Affective properties of the early vocabulary of Spanish as a second language and its relationship with lexical-semantic and grammatical factors.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the affective properties of the early vocabulary of Spanish as a second language (L2), specifically, those related to the dimensions of valence and arousal. Our aim is to verify whether there are differences between natives and non-natives in their lexical-semantic conceptualization of a corpus of words and if the mother tongue of the speaker modulates, in some way, these differences. Likewise, we are also interested in the role of some linguistic factors in the transfer of emotionality. We examine both the contrast with native speakers and the behavior of each group of non-natives. To try to explain these issues, we conducted a quantitative approach study involving five groups of Spanish learners from different backgrounds (Brazilian, Greek, Danish, American and Jamaican). Affective measures of 300 words were obtained through four questionnaires and interrelated by means of statistical models with six factors (grammatical category, type of word, intensity load, concreteness, mother tongue and modality). The overall results suggest a differentiated assessment in Spanish/L2, ranging from reduced emotion resonance (neutralization of negativity) to overestimate. Similar patterns were observed in all groups in relation to the effects of the factors considered.