Inhibitory reversal of morpheme-mediated semantic priming in L2 Chinese: embodiment conflicts in conventional action metaphor processing

Semantic priming typically facilitates lexical access; however, this facilitation may reverse into inhibition under certain interferences, such as embodied conflicts in Second Language (L2) processing. For adult L2 learners, automatic literal sensorimotor simulations may disrupt metaphorical integration, potentially inducing inhibitory reversal in conventional action metaphors [e.g., Chinese “吃亏 “(chī kuī, literally “eat loss,” figuratively “suffer the loss”)]—a key gap in bilingual cognition. This study examines this reversal in L2 Chinese metaphor processing versus L1. Forty-three Vietnamese-speaking L2 learners of Chinese (HSK 5–6) and forty-seven first-language (L1) Chinese speakers completed a delayed-response semantic plausibility judgment task with morpheme-mediated semantic priming. Targets—literal, conventional metaphorical, and unrelated verb-object (VO) constructions—were each preceded by their identical verb morpheme (e.g., “吃” primes “吃亏”). Mixed-effects models revealed an opposite directional reversal in L2 learners: facilitation in literal versus unrelated baseline (shorter reaction times [RTs]; reduced errors) but inhibition in metaphorical versus unrelated baseline (elevated errors; nonsignificant RTs). In contrast to L2’s reversal pattern, L1 Chinese speakers exhibited uniform dual inhibition across literal and metaphorical conditions (elevated errors; nonsignificant RTs), with a significant Group × Condition interaction. This study reveals an L2-specific reversal of priming in action metaphors (literal facilitation vs. metaphorical inhibition, primarily evident in error rates), originating from a dynamic mismatch between embodied simulations and semantic integration, a process potentially involving increased inhibitory control demands, while remaining consistent with broader processing costs at the behavioral level. These findings offer insights into the double-edged role of L2 embodiment in language processing -- helping Literal while hurting Metaphorical, providing implications for theories of embodied cognition and bilingualism and also informing practical pedagogy in L2 acquisition.