Contributions of semantic richness to the processing of idioms

Abstract Idiom studies typically consider variables such as familiarity, decomposability and literal plausibility, and the contributions of these to how figurative phrases are processed are well established. In this study we consider the effect of a previously untested variable: semantic richness. Semantic richness refers broadly to the range of semantic information denoted by a lexical item, and reflects features such as imageability, number of senses, semantic neighbourhood, etc. This has generally been restricted to single words and sometimes to metaphors, so here we investigate how some aspects of this measure – specifically those reflecting perceptual characteristics – contribute to the processing of idiomatic expressions. Results show that aspects of semantic richness affect idiom processing in different ways, with some (emotional valence) contributing to faster processing of figuratively related words, and others (those that highlight physical and literal aspects of the idiom) showing an inhibitory effect. We also show that for some of the dimensions of semantic richness considered here, there is a significant correlation between a measure constructed from the ratings of component words, and one gathered from ratings for the phrase as a whole, suggesting a straightforward way to operationalise semantic richness at a multiword level.

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EXPRESS: Individual Word Activation and Word Frequency Effects during the Processing of Opaque Idiomatic Expressions

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology ◽

10.1177/17470218211047995 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 174702182110479

Author(s):

Ferdy Hubers ◽

Catia Cucchiarini ◽

Helmer Strik ◽

Ton Dijkstra

Keyword(s):

Target Word ◽

Word Frequency ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Inhibitory Effect ◽

Primed Word ◽

Idiomatic Expressions ◽

The Individual ◽

The Relationship ◽

Correct Target ◽

Idiom Processing

Idiom processing studies have paid considerable attention to the relationship between idiomatic expressions as a whole and their constituent words. Although most research focused on the semantic properties of the constituent words, their orthographic form could also play a role in processing. To test this, we assessed both form and meaning activation of individual words during the processing of opaque idioms. In two primed word naming experiments, Dutch native speakers silently read sentences word by word and then named the last word of the sentence. This target word was embedded in either an idiomatic or a literal context, and was either expected/correct in this context (COR), or semantically related (REL) or unrelated (UNREL) to the expected word. The correct target word in the idiomatic context was always part of an opaque idiom. Faster naming latencies for the idiom-final noun than for the unrelated target in the idiomatic context indicated that the idiom was activated as a whole during processing. In addition, semantic facilitation was observed in the literal context (COR<REL<UNREL), but not in the idiomatic context (COR<REL=UNREL). This is evidence that the idiom-final noun was not activated at the meaning level of representation. However, an inhibitory effect of orthographic word frequency of the idiom-final noun indicated that the idiom-final noun was activated at the form level. These results provide evidence in favor of a hybrid model of idiom processing in which the individual words and the idiom as a whole interact on form and meaning levels of representation.

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Ratings of Affective and Non-Affective Aspects of German Idioms in Second Language Processing

Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition ◽

10.31261/tapsla.2019.05.02 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 11-42

Author(s):

Teodor Petrič

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Processing ◽

Emotional Processing ◽

Figurative Language ◽

Second Language Learners ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Emotional Valence ◽

Large Set ◽

Language Technology ◽

Idiomatic Expressions

AbstractIn this paper psycholinguistic and emotional properties of 619 German idiomatic expressions are explored. The list of idiomatic expressions has been adapted from Citron et al. (2015), who have used it with German native speakers. In our study the same idioms were evaluated by Slovene learners of German as a foreign language. Our participants rated each idiom for emotional valence, emotional arousal, familiarity, concreteness, ambiguity (literality), semantic transparency and figurativeness. They also had the task to describe the meaning of the German idioms and to rate their confidence about the attributed meaning. The aims of our study were (1) to provide descriptive norms for psycholinguistic and affective properties of a large set of idioms in German as a second language, (2) to explore the relationships between psycholinguistic and affective properties of idioms in German as a second language, and (3) to compare the ratings of the German native speakers studied in Citron et al. (2015) with the ratings of the Slovene second language learners from our study. On one hand, the results of the Slovene participants show many similarities with those of of the German native speakers, on the other hand, they show a slight positivity bias and slightly shallower emotional processing of the German idioms. Our study provides data that could be useful for future studies investigating the role of affect in figurative language in a second language setting (methodology, translation science, language technology).

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ENGLISH IDIOMS: TRANSFORMATION OF IMAGE

World Science ◽

10.31435/rsglobal_ws/30092018/6138 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 66-68

Author(s):

Olesia Prysiazhna ◽

Liudmyla Tulchak ◽

Nataliia Hadaichuk ◽

Svitlana Medvedieva

Keyword(s):

The Other ◽

Technical Literature ◽

Political Literature ◽

Semantic Richness ◽

Other Hand ◽

Idiomatic Expressions ◽

Oral Speech ◽

The One

The study was aimed to analyze theoretical material on the issues of idiomatic expressions and their translation, as well as to define and assess the importance of the translation of idiomatic expressions, which students can encounter in technical literature, into Ukrainian. The transformation of image of English idioms is a very difficult task because of their semantic richness, imagery, brevity and the brightness. On the one hand, English idioms are widely used in oral speech, artistic and political literature. On the other hand, English idioms are used in technical literature, though not so often. The choice of one or another type of translation depends on the features of idiomatic expressions that students must recognize and be able to transform their meaning, brightness and clarity.

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Sentential Priming of Semantic Information in Good and Poor Young Readers and in Adults

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.2466/pms.1989.68.2.343 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 68 (2) ◽

pp. 343-353

Author(s):

Anny M. T. Bosman ◽

Annette M. B. De Groot

Keyword(s):

Reading Comprehension ◽

Semantic Information ◽

Inhibitory Effect ◽

Facilitative Effect ◽

Poor Reading ◽

Young Readers ◽

The Poor ◽

Poor Comprehenders ◽

Good Reading ◽

Context Dependent

Using Tabossi and Johnson-Laird's technique to test whether 8- to 10-yr.-old children with good and poor reading comprehension differ in use of context while they read, those with good reading comprehension in one study and adults in another showed an inhibitory effect for incongruent context, unaccompanied by a facilitative effect of congruent context. The poor comprehenders in Grade 2 showed a facilitative effect of congruent, context-dependent context.

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Reflections on Noun-to-Verb Conversion In English

Zeitschrift für Sprachwissenschaft ◽

10.1515/zfs.2006.008 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Heike Baeskow

Keyword(s):

Semantic Information ◽

Lexical Item

AbstractEnglish denominal verbs formed by conversion adopt complex morphosyntactic and semantic information in a rather mysterious way. For example, the lexical item

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What Have We Learned From Physiological Approaches to Characterizing Dysarthria and Other Speech Production Disorders?

Perspectives on Speech Science and Orofacial Disorders ◽

10.1044/ssod20.2.37 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 37-46

Author(s):

Nicole M. Etter

Keyword(s):

Speech Production ◽

Speech Disorders ◽

Research Literature ◽

Systematic Research ◽

Physiological Measures ◽

Validity And Reliability ◽

Assessment Measures ◽

Perceptual Assessment ◽

Perceptual Characteristics ◽

Diagnostic Resolution

Traditionally, speech-language pathologists (SLP) have been trained to develop interventions based on a select number of perceptual characteristics of speech without or through minimal use of objective instrumental and physiologic assessment measures of the underlying articulatory subsystems. While indirect physiological assumptions can be made from perceptual assessment measures, the validity and reliability of those assumptions are tenuous at best. Considering that neurological damage will result in various degrees of aberrant speech physiology, the need for physiologic assessments appears highly warranted. In this context, do existing physiological measures found in the research literature have sufficient diagnostic resolution to provide distinct and differential data within and between etiological classifications of speech disorders and versus healthy controls? The goals of this paper are (a) to describe various physiological and movement-related techniques available to objectively study various dysarthrias and speech production disorders and (b) to develop an appreciation for the need for increased systematic research to better define physiologic features of dysarthria and speech production disorders and their relation to know perceptual characteristics.

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