Neuroscience Laboratory, University Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile.
Neurosci Lett. 2010 Feb 26;471(1):48-52. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.01.009. Epub 2010 Jan 15.
Gestures should play a role in second language comprehension, given their importance in conveying contextual information. In this study, the N400 and the LPC were evaluated in a task involving the observation of videos showing utterances accompanied by gestures. Students studying advanced (G-High participants) and basic German (G-Low participants) as a second language were investigated. The utterance-gesture congruence and metaphoric meaning of content were manipulated during the task. As in previous ERP reports with native speakers, metaphorical expressions were sensitive to gestures. In G-Low participants, no modulation in the 300-500 ms window was observed, and only a modest effect was observed for the 500-700 ms window. More subtle differences of verbal expression were not processed in this group. Consistent with previous reports of the same paradigm with native speakers, the N400 from G-High group discriminated both congruent and incongruent gestures as well as literal and metaphorical sentences. Our results suggest that semantic processing is robust in the learning of a second language, although the amplitude modulation and latency of ERPs might depend on the speaker's proficiency level.
鉴于手势在传递语境信息方面的重要性，它们应该在第二语言理解中发挥作用。在这项研究中，我们在一项涉及观察带有手势的话语视频的任务中评估了 N400 和 LPC。研究对象是作为第二语言学习高级德语（G-High 参与者）和基础德语（G-Low 参与者）的学生。在任务中操纵了话语-手势的一致性和内容的隐喻意义。与母语者的先前 ERP 报告一样，隐喻表达对手势敏感。在 G-Low 参与者中，在 300-500ms 窗口中没有观察到调制，并且仅在 500-700ms 窗口中观察到适度的效果。在这个群体中，没有处理更微妙的言语表达差异。与母语者相同范式的先前报告一致，G-High 组的 N400 区分了一致和不一致的手势以及字面和隐喻句子。我们的研究结果表明，第二语言学习中的语义处理是稳健的，尽管 ERP 的幅度调制和潜伏期可能取决于说话者的熟练程度。
