The Multidimensional Organisation of Embodied Meaning in a Second Language

Embodied cognition theories propose that conceptual knowledge is grounded in sensorimotor experience. Studies document embodied effects in second‐language (L2) processing, but the multidimensional organisation of L2 perceptual knowledge is less well understood. We examined perceptual strength and multivariate structure in L2 English. Forty‐one native Mandarin speakers rated 497 concepts in L1 Chinese, and 44 high‐proficiency Chinese–English bilinguals rated their English translations across six modalities. Ratings were compared with published L1 English norms. Linear mixed‐effects models tested mean differences, and k ‐means clustering and representational similarity analysis (RSA) examined multivariate structure. A secondary RSA compared perceptual geometry with Chinese and English word‐embedding geometry. Mean‐level analyses detected no reliable L1 Chinese–L2 English differences, whereas L2 English ratings exceeded L1 English ratings in auditory, haptic, and interoceptive strength. Clustering yielded greater L2 agreement with L1 English, but the difference was uncertain. Euclidean RSA identified a modest target‐language advantage that did not generalise to profile‐based metrics. Perceptual and distributional geometries were weakly correlated, with no reliable English‐model advantage for L2 English. These findings indicate continuing L1 influence alongside limited, metric‐dependent target‐language correspondence. They provide multivariate representational evidence relevant to established accounts of bilingual semantic representation.