How are words felt in a second language

Norms for 2,628 English words for valence and arousal by L2 speakers

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21697809
AutoresConstance Imbault (0000-0002-5006-4665, McMaster University, autor de correspondencia), Debra Titone (0000-0001-9060-9896, McGill University), Amy Beth Warriner (McMaster University), Victor Kuperman (0000-0001-8961-3767, University of Waterloo)
Año2021
Volumen24
Número2
Páginas281-292
Fecha de publicación2021-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaBilingualism Language and Cognition (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1366-7289 • E-ISSN: 1469-1841
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1366728920000474
OpenAlexW3080872415
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas19
Referencias citadas51

The topic of non-native language processing has been of steady interest in past decades. Yet, conclusions about the emotional responses in L2 have been highly variable. We conducted a large-scale rating study to explicitly measure how non-native readers of English respond to the valence and arousal of 2,628 English words. We investigated how the effect of a rater's L2 proficiency, length of time in Canada, and the semantic category of the word affects how L2 readers experience and rate that word. L2 speakers who had lived a longer time in Canada, and reported higher English proficiency, showed emotional responses that were more similar to those of L1 speakers of English. Additionally, valence differences between L1 and L2 raters were greater in words that L2 raters do not typically use in English. These findings highlight the importance of behavioural ecology in language learning, particularly as it applies to emotional word processing

Arousal · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Emotional valence · First language · Linguistics · Second language · Categorization, perception, and language · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism · Psychology · Social Psychology