Bilingual experience modulates the embodiment of emotive concepts in non-native language

Language, Cognition and Neuroscience . 2026. Vol. 0. No. 0. P. 1–23.

Karliukova A., Shtyrov Y., Abutalebi J., Myachykov A.

This study explores the influence of proficiency, exposure, immersion, age of acquisition, and reduced emotional resonance on sensorimotor biases in first- (L1) and second-language (L2) processing of the emotive lexicon. Eighty-five bilingual students rated positively and negatively valenced words in L1 (Russian) and L2 (English). Our analysis showed facilitated reaction times (RTs) in congruent (e.g., positively valenced words + right-hand response, negatively valenced words + left hand) vs. incongruent conditions in both languages, confirming the presence of sensorimotor biases in L1 and L2 emotive lexicons. However, slower RTs in L2 attenuated by proficiency, exposure, and immersion, demonstrated a lesser degree of sensorimotor activation. Furthermore, reduced emotional resonance attenuated the sensorimotor activation in L2, slower RTs being associated with higher reduced emotional resonance. The present results indicate stronger sensorimotor activations accompanying words in L1 vs. L2, emphasising the role of individual differences in conceptualisation of emotive words in bilingual language use.

Keywords: bilingualism, emotive concepts, embodied L2, embodied language processing, emotive L2 semantics