Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-jr42d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T17:45:03.063Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Emotional factors of early vocabulary in Spanish as a second language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2022

Natividad Hernández Muñoz  and
Ana Blanco Canales
Natividad Hernández Muñoz*
Affiliation:
University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
Ana Blanco Canales
Affiliation:
University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
*
Address for correspondence: Natividad Hernández Muñoz, Facultad de Filología, Plaza de Anaya, 1, 37008 Salamanca, Spain E-mail: natih@usal.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Previous studies analysing the differences in emotionality in first and second language suggest that affective content of lexical items is modulated in certain contexts. This paper investigates the differences in valence and arousal ratings for 300 early words, in both oral and written modalities, through speakers’ subjective appraisal of words given by two immersion groups of Spanish late bilinguals (Chinese and European) compared with a group of native speakers. The main goal of our study is to identify the lexical areas where variability occurs, regarding to a set of affective (emotional charge and intensity), grammatical (nouns, adjectives and verbs) and semantic (concreteness) features of words. Our results show that valence is the dimension where the greatest variability is observed between native and bilinguals, although the influence of the independent factors differs considerably. Besides, arousal yields illuminating data regarding the grammatical category of words and differentiation between the groups of participants.

Keywords

emotional factorsbilingual lexiconSpanish vocabularyvalencearousal
Type
Research Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , May 2023 , pp. 476 - 489
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Altarriba, J (2003) Does cariño equal ‘liking’? A theoretical approach to conceptual nonequivalence between languages. International Journal of Bilingualism, 305–322.Google Scholar
Altarriba, J and Basnight-Brown, DM (2011) The representation of emotion vs. emotion-laden words in English and Spanish in the Affective Simon Task. International Journal of Bilingualism 15, 310–328. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1367006910379261CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Altarriba, J and Bauer, LM (2004) The distinctiveness of emotion concepts: A comparison between emotion, abstract, and concrete words. American Journal of Psychology 117, 389–410. https://doi.org/10.2307/4149007CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Averill, JR (1980) A constructivist view of emotion. In Plutchik, R and Kellerman, H (Eds.) Emotion: Theory, research and experience. New York: Academic Press, pp. 305–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ayçiçeği-Dinn, A and Caldwell-Harris C, L (2009) Emotion-memory effects in bilingual speakers: A levels-of-processing approach. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 12, 291–303. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728909990125CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bąk, H and Altarriba, J (2019) Feels different when s/he judges it – gender and grammar factors in emotion word evaluations. Poster presented at the International Society for Research on Emotions (ISRE), Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 12 July.Google Scholar
Barsalou, LW (1999) Perceptual symbol systems. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 22, 577–660. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525×99002149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baumeister, J C, Foroni, F, Conrad, M, Rumiati, RI and Winkielman, P (2017). Embodiment and emotional memory in first vs. second language. Frontiers in Psychology 8, Article 394. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00394CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blanco Canales, A and Hernández Muñoz, N (2022, forthcoming): The impact of language proficiency, cultural contact and attitudes on valence and arousal in Spanish as a second language. In Blanco, A and Martín, M (Eds.) Emotion and identity in second language learning. Oxford: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Bradley, M M and Lang, PJ (1999) Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW): Instruction Manual and Affective Ratings. Technical Report C-1, The Center for Research in Psychophysiology, University of Florida.Google Scholar
Brosch, T, Pourtois, G and Sander, D (2010) The perception and categorization of emotional stimuli: A review. Cognition and Emotion 24, 377–400. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930902975754CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caldwell-Harris, CL (2014) Emotionality Differences Between a Native and Foreign Language: Theoretical Implications. Frontiers in Psychology 5, Article 1055. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01055CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caldwell-Harris, CL and Ayçiçeği-Dinn, A (2009) Emotion and lying in a non-native language. International Journal of Psychophysiology 71(3), 193–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2008.09.006CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caldwell-Harris, CL, Tong, J, Lung, W and Poo, S (2011) Physiological reactivity to emotional phrases in Mandarin-English bilinguals. International Journal of Bilingualism, 15 , 329–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caldwell-Harris, CL, Staroselsky, M, Smashnaya, S and Vasilyeva, N (2012) Emotional resonances of bilinguals’ two languages vary with age of arrival: The Russian-English bilingual experience in the U.S. In Wilson, P (ed.), Dynamicity in emotion concepts. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Peter Lang, 373–395.Google Scholar
Citron, FMM (2012) Neural correlates of written emotion word processing: A review of recent electrophysiological and hemodynamic neuroimaging studies. Brain and Language 122, 211–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2011.12.007CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Citron, FMM, Weekes, BS and Ferstl, EC (2014) Arousal and emotional valence interact in written word recognition. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience 29, 1257–1267. https://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2014.897734CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colombetti, G (2005) Appraising Valence. Journal of Consciousness Studies 12, 103–126.Google Scholar
Damasio, A (1994) Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain. New York: HarperCollins.Google Scholar
De Groot, AMB (2011) Language and cognition in bilinguals and multilinguals: An introduction. New York and Hove: Psychology Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Degner, J, Doycheva, C and Wentura, D (2012) It matters how much you talk: On the automaticity of affective connotations of first and second language words. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 15, 181–189. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728911000095CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, JM (2004) Perceived language dominance and language preference for emotional speech: The implications for attrition research. In Schmid, M, Köptke, B, Keijzer, M and Weilemar, L (eds.), First language attrition: Interdisciplinary perspectives on methodological issues. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins, pp. 81–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, JM (2006) Expressing anger in multiple languages. In Pavlenko, A (ed.), Bilingual minds: Emotional experience, expression, and representation. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, pp. 118–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, JM (2010) Emotions in multiple languages. Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, JM and Pavlenko, A (2002) Emotion vocabulary in interlanguage. Language Learning 52, 265–324. https://doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.00185CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dolan, RJ (2002) Emotion, Cognition, and Behavior. Science 298 , 1191–1194.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eder, A, Hommel, B and de Houwer, J (2007) How distinctive is affective processing? On the implications of using cognitive paradigms to study affect and emotions. Cognition & Emotion 21, 1137–1154. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930701437386CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eilola, TM and Havelka, J (2011) Behavioural and physiological responses to the emotional and taboo Stroop tasks in native and non-native speakers of English. International Journal of Bilingualism 15, 353–369. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006910379263CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eilola, TM, Havelka, J and Sharma, D (2007) Emotional activation in the first and second language. Cognition and Emotion 21, 1064–1076. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930601054109CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fan, L, Xu, Q, Wang, X, Zhang, F, Yang, Y and Liu, X (2016) Neural correlates of task-irrelevant first and second language emotion words: evidence from the emotional face–word Stroop task. Frontiers in Psychology 7, 1672. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01672CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ferré, P, García, T, Fraga, I, Sánchez-Casas, R and Molero, M (2010) Memory for emotional words in bilinguals: Do words have the same emotional intensity in the first and in the second language? Cognition and Emotion 24 , 760–785. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930902985779CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fraga, I, Guasch, M, Haro, J, Padrón, I and Ferré, P (2018) EmoFinder: The meeting point for Spanish emotional words. Behavior Research Methods 50, 84–93.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garrido, MV and Prada, M (2018) Comparing the valence, emotionality and subjective familiarity of words in a first and a second language. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 24 , 275–291. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2018.1456514CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, CL (2004) Bilingual speakers in the lab: Psychophysiological measures of emotional reactivity. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 25, 223–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434630408666530CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, CL, Ayçiçeği, A and Gleason, JB (2003) Taboo Words and Reprimands Elicit Greater Autonomic Reactivity in a First Language Than in a Second Language. Applied Psycholinguistics 24, 561–579. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716403000286CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, CL, Gleason, JB and Ayçiçeĝi, A (2006) When is a first language more emotional? Psychophysiological evidence from bilingual speakers. In Pavlenko, A (ed.) Bilingual minds: Emotional experience, expression, and representation. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, pp. 257–283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hernández, A (2009) Language switching in the bilingual brain: What's next? Brain and Language 109, 133–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2008.12.005CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hinojosa, JA, Moreno, EM and Ferré, P (2019) Affective neurolinguistics: Towards a framework for reconciling language and emotion. Language, Cognition and Neurosicence 49, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2019.1620957 https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-017-1006-3Google Scholar
Imbault, C, Titone, D, Warriner, AB and Kuperman, V (2020) How are words felt in a second language: Norms for 2,628 English words for valence and arousal by L2 speakers. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 24 , 281–292. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728920000474CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Instituto Cervantes (2006) Plan curricular del Instituto Cervantes. Madrid: Instituto Cervantes.Google Scholar
Karandashev, V (2021) Cultural Models of Emotions. Dordrecht: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kazanas, SA and Altarriba, J (2016) Emotion Word Processing: Effects of Word Type and Valence in Spanish–English Bilinguals. Journal of Psycholinguist Research 45, 395–406. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-015-9357-3CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kousta, ST, Vinson, DP and Vigliocco, G (2009) Emotion words, regardless of polarity, have a processing advantage over neutral words. Cognition 112, 473–481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2009.06.007CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuperman, V, Estes, Z, Brysbaert, M and Warriner, AB (2014) Emotion and language: valence and arousal affect word recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology General 143, 1065–1081. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035669CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindquist, KA, MacCormack, JK and Shablack, H (2015) The role of language in emotion: Predictions from psychological constructionism. Frontiers in Psychology 6, Article 444. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00444CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paivio, A (1971) Imagery and verbal processes. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Palazova, M, Mantwill, K, Sommer, W and Schacht, AK (2001) Are effects of emotion in single words non-lexical? Evidence from event-related brain potentials. Neuropsychologia 49, 2766–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.06.005.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pavlenko, A (2008) Emotion and emotion-laden words in the bilingual brain. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 11, 147–164. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728908003283CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pavlenko, A (2012) Affective processing in bilingual speakers: Disembodied cognition? International Journal of Psychology 47, 405–428. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207594.2012.743665.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perfetti, C (2007) Reading Ability: Lexical Quality to Comprehension. Scientific Studies of Reading 11, 357–383. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888430701530730CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ponsonnet, M (2014) The Language of Emotions. The case of Dalabon (Australia). London: John Benjamins Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Richardson, JTE (2011) Eta squared and partial eta squared as measurements of effect size in educational research. Educational Research Review 6, 135–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2010.12.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, C and Altarriba, J (2014) The interrelationship between emotion, cognition, and bilingualism. Yearbook of the Poznan Linguistic Meeting 1, 103–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scherer, KR (2001) Appraisal Considered as a Process of Multilevel Sequential Checking. In Scherer, KR, Schorr, A and Johnstone, T (Eds.) Appraisal Processes in Emotion. Theory, Methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press Research, pp. 92–120.Google Scholar
Scherer, KR (2013) Measuring the meaning of emotion words: A domain-specific componential approach. In Fontaine, JJR, Scherer K, R y Soriano, C (Eds.). Components of emotional meaning. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 31–46.Google Scholar
Sheikh, NA and Titone, D (2016) The embodiment of emotional words in a second language: An eye-movement study. Cognition and Emotion 30, 488–500. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00394CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soares, AP, Comesaña, M, Pinheiro, AP, Simões, A and Frade, C (2011) The Adaptation of the Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW) for European Portuguese. Behavior Research Methods 44, 256–269. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0131-7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soriano, C (2013) Linguistic theories of lexical meaning. In. Fontaine, JJR, Scherer, KR, y Soriano, C (eds.), Components of emotional meaning: A sourcebook. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 63–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stadthagen-González, H, Imbault, C, Pérez Sánchez, MA and Brysbaert, M (2017) Norms of Valence and Arousal for 14,031 Spanish Words. Behavior Research Methods 49, 11–123. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-015-0700-2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strauss, GP and Allen, DN (2008) Emotional Intensity and Categorisation Ratings for Emotional and Nonemotional Words. Cognition and Emotion 22, 114–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930701319154CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sutton, TM, Altarriba, J, Gianico J, L and Basnight-Brown, D (2007) The automatic access of emotion: Emotional Stroop effects in Spanish–English bilingual speakers. Cognition and Emotion 21, 1077–1090. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930601054133CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vélez-Uribe, I and Rosselli, M (2019) The auditory and visual appraisal of emotion-related words in Spanish–English bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 22, 30–46. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728917000517CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warriner, AB, Shore, DI, Schmidt, LA, Imbault, CL and Kuperman, V (2017) Sliding Into Happiness: A New Tool for Measuring Affective Responses to Words. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology 71, 71–88 https://doi.org/10.1037/cep0000112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wierzbicka, A (1999) Emotions Across Languages and Cultures: Diversity and Universals. Cambridge: Cambridge University press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winskel, H (2013) The emotional Stroop task and emotionality rating of negative and neutral words in late Thai-English bilinguals. International Journal of Psychology 48. 1090–1098. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207594.2013.793800.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed