Cognitive and emotional features of self-identification in a secondary language personality: a psycholinguistic analysis

this article examines the cognitive and emotional aspects of secondary language personality formation in bilingual individuals. The relevance stems from globalization and the growing number of people who speak two or more languages, which raises new questions about the influence of a second language on self-identification. The theoretical overview summarizes current concepts of the “secondary language personality” – a personality acculturated into another linguistic culture. The cognitive features (changes in worldview, personality traits, decision-making) and emotional features (specifics of emotional expression, the phenomenon of “feeling different” when switching languages) of developing a bilingual identity are noted. An empirical study with Russian-English bilinguals (N=60) is presented, including self-report questionnaires on personality in the first vs. second language, scales of emotional expressivity, and identity. The results show statistically significant differences in self-assessment of certain personality traits depending on the language of communication, as well as changes in emotional engagement: in the second language, emotions are expressed with less intensity. Many bilinguals reported a subjective feeling of a shift in their personality when switching languages. The psychological mechanisms of these effects – activation of different cultural frameworks and reduced emotional reactivity in the second language – are discussed, as is the extent to which integration of two cultures mitigates the differences. The practical significance lies in considering cognitive-emotional factors in language education and bilingual support, to foster more harmonious bilingual identity development.

secondary language personality, bilingualism, self-identification, emotions, cognitive processes, psycholinguistics