Couch potato' vs. 'sweet potato': How the bilingual brain understands metaphors
Presentation Type
Abstract
Faculty Advisor
Lauren Covey
Access Type
Event
Start Date
25-4-2025 10:30 AM
End Date
25-4-2025 11:29 AM
Description
The present study aims to investigate how bilinguals and monolinguals process metaphors. We examine whether bilinguals and monolinguals demonstrate different processing patterns for familiar vs novel metaphors. Previous research has shown that both bilinguals and monolinguals process metaphors in the left hemisphere (LH) as opposed to the right hemisphere (RH) (Segal & Gollan, 2018). Similar research indicates that novel metaphors tend to increase activity in the RH (Faust & Mashal, 2007; Mashal et al., 2007). However, there is a gap in the literature regarding how bilinguals process metaphors compared to monolinguals. A 2x2 experimental design was used to measure the effect of METAPHORICITY (literal vs metaphor) and FAMILIARITY (familiar vs novel). Data collection is ongoing; the current participant sample includes 11 Spanish-English bilinguals and 20 English monolinguals; all participants were right-handed. A divided visual field (DVF) task was used to measure the semantic processing of word pairs in the LH/RH. The second word pair was flashed in either the left or right visual field (VF) to activate cerebral lateralization. Reaction time (RT) and accuracy were measured as dependent variables. The Lextale test (Lemhöfer & Broersma, 2012) was used to assess vocabulary knowledge amongst participants. Our findings indicate that bilinguals process metaphors similarly to monolinguals, with more activity appearing in the LH than in the right (Segal & Gollan, 2018). Lextale scores show that individuals with larger vocabulary knowledge had faster reaction times; this suggests that there is a lexicalization effect between vocabulary and metaphor comprehension.
Couch potato' vs. 'sweet potato': How the bilingual brain understands metaphors
The present study aims to investigate how bilinguals and monolinguals process metaphors. We examine whether bilinguals and monolinguals demonstrate different processing patterns for familiar vs novel metaphors. Previous research has shown that both bilinguals and monolinguals process metaphors in the left hemisphere (LH) as opposed to the right hemisphere (RH) (Segal & Gollan, 2018). Similar research indicates that novel metaphors tend to increase activity in the RH (Faust & Mashal, 2007; Mashal et al., 2007). However, there is a gap in the literature regarding how bilinguals process metaphors compared to monolinguals. A 2x2 experimental design was used to measure the effect of METAPHORICITY (literal vs metaphor) and FAMILIARITY (familiar vs novel). Data collection is ongoing; the current participant sample includes 11 Spanish-English bilinguals and 20 English monolinguals; all participants were right-handed. A divided visual field (DVF) task was used to measure the semantic processing of word pairs in the LH/RH. The second word pair was flashed in either the left or right visual field (VF) to activate cerebral lateralization. Reaction time (RT) and accuracy were measured as dependent variables. The Lextale test (Lemhöfer & Broersma, 2012) was used to assess vocabulary knowledge amongst participants. Our findings indicate that bilinguals process metaphors similarly to monolinguals, with more activity appearing in the LH than in the right (Segal & Gollan, 2018). Lextale scores show that individuals with larger vocabulary knowledge had faster reaction times; this suggests that there is a lexicalization effect between vocabulary and metaphor comprehension.
Comments
Poster presentation at the 2025 Student Research Symposium.