Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Language and Cultural Communication (ICLCC 2026)

4th International Conference on Language and Cultural Communication (ICLCC 2026)

📍Beijing, China🗓️ 24-26 April 2026
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N400 Crosslinguistic Similarities and Differences for Bilinguals in Semantic Processing

Authors
Shucheng Qin1, *
1School of Foreign Studies, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China
*Corresponding author. Email: 241108082@smail.nju.edu.cn
Corresponding Author
Shucheng Qin
Available Online 13 July 2026.
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-597-3_9How to use a DOI?
Keywords
N400; bilingual semantic processing; crosslinguistic; similarities; differences
Abstract

N400 is a crucial ERP component indexing lexical-semantic access or post-lexical semantic integration. Previous studies have employed N400 as a vital component to investigate how bilinguals conduct semantic processing of L1 and L2 under various conditions. This paper, via systematic review of recent empirical studies (2018-2025), aims to synthesize crosslinguistic similarities and differences in N400 elicited from bilinguals and to reveal bilinguals’ neural mechanism of semantic processing reflected by their N400 patterns. Results show a similar basic neural mechanism and compensatory mechanism for both L1 and L2 semantic processing, as well as a different semantic and environment sensitivity between L1 and L2. Furthermore, moderating effects of individual proficiency, linguistic distance and emotional valence are discovered on crosslinguistic N400 patterns and semantic processing. Specifically, L2 proficiency changes processing into L1-like neural patterns, and emotional valence asymmetrically impacts L1 and L2. These findings suggest a dynamic bilingual semantic system where neural correlates are shaped by an interplay of linguistic, cognitive, and affective factors.

Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Language and Cultural Communication (ICLCC 2026)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
13 July 2026
ISBN
978-2-38476-597-3
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-597-3_9How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Shucheng Qin
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/13
TI  - N400 Crosslinguistic Similarities and Differences for Bilinguals in Semantic Processing
BT  - Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Language and Cultural Communication (ICLCC 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 72
EP  - 79
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-597-3_9
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-597-3_9
ID  - Qin2026
ER  -