L1 and L2 processing separately. In Experiment 1, materials were L1 and L2 words that were either conceptually related to a visual modality (e.g., light) or related to an auditory modality (e.g., song). The modality switching costs were investigated in a lexical decision task in both L1 and L2. Experiment 2 further explored the modality switching costs while weakening the activation level of the perceptual modality by adding a set of fillers. Experiment 3 used a word-naming task to explore the modality switching effect in language production in L1 and L2. Results of these experiments showed that the modality switching costs appeared in both language comprehension and production in L1 and L2 conditions. The magnitude of the modality switching costs was conditionally modulated by the L2 proficiency level, such as in the L2 condition in Experiment 1 and in both L1 and L2 conditions in Experiment 3. These results suggest that sensorimotor simulation is involved in not only language comprehension but also language production. The sensorimotor simulation that is acquired in L1 can be transferred to L2.