Abstract: Semantic priming is the effect that the activation of meaning can spread to the neighboring nodes. A large number of studies have confirmed the effect within certain language (e.g., Hernandez et al. 1996；Heyman et al. 2016；Kootstra & Muysken 2017) and across different languages (e.g., Ferré et al. 2015). Recent research has extended semantic priming effect to the cross-modal level. Results from those studies indicate meaning can spread between language and gesture system (e.g., Kelly et al. 2004; Yap et al. 2011), which is attributed to the iconic feature of gesture. Sign language, as a natural language, bears both iconicity and symbolicity. However, few studies examined the semantic priming effect between spoken language and sign language. In addition, some researchers started to pay attention to the modulating role of L2 proficiency in semantic priming (e.g., Nakayama et al. 2016). Therefore, the current study investigated semantic priming effect in Chinese monolinguals and Chinese-Chinese sign language (CSL) bilinguals. In the experiment, a word judgment task was used to investigate the semantic priming effect between Chinese and CSL. Participants were asked to watch a video clip of a hand gesture of a CSL sign, and then judge if a target word is a real Chinese word or a fake one. Due to the material type that half of the CSL signs are iconic and half of the real words are semantically related to CSL signs, if there exists cross-modal semantic priming effect participants’ judging behavior would be different according to different characteristics of signs and words. Thus, a measure of cross-modal semantic priming effect can be computed by comparing the mean judgment RT for the real Chinese words semantically related or irrelated to CSL signs. Experiment results showed that in the trials of iconic signs, both L2 CSL signers and Chinese monolinguals judged semantically related words more efficiently than semantically irrelated words. However, in trails of symbolic signs, only L2 CSL signers judged semantically related words more efficiently than irrelated words. Chinese monolinguals judged the two types of words with no significant difference. The results indicate that there exists cross-modal semantic priming effect, but the effect is modulated by sign iconicity and L2 CSL proficiency. Chinese-CSL bilinguals may have constructed a Chinese lexicon system and a CSL lexicon system, but they share one conceptual system. Therefore, the meaning activation can spread across modal from CSL signs to Chinese words. However, Chinese monolinguals do not have CSL lexicon system. The cross-modal semantic priming effect of Chinese monolinguals relies on the visual similarity of iconic signs. Together, the results attribute the cross-modal semantic priming effect to the shared conceptual representation of Chinese and CSL. Iconic signs, like iconic gestures, can activate meaning for non-signers, but symbolic signs cannot.

Key words: cross-modal, semantic priming, iconicity, visual simulation, CSL learning experience

摘要： 采用启动条件下的词汇判断任务，考察熟练手语使用者和无手语经验成年听人的跨模态语义启动效应。结果发现：1)在象似词条件下，两组被试判断汉语语义相关词的反应时均快于语义无关词，说明手语象似词和汉语词之间存在跨模态语义启动效应。2)在非象似词条件下，仅手语熟练被试判断汉语语义相关词的反应时快于语义无关词，无手语经验被试判断汉语语义相关词和无关词的速度没有差异。这是由于前者心理词库中的手语词和口语词共享语义表征，而后者主要依赖手语象似词的视觉模拟性。整个研究表明，中国手语和汉语间存在跨模态语义启动效应，但该效应受到手语词象似性和手语学习经历的调节。

关键词: 跨模态, 语义启动, 象似性, 视觉模拟性, 手语学习经验