Age of Acquisition Effects on the decomposition of compound words

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Medhat Elsherif ◽  
Jon Catling
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Lexical Retrieval ◽  
Compound Words ◽  
Multiple Origins ◽  
Complex Words

Age of acquisition (AoA) is a measure of learning experience and a strong predictor of lexical retrieval. According to the integrated view, the AoA effect results from the development of semantic representations and the mappings between these representations. This has not been considered in morphologically complex words. The integrated account predicts that the AoA effect should be larger in tasks requiring greater semantic processing and any AoA effects should be shown in the early processes of word recognition. The present study investigates these predictions in compound words, which differ from monomorphemic words in terms of ease of mapping and semantic processes in lexical retrieval. Forty-eight participants completed a compound lexeme segmentation (CLS) task, in which participants named either the head or modifier depending on the number above the compound word, to establish how semantics are involved in processing the head and the modifier. The results demonstrated that semantics influenced the naming of the modifier to a greater extent than the head, with the AoA effect being larger in the modifier than the head. Our findings provide evidence that aligns with the multiple origins of AoA effects in the language processing system.

scholarly journals Age of acquisition effects on traditional Chinese character naming and lexical decision

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 1317-1324
Author(s):  
Ya-Ning Chang ◽  
Chia-Ying Lee
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Chinese Character ◽  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Chinese Character Naming

AbstractAcross languages, age of acquisition (AoA) is a critical psycholinguistic factor in lexical processing, reflecting the influence of learning experience. Early-acquired words tend to be processed more quickly and accurately than late-acquired words. Recently, an integrated view proposed that both the mappings between representations and the construction of semantic representations contribute to AoA effects, thus, predicting larger AoA effects for words with arbitrary mappings between representations as well as for tasks requiring greater semantic processing. We investigated how these predictions generalize to the Chinese language system that differs from alphabetic languages regarding the ease of mappings and semantic involvement in lexical processing. A cross-task investigation of differential psycholinguistic effects was conducted with large character naming and lexical decision datasets to establish the extent to which semantics is involved in the two tasks. We focused on examining the effect sizes of lexical-semantic variables and AoA, and the interaction between AoA and consistency. The results demonstrated that semantics influenced Chinese character naming more than lexical decision, which is in contrast with the findings related to English language, though, critically, AoA effects were more pronounced for character naming than for lexical decision. Additionally, an interaction between AoA and consistency was found in character naming. Our findings provide cross-linguistic evidence supporting the view of multiple origins of AoA effects in the language-processing system.

scholarly journals Two words as one: A multi-naming investigation of the age-of-acquisition effect in compound word processing

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Medhat Elsherif ◽  
Jon Catling ◽  
Steven Frisson
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Naming Latency ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Compound Word ◽  
Compound Words ◽  
Semantic Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Complex Words

Previous research has shown that early-acquired words are produced faster than late-acquired words (see Juhasz, 2005). Juhasz and colleagues (Juhasz, Lai & Woodcock, 2015; Juhasz, 2018) argue that the Age-of-Acquisition (AoA) loci for complex words, specifically compound words, are found at the lexical/semantic level. In the current study, two experiments were conducted to evaluate this claim and investigate the influence of AoA in reading compound words aloud. In Experiment 1, 48 participants completed a word naming task. Using general linear mixed modelling, we found that the age at which the compound word was learned significantly affected the naming latencies beyond the other psycholinguistic properties measured. The second experiment required 48 participants to name the compound word when the two morphemes were presented with a space in-between (combinatorial naming, e.g. air plane). We found that the age at which the compound word was learned, as well as the AoA of the individual morphemes that formed the compound word, significantly influenced combinatorial naming latency. These findings are discussed in relation to theories of the AoA in language processing.

scholarly journals Two words as one: A multi-naming investigation of the age-of-acquisition effect in compound-word processing

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 511-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Medhat Elsherif ◽  
Jon C. Catling ◽  
Steven Frisson
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Naming Latency ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Compound Word ◽  
Compound Words ◽  
Semantic Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Complex Words

AbstractPrevious research has shown that early-acquired words are produced faster than late-acquired words. Juhasz and colleagues (Juhasz, Lai & Woodcock, Behavior Research Methods, 47 (4), 1004-1019, 2015; Juhasz, The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1-10, 2018) argue that the Age-of-Acquisition (AoA) loci for complex words, specifically compound words, are found at the lexical/semantic level. In the current study, two experiments were conducted to evaluate this claim and investigate the influence of AoA in reading compound words aloud. In Experiment 1, 48 participants completed a word naming task. Using general linear mixed modelling, we found that the age at which the compound word was learned significantly affected the naming latencies beyond the other psycholinguistic properties measured. The second experiment required 48 participants to name the compound word when the two morphemes were presented with a space in-between (combinatorial naming, e.g. air plane). We found that the age at which the compound word was learned, as well as the AoA of the individual morphemes that formed the compound word, significantly influenced combinatorial naming latency. These findings are discussed in relation to theories of the AoA in language processing.

Everything is Psycholinguistics: Material and Methodological Considerations in the Study of Compound Processing

2005 ◽  
Vol 50 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 267-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Libben
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Morphological Processing ◽  
Semantic Transparency ◽  
Compound Words ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
Independent Variable ◽  
Methodological Considerations ◽  
Whole Word

AbstractCompound words allow us to investigate lexical storage, retrieval, and interpretation. The role of storage and computation in compound processing is reviewed. It is claimed that morphological processing is automatic and obligatory, and that multi-morphemic words require resolution of a conflict between whole-word and constituent activation. This leads to the conclusion that morphological constituents are created through morphological processing so that strawberry comes to be composed of straw- and -berry; these constituents are positionally bound so that berry-, -berry, and berry are distinct processing units. This proliferation of morphological representations resolves long-standing puzzles concerning semantic transparency and challenges traditional psycholinguistic approaches that investigate the effect of some independent variable (such as semantic transparency) on task performance as a dependent variable. It is suggested that psycholinguistic inquiry may be understood as the study of the correlation of dependent variables within the language processing system.

scholarly journals Age of acquisition and naming performance in Frisian-Dutch bilingual speakers with dementia

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wencke S. Veenstra ◽  
Mark Huisman ◽  
Nick Miller
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Lexical Retrieval ◽  
Language Loss ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Moderate Dementia ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Illness Study ◽  
Naming Performance

Age of acquisition (AoA) of words is a recognised variable affecting language processing in speakers with and without language disorders. For bi- and multilingual speakers their languages can be differentially affected in neurological illness. Study of language loss in bilingual speakers with dementia has been relatively neglected.OBJECTIVE:We investigated whether AoA of words was associated with level of naming impairment in bilingual speakers with probable Alzheimer's dementia within and across their languages.METHODS:Twenty-six Frisian-Dutch bilinguals with mild to moderate dementia named 90 pictures in each language, employing items with rated AoA and other word variable measures matched across languages. Quantitative (totals correct) and qualitative (error types and (in)appropriate switching) aspects were measured.RESULTSImpaired retrieval occurred in Frisian (Language 1) and Dutch (Language 2), with a significant effect of AoA on naming in both languages. Earlier acquired words were better preserved and retrieved. Performance was identical across languages, but better in Dutch when controlling for covariates. However, participants demonstrated more inappropriate code switching within the Frisian test setting. On qualitative analysis, no differences in overall error distribution were found between languages for early or late acquired words. There existed a significantly higher percentage of semantically than visually-related errors.CONCLUSIONThese findings have implications for understanding problems in lexical retrieval among bilingual individuals with dementia and its relation to decline in other cognitive functions which may play a role in inappropriate code switching. We discuss the findings in the light of the close relationship between Frisian and Dutch and the pattern of usage across the life-span.

Experience with compound words influences their processing: An eye movement investigation with English compound words

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara J Juhasz
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Word Recognition ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Morphological Processing ◽  
Compound Words ◽  
Fixation Durations ◽  
Complex Words ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into

Recording eye movements provides information on the time-course of word recognition during reading. Juhasz and Rayner [Juhasz, B. J., & Rayner, K. (2003). Investigating the effects of a set of intercorrelated variables on eye fixation durations in reading. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 29, 1312–1318] examined the impact of five word recognition variables, including familiarity and age-of-acquisition (AoA), on fixation durations. All variables impacted fixation durations, but the time-course differed. However, the study focused on relatively short, morphologically simple words. Eye movements are also informative for examining the processing of morphologically complex words such as compound words. The present study further examined the time-course of lexical and semantic variables during morphological processing. A total of 120 English compound words that varied in familiarity, AoA, semantic transparency, lexeme meaning dominance, sensory experience rating (SER), and imageability were selected. The impact of these variables on fixation durations was examined when length, word frequency, and lexeme frequencies were controlled in a regression model. The most robust effects were found for familiarity and AoA, indicating that a reader’s experience with compound words significantly impacts compound recognition. These results provide insight into semantic processing of morphologically complex words during reading.

Body–object interaction ratings for 750 Spanish words

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 1239-1252 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARÍA ÁNGELES ALONSO ◽  
EMILIANO DÍEZ ◽  
ANTONIO M. DÍEZ-ÁLAMO ◽  
ANGEL FERNANDEZ
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Open Science ◽  
The Body ◽  
Object Interaction ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Science Framework ◽  
Consistent Tendency

ABSTRACTAn individual’s sense of the extent to which her or his body physically interacts with objects in the environment (body–object interaction; BOI) has been empirically shown to modulate lexical and semantic processing of object names. To allow for further exploration of the nature of those effects, BOI ratings for 750 Spanish nouns were obtained from 178 young adult participants. Statistical analyses showed moderate correlations between BOI indicators and some psycholinguistic indexes, such as word imageability and age of acquisition. In addition, an exploration of lexical associative relationships revealed that high-BOI words have a consistent tendency to be associated with words naming parts of the body. The ratings could be useful to researchers who are interested in manipulating or controlling for the effects of BOI in their language-processing studies. The complete norms are available for free downloading at Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/kd5vf/).

In Search of a Human Language Processing System

1985 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 529-531
Author(s):  
Patrick Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Human Language

scholarly journals Nonverbal Semantics Test (NVST)—A Novel Diagnostic Tool to Assess Semantic Processing Deficits: Application to Persons with Aphasia after Cerebrovascular Accident

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 359
Author(s):  
Katharina Hogrefe ◽  
Georg Goldenberg ◽  
Ralf Glindemann ◽  
Madleen Klonowski ◽  
Wolfram Ziegler
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Cerebrovascular Accident ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Verbal Abilities ◽  
Verbal Tasks ◽  
Alternative Means ◽  
The Relationship

Assessment of semantic processing capacities often relies on verbal tasks which are, however, sensitive to impairments at several language processing levels. Especially for persons with aphasia there is a strong need for a tool that measures semantic processing skills independent of verbal abilities. Furthermore, in order to assess a patient’s potential for using alternative means of communication in cases of severe aphasia, semantic processing should be assessed in different nonverbal conditions. The Nonverbal Semantics Test (NVST) is a tool that captures semantic processing capacities through three tasks—Semantic Sorting, Drawing, and Pantomime. The main aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between the NVST and measures of standard neurolinguistic assessment. Fifty-one persons with aphasia caused by left hemisphere brain damage were administered the NVST as well as the Aachen Aphasia Test (AAT). A principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted across all AAT and NVST subtests. The analysis resulted in a two-factor model that captured 69% of the variance of the original data, with all linguistic tasks loading high on one factor and the NVST subtests loading high on the other. These findings suggest that nonverbal tasks assessing semantic processing capacities should be administered alongside standard neurolinguistic aphasia tests.

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