The Role of Language and Cultural Engagement in Emotional Fit with Culture: an Experiment Comparing Chinese-English Bilinguals to British and Chinese Monolinguals.

ABSTRACT: The current study investigated to what extent language and culture shape emotional experience. Specifically, we randomly assigned 178 Chinese English bilinguals to report on emotional situations, cultural exposure, engagement, and language proficiency in either English as a foreign language (LX) or Chinese (L1). We established their fit with both the typical patterns of emotions among British and Chinese monolinguals and predicted these fit indices from the survey language, cultural exposure, and engagement. Whereas monolinguals fitted their own culture's emotional patterns best, bilinguals fitted both the typical LX and L1 patterns equally well. The survey language affected bilinguals' emotional fit, but there was no evidence for true 'cultural frame switching'. Rather, bilinguals with lo

SUBMITTER: Zhou C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9382928 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature