How Do They Feel? Processing Others’ Emotions in Second Language Discourse

Abstract Emotion that is implied rather than literally expressed requires the processing of literal and pragmatic information. Processing multiple information types is an easy, fast process in the first language (L1) but can be costlier in a second language (L2), especially when emotional content is involved. This study investigates whether late learners of a L2 infer others’ emotions that are not literally stated in discourse. Spanish L1 users’ brain activity was recorded using event‐related brain potentials (ERPs) while they read two‐sentence sequences in their L1 or L2 (English). The emotionality of each critical sentence was determined by the emotionally neutral or negative preceding context sentence. We anticipated observing distinct neural patterns between neutral and negative conditions, particularly in ERP modulations associated with semantic fit (N400) and late reanalysis processes (LPP). However, no significant effects were found between emotion conditions in either the L1 or L2. We discuss the implications of these results regarding implicit emotion processing.