Language and culture modulate online semantic processing

Abstract

Language has been shown to influence non-linguistic cognitive operations such as colour perception, object categorization and motion event perception. Here, we show that language also modulates higher level processing, such as semantic knowledge. Using event-related brain potentials, we show that highly fluent Welsh–English bilinguals require significantly less processing effort when reading sentences in Welsh which contain factually correct information about Wales, than when reading sentences containing the same information presented in English. Crucially, culturally irrelevant information was processed similarly in both Welsh and English. Our findings show that even in highly proficient bilinguals, language interacts with factors associated with personal identity, such as culture, to modulate online semantic processing.

Who is respectful? Effects of social context and individual empathic ability on ambiguity resolution during utterance comprehension

“…Generally speaking, the N400 responses are reduced in a highly-predictive sentential or discourse context in which the mental representation of contextual information or an individual lexical item facilitates the semantic access of the target word (e.g., “access account,” Kutas and Federmeier, 2011 ); the N400 responses are enhanced when a target word is incongruent with the previous lexical, sentential, or conversational context or is difficult in being integrated into the comprehender's knowledge or belief system (“integration account,” Hagoort et al, 2004 ; Van Berkum et al, 2009 ; Leuthold et al, 2012 ; Nieuwland and Martin, 2012 ; Jiang et al, 2013a , b ; Ellis et al, 2015 ; Wang et al, 2015 ). A respectful pronoun used to address a lower-status addressee or a less respectful pronoun used to address a higher-status addressee elicited increased N400 responses (Jiang et al, 2013b ).…”

“…A factual statement inconsistent with one's real-world knowledge (Hagoort et al, 2004 ) or with one's inference from a counter-factual construction (Nieuwland and Martin, 2012 ) elicited larger N400 responses. This N400 effect appears when a statement mismatched the cultural convention of the comprehender (“ Every single Welsh child can sing in tune ,” presented to a Welsh-speaking comprehender) but is absent when it is irrelevant (e.g., the same utterance presented to an English-speaking comprehender; Ellis et al, 2015 ). Morally-laden statements disagreeing with one's belief system elicit stronger N400 responses than agreeing statements (Van Berkum et al, 2009 ).…”

The auditory‐verbal hallucinations of Welsh–English bilingual people

“…For example, bilinguals’ views of themselves and the way that they express their personalities can differ according to whether they are conversing in their first (L1) or second language (L2) (Pavlenko; Ramírez‐Esparza, Gosling, Benet‐Martínez, Potter, & Pennebaker, ). Decision‐making (Keysar, Hayakawa, & An, ), emotional experience (Dewaele, ; Wu & Thierry, ), beliefs (Ellis et al ., ), and implicit cognitive biases (Wu & Thierry, ) are all differentially influenced by L1 and L2.…”

Timeline blurring in fluent Chinese-English bilinguals

“…Recent research has provided evidence that language influences cognitive functioning (Athanasopoulos, 2009;Boroditsky, 2001;Boutonnet, Athanasopoulos, & Thierry, 2012;Choi & Bowerman, 1991;Gentner & Goldin-Meadow, 2003;Lantz & Stefflre, 1964;Lucy, 1992;Lupyan & Ward, 2013;Whorf, 1956). Such effects have been demonstrated at the level of elementary visual perception (Thierry, Athanasopoulos, Wiggett, Dering, & Kuipers, 2009) and object categorisation (Boutonnet, Athanasopoulos, & Thierry, 2012;Cubelli, Paolieri, Lotto, & Job, 2011;Phillips & Boroditsky, 2003), through to high-level, abstract meaning processing such as event conceptualization (Flecken, Athanasopoulos, Kuipers, & Thierry, 2015) and cultural semantics (Ellis, et al, 2015).…”