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Grounded cognition: Comparing Language × Space interactions in first language and second language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2017

DANIELA KATHARINA AHLBERG Open the ORCID record for DANIELA KATHARINA AHLBERG [Opens in a new window] ,
HEIKE BISCHOFF ,
BARBARA KAUP ,
DOREEN BRYANT  and
JESSICA VANESSA STROZYK
DANIELA KATHARINA AHLBERG
Affiliation:
University of Tubingen
HEIKE BISCHOFF
Affiliation:
University of Tubingen
BARBARA KAUP
Affiliation:
University of Tubingen
DOREEN BRYANT
Affiliation:
University of Tubingen
JESSICA VANESSA STROZYK*
Affiliation:
University of Tubingen
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Jessica Strozyk, Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Schleichstrasse 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany. E-mail: jessica.strozyk@uni-tuebingen.de
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Abstract

The experiential traces account claims that language comprehension in one's first language (L1) is based on the reactivation of experiential traces that stem from experiencing the corresponding objects, states, or events. However, it remains unclear to what extent this is transferable to second language (L2) comprehension. In the present study, we compared German L1 speakers with German L2 speakers whose L1 uses similar or different spatial terms as German. In an adaptation of the Stroop paradigm, participants were instructed to respond to the font color of German spatial prepositions (e.g., auf “on,” über “above,” and unter “under/below”) by either an upward or a downward hand movement, resulting in compatible or incompatible responses. We found significant compatibility effects for all speakers, but also clear differences between speakers of different L1s. The results thereby support the assumption that experiential traces built during L1 usage play an important role in L2 processing.

Keywords

embodied cognitionexperiential tracessecond language processingspatial prepositions
Type
Original Article
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 39 , Issue 2 , March 2018 , pp. 437 - 459
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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References

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