Bridging the gap between affective and linguistic processing in foreign language learners
About
"Research into persuasion by monolingual/bilingual speakers is dominated by exploration of the manipulative dimension of language (Maillat & Oswald, 2024), where manipulation is defined in terms of propositional argumentation. However, little attention has been paid to the role in persuasion played by emotions, which are non-propositional but hugely influential nonetheless (Dillard & Nabi, 2006). Indeed, over half the world’s population speak at least two languages (Grosjean, 2010), but the amount of research into the production and processing of persuasive speech in bilinguals, including emotion, does not reflect the sheer numbers of bilingual speakers. This is particularly the case in an understudied group, foreign language learners (FLL).
Current studies of meaning in context (pragmatics) in FLL focus on speech acts (Austin, 1963). However, crucially, this theory does not consider emotion. Pragmatics has evolved a long way beyond this stage and new connections between pragmatics and argumentation are being established all the time (Oswald, 2022). Furthermore, there is a rising interest in bringing affective research into a wide variety of disciplines, including linguistics and education (Dukes et al., 2021). The time is ripe for an exploration of the role played by emotion in persuasion and manipulation among FLLs.
This project develops new ideas from work on pragmatics and emotion (Wharton and de Saussure, 2023) and explores the fact that while reading and writing abilities are considered integral to foreign language competence, the degree of emotional engagement with persuasive input has been significantly understudied. Through analysing how bilinguals produce and process persuasive input, the project begins a conversation about the development of emotionality within the persuasive domain. Targeting a set of interconnected research gaps, it aims to bring into light the fact that language speakers are human in all senses, rational and affective, and investigates how emotion is expressed in real-world persuasive contexts."
