Love and War Across Languages. Auditory Processing of Emotion Words in Dutch-English Bilinguals
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2026-04-24
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en
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Words carry emotional connotations; however, bilinguals often experience them differently across languages. Research has shown reduced emotional engagement in later-acquired languages, particularly in studies using written stimuli. This study examined whether emotional detachment in a non-native language also occurs in the auditory modality. Thirty-six Dutch-English bilinguals listened to negative, neutral, and positive words in L1 or L2 and categorised their emotional valence. Results revealed language-dependent effects in emotional processing. Behaviourally, negative words were recognised more accurately and faster than positive words in L1, whereas this effect was attenuated in L2. At the neural level, negative words elicited higher LPC amplitudes than neutral words in both languages; however, this effect was stronger in L1 than in L2. Additionally, while LPC amplitudes were higher for negative than positive words in L1, no valence effect was observed in L2. Together, these findings demonstrate attenuated emotional responding in L2 in the auditory modality.
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