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It matters how much you talk: On the automaticity of affective connotations of first and second language words

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 September 2011

JULIANE DEGNER ,
CVETA DOYCHEVA  and
DIRK WENTURA
JULIANE DEGNER*
Affiliation:
University of Amsterdam
CVETA DOYCHEVA
Affiliation:
University Heidelberg
DIRK WENTURA
Affiliation:
Saarland University
*
*Address for correspondence: Juliane Degner, University of Amsterdam, Social Psychology, Roeterstraat 15, 1018WB Amsterdam, the Netherlandsj.degner@uva.nl
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Abstract

We report the results of an affective priming study conducted with proficient sequential German and French bilinguals to assess automatic affective word processing in L1 and L2. Additionally, a semantic priming task was conducted in both languages. Whereas semantic priming effects occurred in L1 and L2, and significant affective priming effects were found in L1, affective priming effects in L2 were only found for participants with high levels of language immersion and frequency of L2 use. These results suggest that for sequential bilinguals the intensity of L2 use largely determines whether emotional words in L2 automatically activate their affective connotations.

Keywords

bilingualismautomaticityemotionaffective primingsemantic priming
Type
Research Notes
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 15 , Special Issue 1: Bilingual children with Specific Language Impairment , January 2012 , pp. 181 - 189
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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