Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Semantic Effect on the Processing of Emotional Prosody in a tone language: A Neurolinguistic Study

口语中的情感信息主要通过语义线索和韵律线索两个渠道来表达。语义学是词和句子的意义。韵律是语言中的语调和重音模式，是语言的旋律。当个体在谈话中处理话语的含义时（即，你说什么），它们还检测说话者的情感韵律（即，你怎么说）。情感韵律是指通过调节语调来传达积极和消极情感的方式。语义和情感韵律的同时处理对于第二语言（L2）学习者来说是一个挑战，特别是在声调语言中，语音的音调可以编码意义和情感。本研究探讨了情感韵律对语义的影响，阐明了母语者和第二语言学习者在声调语言中处理语义和情感韵律的神经基础。博士论文项目使用功能性磁共振成像（fMRI），它确定了人类大脑中的语言处理区域，以研究语义（例如，积极的，“明智的”;否定意义“傲慢”）影响声调语言中单词（实验1）和句子（实验2）的情绪韵律加工。具体来说，研究人员比较了由语义和情感韵律激活的大脑区域，然后检查了处理情感的大脑区域，而不管渠道（语义或韵律），以及分别对语义和情感韵律独特的大脑区域。因此，研究结果澄清了母语者和第二语言学习者是否使用相同的大脑机制来处理声调语言中单词和句子的语义和情感韵律。该项目对语言使用中的情感线索经常被忽视的第二语言教学具有教学意义，并提供了情感韵律在跨文化交际中的作用的见解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

Emotional information in spoken languages is expressed via two channels: semantic and prosodic cues. Semantics is the meaning of words and sentences. Prosody is the patterns of intonation and stress in a language; the melody of a language. While individuals process the meaning of utterances in conversation (i.e., what you say), they also detect the emotional prosody of the speaker (i.e., how you say it). Emotional prosody refers to the ways in which the tone of voice can be modulated to convey positive and negative emotions. The simultaneous processing of semantics and emotional prosody can be challenging for second language (L2) learners, especially in tonal languages, where the tone of voice can encode both meaning and emotion. This study investigates how meaning is affected by emotional prosody, and it elucidates the neural basis of how native speakers and second language learners process semantics and emotional prosody in a tonal language. The doctoral dissertation project uses functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), which identifies language processing areas in the working human brain, to examine how semantics (e.g., positive, ‘wise’; negative meaning ‘arrogant’) affect the processing of emotional prosody in words (Experiment 1) and sentences (Experiment 2) in a tonal language. Specifically, the researchers compare the brain areas activated by semantics and emotional prosody, and then examine brain regions that process emotions regardless of channels (semantics or prosody), and brain regions that are unique to semantics and to emotional prosody respectively. The results thus clarify whether native speakers and L2 learners use the same brain mechanisms to process semantics and emotional prosody in words and sentences in a tonal language. The project has pedagogical implications for L2 instruction where emotional cues in language use is often ignored and provides insights into the role of emotional prosody in cross-cultural communication.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.