ERIC Number: EJ1376029
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Sep
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
EISSN: EISSN-1939-1285
Available Date: N/A
Do Different Morphological Forms of Collocations Show Comparable Processing Facilitation?
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v48 n9 p1328-1347 Sep 2022
There are numerous studies showing processing advantages for collocations, but none of them so far takes into account the fact that the morphological form of a collocation varies to fit the context. Questions whether collocations retain their processing advantage when their morphological form changes and how or if different morphological forms of the same collocation are related in the mental lexicon have remained unanswered. The present study starts addressing these questions. The article reports an eye-tracking experiment during which 37 native speakers of Lithuanian (a morphologically complex language) read 10 short stories with embedded verb + object collocations in three different morphological forms (infinitive + accusative, past tense third person + accusative, and passive attributive participle + nominative) as well as control phrases (60 target items per participant). Mixed-effects analysis showed that collocations in all three morphological forms were processed with comparable facilitation. The study also analyzed whether the phrasal form frequency of the specific morphological form or the base frequency of that collocation works better at predicting reading behavior. The results show no clear advantage of one or the other. Potential reasons for this finding are discussed.
Descriptors: Phrase Structure, Morphology (Languages), Eye Movements, Language Processing, Native Speakers, Indo European Languages, Reading Processes, Story Reading, Verbs, Form Classes (Languages), Morphemes, Comparative Analysis, Prediction, Behavior Patterns, Graduate Students, Undergraduate Students, Reading Rate, Task Analysis, Word Frequency, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Lithuania
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A