Affective Norms for German as a Second Language (ANGL2)

The present study introduces affective norms for a set of 880 German words rated by learners of German as a second language (L2), i.e., the Affective Norms for German as a Second Language (ANGL2). The database provides ratings across affective and subjective psycholinguistic dimensions. Besides valence and arousal ratings, ANGL2 features data on emotional prototypicality, which helps to identify emotion-label words and emotion-laden words. Moreover, the database includes two additional semantic variables: concreteness and familiarity. We observed similarities with previous studies, and the ratings provided by L2 speakers demonstrate characteristics that should be noted in studies involving bilinguals, including more moderate valence ratings, and a stronger correlation between valence and arousal, specifically for positive words. ANGL2 is the first set of affective norms that has been rated by L2 speakers for a language other than English. The set of norms is aimed to function as a resource for psycholinguistic experimental studies on the intersection between emotion and language among L2 speakers.