The Role of Language in the Perception and Emotional Expression of Anxiety: Autobiographical Memories of Spanish-English Heritage and Sequential Bilingual Speakers Öffentlichkeit

Abstract

The current study examines the role of language in the perception and expression of anxiety among English-Spanish heritage speakers. It was influenced by the work of Kyriakou et al. (2024), which examined bilingual emotional expression in the context of guilt. While prior research has explored broader emotions, this study focuses on anxiety due to its prevalence in many individual’s lives. Fourteen bilingual undergraduate students participated and were split into two categories: Spanish Heritage (n = 8) and Sequential Bilingual (n = 6) speakers. Participants reviewed and rated their level of anxiety after reading anxiety-inducing scenarios. They provided autobiographical memories regarding anxiety in English and then Spanish. Emotional Intelligence (EI) scores were also assessed.

Findings suggest that one’s mother tongue has some influence on anxiety expression. Spanish Heritage speakers reported higher anxiety ratings in Spanish. Sequential Bilinguals had more balanced ratings, although slightly higher in English. Linguistic analysis revealed that Spanish Heritage speakers produced more narratives about childhood and family in Spanish but more university-related stressors in English. Sequential Bilinguals primarily focused on university-related stress in both languages. Gender differences emerged, with female participants scoring higher in EI and using more anxiety-related words. Male participants used more anxiety-related words in Spanish than in English. These findings provide nuances to the discussion on the influence of language on emotional perception and memory recall.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction....................................................................................................................... 1 

1.1 Language and Thought….....................................................................................................2

1.2 Variations of Bilingualism…………….....................................................................................3

1.3 Autobiographical Memories and Bilingualism………...............................................................4

1.4 Emotional Intelligence and Bilingualism…………………………….…..…..…...…...................…….5

1.5 Emotional Intelligence and Anxiety AMs...............................................................................6

1.6 Gender on Emotional Intelligence and AMS………..................................................................6

2.0 The Current Study......................................................................;.........................................7

3.0 Methodology……………………………………………………............................................................8

4.0 Results ……………………………..............................................................................................14

5.0 Discussion…........................................................................................................................21

5.1 Limitations….......................................................................................................................25

5.2 Future Directions …………..………………………………..............................................................27

6.0 Conclusions………………………….………………………...............................................................28

7.0 References………………………….............................................................................................31

8.0 Appendices…………………………............................................................................................38

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Linguistics
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Language, Linguistics
Stichwort	Heritage Speakers Bilingualism Sequential Bilingual Emotional Intelligence Language and Thought Linguistic Relativity Autobiographical Memory Anxiety
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Yun Kim, Emory University
Committee Members	Donald Tuten, Emory University Jack Hardy, Emory University

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