| Resumo: | The present work examines the affective grounding of first-native (L1) and secondlearned (L2) languages, and how they differently impact intra-individual, inter-individual and intergroup processes. In the first chapter we framed our work in the Socially Situated Cognition approach, and proposed the application of its assumptions to linguistic communication. In the second chapter we reviewed literature showing the differences in processing L1-L2, and concluded that these languages are not likely to be grounded in the same way. In the first empirical chapter we examined this assumption in two affective priming experiments. Congruency effects were observed only in L1 for prime/target word pairs, and in L1-L2 for pairs of word/photos (facial expressions). These results suggest different groundings of L1-L2, and that the presence of facial expressions, that facilitate affective simulation processes, may overrule L2 constraints. The second set of three experiments revealed that L2 induces social distance and a more abstract type of processing. Moreover, the social distance induced by L2 was mediated by a more abstract construal-level that is consistent with the disembodied nature of L2. The last set of two experiments indicates that the evaluation of sentences with affective content, presented in L1-L2, depends on their valence and on the group membership of the described targets. Affective simulation (measured with EMG) was more intense in L1, and for the in-group, and differences in simulation of in-group/out-group sentences were enhanced in L2. The last chapter presents a summary of the main findings, their contributions and limitations, and suggests future research directions.
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