Emotionality in a second language: It's a matter of time

Abstract

The present study investigated the well acknowledged phenomenon of a different sense of emotionality in a person's first (L1) and second language (L2). Event-related potentials were recorded during the reading of pleasant, unpleasant and neutral words in L1 and L2. Enhanced processing of both emotional compared to neutral words was reflected in an amplified early posterior negativity (EPN) about 280–430ms after word onset. While the EPN did not differ in amplitude between L1 and L2, it was delayed for L2. Interestingly, a better task performance in L2 but not L1 predicted longer delays of the EPN. These results might indicate that the affective valence of L2 words is processed in a less immediate way due to delayed lexical access. This is interpreted in terms of interference in a highly integrated L1/L2 mental lexicon.