Embodied Processing at Six Linguistic Granularity Levels: A Consensus Paper

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Linguistics
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Language processing is increasingly understood through sensorimotor experiences.
• Embodied and grounded cognition theories propose that language understanding relies on bodily and environmental interactions.
• Behavioral evidence supports these influences across various linguistic scales.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and synthesize behavioral evidence for embodied and grounded influences in language processing.
• To examine these influences across six distinct levels of linguistic granularity.
• To discuss the convergence of evidence and ongoing criticisms of the embodied approach.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing behavioral research on language processing.
• Analysis of evidence across sub-word features, words, sentences, texts, conversations, and text corpora.
• Consideration of simulation theory, iconicity, and distributional semantic models.

Main Results:

• Grounded influences are evident in iconicity (form-meaning links).
• Simulation of sensory modalities (color, space, action) impacts word and sentence processing.
• Embodied cues enhance conversational turn-taking and text comprehension.

Conclusions:

• Embodied and grounded perspectives offer a robust framework for understanding language psychology.
• Acknowledging criticisms and integrating diverse scientific methods is crucial for advancing the field.
• A multi-method approach across linguistic levels provides a comprehensive understanding of embodiment in language.