Jalapeno or jalapeño: Do diacritics in consonant letters modulate visual similarity effects during word recognition?

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 579-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Marcet ◽  
Hnazand Ghukasyan ◽  
María Fernández-López ◽  
Manuel Perea
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Masked Priming ◽  
Visual Similarity ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Critical Letter ◽  
Prime Target

AbstractPrior research has shown that word identification times to DENTIST are faster when briefly preceded by a visually similar prime (dentjst; i↔j) than when preceded by a visually dissimilar prime (dentgst). However, these effects of visual similarity do not occur in the Arabic alphabet when the critical letter differs in the diacritical signs: for the target the visually similar one-letter replaced prime (compare and is no more effective than the visually dissimilar one-letter replaced prime Here we examined whether this dissociative pattern is due to the special role of diacritics during word processing. We conducted a masked priming lexical decision experiment in Spanish using target words containing one of two consonants that only differed in the presence/absence of a diacritical sign: n and ñ. The prime-target conditions were identity, visually similar, and visually dissimilar. Results showed an advantage of the visually similar over the visually dissimilar condition for muñeca-type words (muneca-MUÑECA < museca-MUÑECA), but not for moneda-type words (moñeda-MONEDA = moseda-MONEDA). Thus, diacritical signs are salient elements that play a special role during the first moments of processing, thus constraining the interplay between the “feature” and “letter” levels in models of visual word recognition.

scholarly journals Do ‘blacheap’ and ‘subcheap’ both prime ‘cheap’? An investigation of morphemic status and position in early visual word processing

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 1645-1654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Heathcote ◽  
Kate Nation ◽  
Anne Castles ◽  
Elisabeth Beyersmann
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Visual Word Recognition ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Visual Word ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Complex Words ◽  
Morphological Relationship ◽  
Prime Target ◽  
Real Complex

Much research suggests that words comprising more than one morpheme are decomposed into morphemes in the early stages of visual word recognition. In the present masked primed lexical decision study, we investigated whether or not decomposition occurs for both prefixed and suffixed nonwords and for nonwords which comprise a stem and a non-morphemic ending. Prime–target relatedness was manipulated in three ways: (1) primes shared a semantically transparent morphological relationship with the target (e.g., subcheap-CHEAP, cheapize-CHEAP); (2) primes comprised targets and non-affixal letter strings (e.g., blacheap-CHEAP, cheapstry-CHEAP); and (3) primes were real, complex words unrelated to the target (e.g., miscall-CHEAP, idealism-CHEAP). Both affixed and non-affixed nonwords significantly facilitated the recognition of their stem targets, suggesting that embedded stems are activated independently of whether they are accompanied by a real affix or a non-affix. There was no difference in priming between stems being embedded in initial and final string positions, indicating that embedded stem activation is position-independent. Finally, more priming was observed in the semantically interpretable affixed condition than in the non-affixed condition, which points to a semantic licensing mechanism during complex novel word processing.

Does Top-Down Feedback Modulate the Encoding of Orthographic Representations During Visual-Word Recognition?

2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 278-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Perea ◽  
Ana Marcet ◽  
Marta Vergara-Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Masked Priming ◽  
Visual Word ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Orthographic Representations ◽  
Visual Word Identification ◽  
Matched Case

Abstract. In masked priming lexical decision experiments, there is a matched-case identity advantage for nonwords, but not for words (e.g., ERTAR-ERTAR <  ertar-ERTAR; ALTAR-ALTAR = altar-ALTAR). This dissociation has been interpreted in terms of feedback from higher levels of processing during orthographic encoding. Here, we examined whether a matched-case identity advantage also occurs for words when top-down feedback is minimized. We employed a task that taps prelexical orthographic processes: the masked prime same-different task. For “same” trials, results showed faster response times for targets when preceded by a briefly presented matched-case identity prime than when preceded by a mismatched-case identity prime. Importantly, this advantage was similar in magnitude for nonwords and words. This finding constrains the interplay of bottom-up versus top-down mechanisms in models of visual-word identification.

scholarly journals Does consonant–vowel skeletal structure play a role early in lexical processing? Evidence from masked priming

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
MANUEL PEREA ◽  
ANA MARCET ◽  
JOANA ACHA
Keyword(s):  
Word Processing ◽  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Incongruent Condition ◽  
Masked Priming ◽  
Skeletal Structure ◽  
Basic Source ◽  
Written Word ◽  
Source Of Information

ABSTRACTIs the specific consonant–vowel (CV) letter combination of a word a basic source of information for lexical access in the early stages of processing? We designed two masked priming lexical decision experiments to respond to this question by directly examining the role of CV skeletal structure in written-word recognition. To that aim, each target word was preceded by a one-letter different nonword prime that kept the same CV skeletal structure or not. We also included an identity prime as a control. Results showed faster word identification times in the CV congruent condition than in the CV incongruent condition when a consonant was replaced from the target (paesaje–PAISAJE < parsaje–PAISAJE), but not when it was a vowel (alusno–ALUMNO = alueno–ALUMNO). This dissociation poses problems for those accounts based on an early activation of the CV skeletal structure during lexical processing. Instead, this pattern of data favors the view that it is the word's consonant skeleton rather than the CV skeletal structure that is the key element in the early phases of word processing. We discuss the theoretical and methodological implications of these findings.

The use of a rapid priming technique I: Adult language processing

1999 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-91
Author(s):  
Chris Davis ◽  
Anne Castles
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Incomplete Information ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Recognition System ◽  
Masked Priming ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Psycholinguistic Research ◽  
Skilled Readers ◽  
Priming Technique

ABSTRACTThis paper discusses the background and use of the masked priming procedure in adult psycholinguistic research. Using this technique, we address the issue of how precise the letter and word processing systems of adults is for rapidly displayed stimuli. Data is reviewed that suggests that, for skilled readers, the letter and word recognition system is sensitively tuned to the discrimination demands imposed on it by the properties of the written language. That is, the recognition system is able to be discriminative where precision is required, but is also able to consider and use incomplete information when this is predictive.

Gated Word Recognition by Postlingually Deafened Adults With Cochlear Implants: Influence of Semantic Context

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chhayakanta Patro ◽  
Lisa Lucks Mendel
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Spectral Composition ◽  
Semantic Context ◽  
Full Spectrum ◽  
Spoken Words ◽  
Vocoded Speech

PurposeThe main goal of this study was to investigate the minimum amount of sensory information required to recognize spoken words (isolation points [IPs]) in listeners with cochlear implants (CIs) and investigate facilitative effects of semantic contexts on the IPs.MethodListeners with CIs as well as those with normal hearing (NH) participated in the study. In Experiment 1, the CI users listened to unprocessed (full-spectrum) stimuli and individuals with NH listened to full-spectrum or vocoder processed speech. IPs were determined for both groups who listened to gated consonant-nucleus-consonant words that were selected based on lexical properties. In Experiment 2, the role of semantic context on IPs was evaluated. Target stimuli were chosen from the Revised Speech Perception in Noise corpus based on the lexical properties of the final words.ResultsThe results indicated that spectrotemporal degradations impacted IPs for gated words adversely, and CI users as well as participants with NH listening to vocoded speech had longer IPs than participants with NH who listened to full-spectrum speech. In addition, there was a clear disadvantage due to lack of semantic context in all groups regardless of the spectral composition of the target speech (full spectrum or vocoded). Finally, we showed that CI users (and users with NH with vocoded speech) can overcome such word processing difficulties with the help of semantic context and perform as well as listeners with NH.ConclusionWord recognition occurs even before the entire word is heard because listeners with NH associate an acoustic input with its mental representation to understand speech. The results of this study provide insight into the role of spectral degradation on the processing of spoken words in isolation and the potential benefits of semantic context. These results may also explain why CI users rely substantially on semantic context.

scholarly journals Morphological priming of inflectional suffixes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarina Marjanovic ◽  
Davide Crepaldi
Keyword(s):  
Priming Effect ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Masked Priming ◽  
Visual Word ◽  
Priming Paradigm ◽  
Morphological Priming ◽  
Visual Word Identification ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Complex Words

Morphologically complex words are processed through their constituent morphemes during visual word recognition. While this has been primarily established through the stem priming paradigm, the role of shared affixes is more controversial. Also, most evidence on affix priming comes from derivation, while inflectional priming remains largely unaddressed. Here we present two lexical decision, masked priming experiments filling this gap. Taking advantage of the rich inflectional pattern of Slovene, we assessed inflectional suffix priming (mestam–HALJAM), and compared it to the well-established stem priming effect (haljov–HALJAM): while the latter is solid as expected, the former seems to be weak to non–existing. Results further indicate that there is no interaction between sharing a stem and sharing an inflectional suffix—neither stem nor suffix priming is boosted when primes and targets also share the other morpheme. These data indicate an important difference between stems, derivational affixes and inflectional affixes, which we consider in the context of models of visual word identification and information theory.

scholarly journals The Omission of Accent Marks Does Not Hinder Word Recognition: Evidence From Spanish

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Marcet ◽  
María Fernández-López ◽  
Melanie Labusch ◽  
Manuel Perea
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Lexical Decision Task ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Similar Response ◽  
Opposite Pattern ◽  
Semantic Categorization ◽  
Blocked Design

Recent research has found that the omission of accent marks in Spanish does not produce slower word identification times in go/no-go lexical decision and semantic categorization tasks [e.g., cárcel (prison) = carcel], thus suggesting that vowels like á and a are represented by the same orthographic units during word recognition and reading. However, there is a discrepant finding with the yes/no lexical decision task, where the words with the omitted accent mark produced longer response times than the words with the accent mark. In Experiment 1, we examined this discrepant finding by running a yes/no lexical decision experiment comparing the effects for words and non-words. Results showed slower response times for the words with omitted accent mark than for those with the accent mark present (e.g., cárcel &lt; carcel). Critically, we found the opposite pattern for non-words: response times were longer for the non-words with accent marks (e.g., cárdil &gt; cardil), thus suggesting a bias toward a “word” response for accented items in the yes/no lexical decision task. To test this interpretation, Experiment 2 used the same stimuli with a blocked design (i.e., accent mark present vs. omitted in all items) and a go/no-go lexical decision task (i.e., respond only to “words”). Results showed similar response times to words regardless of whether the accent mark was omitted (e.g., cárcel = carcel). This pattern strongly suggests that the longer response times to words with an omitted accent mark in yes/no lexical decision experiments are a task-dependent effect rather than a genuine reading cost.

Comparing length and frequency effects in children across modalities

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (7) ◽  
pp. 1682-1691
Author(s):  
Jana Hasenäcker ◽  
Luianta Verra ◽  
Sascha Schroeder
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Beginning Readers ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Phonological Decoding ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Length Effects

Although it is well established that beginning readers rely heavily on phonological decoding, the overlap of the phonological pathways used in visual and auditory word recognition is not clear. Especially in transparent languages, phonological reading could use the same pathways as spoken word processing. In the present study, we report a direct comparison of lexical decision performance in the visual and auditory modality in beginning readers of a transparent language. Using lexical decision, we examine how marker effects of length and frequency differ in the two modalities and how these differences are modulated by reading ability. The results show that both frequency and length effects are stronger in the visual modality, and the differences in length effects between modalities are more pronounced for poorer readers than for better readers. This suggests that visual word recognition in beginning readers of a transparent language initially is based on phonological decoding and subsequent matching in the phonological lexicon, especially for poor readers. However, some orthographic processing seems to be involved already. We claim that the relative contribution of the phonological and orthographic route in beginning readers can be measured by the differences in marker effects between auditory and visual lexical decision.

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