Embodiment Effect on the Comprehension of Mandarin Manual Action Language: An ERP Study

Authors:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Embodiment theories argue that language comprehension involves activating specific sensory–motor systems in the brain. Previous research performed in English and other Indo-European languages suggests that, when compared to compatible sentences referring to the same actions performed sequentially (e.g. ‘After cleaning the wound he unrolled the bandage’), incompatible sentences describing two manual actions performed simultaneously by an agent (e.g. ‘While cleaning the wound he unrolled the bandage’) were worse understood and increased the event-related potentials (ERPs) component N400. The present ERP research aims to further investigate brain response to motor compatibility in native Mandarin speakers. The Chinese experimental sentences described two manual actions either in incongruent conditions marked by the Chinese parallel structure 一边… 一边… (‘yibian…yibian…’/‘while… while…’) or congruent conditions marked by the sequential structure 先… 然后… (‘xian…ranhou…’/‘firstly… then…’). The last action clause elicited larger fronto-central N400 in the incongruent condition, which reveals that there are semantic embodiment effects on the comprehension of Mandarin manual action language.
Funding Information
  • Key Project of the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities in China (DUT18RW212)
  • the Research Funds for the School of International Education at Dalian University of Technology (SIE18RZD1)
  • Spanish MINECO (PSI2015-66277-R)
  • Visiting Professor Program at Dalian University of Technology

This publication has 46 references indexed in Scilit: