Language background impacts motion event categorization : evidence from English and Turkish speakers
(2026) In Language and Cognition 18.- Abstract
- The languages individuals speak have been observed to influence how they perceive and interpret certain aspects of the world, but the conditions that give rise to these effects are not always clearly defined. One way to address the issue is to examine specific task contexts in which language is likely to modulate perception. Building on this, the aim of the present study was to investigate the role that native language (L1) plays in shaping motion processing in functional monolingual Turkish and English speakers (i.e., without intermediate or advanced proficiency in a second language) by using a supervised classification paradigm that involved sorting animated events based on either manner of motion or path. A total of 120 participants,... (More)
- The languages individuals speak have been observed to influence how they perceive and interpret certain aspects of the world, but the conditions that give rise to these effects are not always clearly defined. One way to address the issue is to examine specific task contexts in which language is likely to modulate perception. Building on this, the aim of the present study was to investigate the role that native language (L1) plays in shaping motion processing in functional monolingual Turkish and English speakers (i.e., without intermediate or advanced proficiency in a second language) by using a supervised classification paradigm that involved sorting animated events based on either manner of motion or path. A total of 120 participants, including 60 native English speakers and 60 native Turkish speakers, were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions. The findings revealed a performance advantage for the English speakers in the manner-discrimination condition, in line with specific linguistic distinctions between the two languages. In contrast, overall performance was similar across the two groups when discrimination was based on path, a feature inherently expressed in both languages. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/286f805a-5406-40e4-ac69-7bbb3fa5d0ef
- author
- Fulga, Angelica and Athanasopoulos, Panos LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- cross-linguistic differences, language and thought, linguistic relativity, motion representation, working memory, the label-feedback hypothesis, predictive processing
- in
- Language and Cognition
- volume
- 18
- pages
- 18 pages
- publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105037509384
- ISSN
- 1866-9859
- DOI
- 10.1017/langcog.2026.10075
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 286f805a-5406-40e4-ac69-7bbb3fa5d0ef
- date added to LUP
- 2026-05-12 08:40:23
- date last changed
- 2026-05-21 14:26:27
@article{286f805a-5406-40e4-ac69-7bbb3fa5d0ef,
abstract = {{The languages individuals speak have been observed to influence how they perceive and interpret certain aspects of the world, but the conditions that give rise to these effects are not always clearly defined. One way to address the issue is to examine specific task contexts in which language is likely to modulate perception. Building on this, the aim of the present study was to investigate the role that native language (L1) plays in shaping motion processing in functional monolingual Turkish and English speakers (i.e., without intermediate or advanced proficiency in a second language) by using a supervised classification paradigm that involved sorting animated events based on either manner of motion or path. A total of 120 participants, including 60 native English speakers and 60 native Turkish speakers, were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions. The findings revealed a performance advantage for the English speakers in the manner-discrimination condition, in line with specific linguistic distinctions between the two languages. In contrast, overall performance was similar across the two groups when discrimination was based on path, a feature inherently expressed in both languages.}},
author = {{Fulga, Angelica and Athanasopoulos, Panos}},
issn = {{1866-9859}},
keywords = {{cross-linguistic differences; language and thought; linguistic relativity; motion representation; working memory; the label-feedback hypothesis; predictive processing}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Cambridge University Press}},
series = {{Language and Cognition}},
title = {{Language background impacts motion event categorization : evidence from English and Turkish speakers}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2026.10075}},
doi = {{10.1017/langcog.2026.10075}},
volume = {{18}},
year = {{2026}},
}