Study on the effect of embodiment on Lexicosemantic Aging: Evidence based on the processing of Chinese action verbs

Previous studies have extensively found that language is embodied and language undergoes aging, yet little attention has been paid to correlate the two issues. To address this gap, the present study put forward the Embodiment Effect on Lexicosemantic Aging (EELA) Hypothesis, which posits that words with stronger magnitude of embodiment are less susceptible to aging, whereas words with weaker magnitude of embodiment exhibit greater aging effects. To test this hypothesis, the present study employed three categories of action verbs, namely, the limb action verb, the face action verb, and the natural-change action verb, which were graded in embodiment, and recruited three age groups of adults (i.e., young, middle-aged and elderly ones) to perform a semantic categorization task. The results revealed a systematic processing hierarchy, with action verbs with the largest embodiment magnitude ( limb action verbs) underwent the least aging, action verbs with the second largest embodiment magnitude ( face action verbs) underwent more aging, action verbs with the smallest embodiment magnitude ( natural-change action verbs) underwent the largest aging. These findings provide support for the EELA Hypothesis. • The EELA Hypothesis links embodiment to lexicosemantic aging for the first time. • Lexicosemantic aging is tested using Chinese action verbs with graded embodiment. • Limb action verbs with the strongest embodiment show the least lexicosemantic aging. • A gradient effect reveals stronger embodiment reduces lexicosemantic aging. • Findings highlight the protective effect of embodiment against semantic aging.