Distinct morphological processing of recently learned compound words: An ERPstudy

• Autores: Kaczer, Laura; Timmer, Kalinka; Bavassi, Mariana Luz; Schiller, Niels
• Año de publicación: 2015
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: Word Learning; Eeg; Morphology; Priming
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

Our vocabulary is, at least in principle, infinite. We can create new words combining existing ones in meaningful ways to form new linguistic expressions. The present study investigated the morphological processing of novel compound words in overt speech production. Native speakers of Dutch learned a series of new compounds (e.g. appelgezicht, ?apple-face?) that were later used as primes in a morphological priming task. In this protocol, primes were compound words morphologically related to a target?s picture name (e.g. appelgezicht was used for a picture of an apple, Dutch appel). The novel primes were compared with corresponding familiar compounds sharing a free morpheme (e.g. appelmoes, ?applesauce?) and with unrelated compounds. Participants were required to read aloud words and to name pictures in a long-lag design. Behavioral and event-related potentials (ERPs) data were collected in two sessions, separated by 48 h. Clear facilitation of picture naming latencies was obtained when pictures were paired with morphological related words. Notably, our results show that novel compounds have a stronger priming effect than familiar compounds in both sessions, which is expressed in a marked reduction in target naming latencies and a decrease in the N400 amplitude. These results suggest that participants focused more on the separate constituents when reading novel primes than in the case of existing compounds.
Fil: Kaczer, Laura. Leiden University; Países Bajos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; Argentina
Fil: Timmer, Kalinka. Leiden University; Países Bajos
Fil: Bavassi, Mariana Luz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; Argentina
Fil: Schiller, Niels. Leiden University; Países Bajos