Different kinds of embodied language: A comparison between Italian and Persian languages

Abstract

It is debated whether only concrete but also abstract, figurative sentences, e.g.: “She grasps the cup” vs. “She grasps the concept”, are grounded in the sensorimotor system. Importantly, studies on sentences with action verbs and motor system activation have been conducted so far only with WEIRD samples (Western cultures, in North American and European countries). The aim of our work is to investigate the relationship between language and motor responses using both concrete and abstract sentences in Italian and Persian languages. In the present study, Italian and Persian participants were asked to read the sentences on the screen. The sentences referred either literally or metaphorically to motor actions. They were accompanied by a video displaying a movement that could be congruent or incongruent with the one described in the sentence. Participants were asked to re-execute the movement observed and subsequently they had to perform the task evaluating whether the sentence made sense or not. In the Italian sample a strong effect of concreteness was present, especially in the congruent but also in the incongruent condition. In the Persian sample, instead, there was an inhibition effect of congruent trials, particularly with concrete sentences, and in the incongruent trials no difference in RTs between abstract and concrete sentences was present. Results indicate that cross-cultural differences have to be taken into account when investigating the relationship between language and action.