Most compound words are constituted of a head constituent (e.g., light in moonlight) and a modifier constituent (e.g., moon in moonlight); the information transmitted by these head-modifier roles is fundamental for defining the grammatical and semantic properties of the compound and for identifying a correct combination of the constituents at the conceptual level. The objective of this study is to assess how lexical processing in aphasia is influenced by the head-modifier structure of nominal compounds. A picture-naming task of 35 compounds with head-initial (pescespada, swordfish, literally fishsword) and head-final (autostrada, highway, literally carroad) forms was administered to 45 Italian aphasic patients, and their accuracy in retrieving constituents was analysed with a mixed-effects logistic regression. The interaction between headedness and constituent position was significant: The modifier emerged as being more difficult to retrieve than the head, but only for head-final compounds. The results are consistent with previous data from priming experiments on healthy subjects and provide convincing evidence that compound headedness is represented at central processing levels.

Marelli, M., Zonca, G., Contardi, A., Luzzatti, C. (2014). The representation of compound headedness in the mental lexicon: a picture naming study in aphasia. COGNITIVE NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, 31(1-2), 26-39 [10.1080/02643294.2013.860024].

The representation of compound headedness in the mental lexicon: a picture naming study in aphasia

MARELLI, MARCO;LUZZATTI, CLAUDIO GIUSEPPE
2014

Abstract

Most compound words are constituted of a head constituent (e.g., light in moonlight) and a modifier constituent (e.g., moon in moonlight); the information transmitted by these head-modifier roles is fundamental for defining the grammatical and semantic properties of the compound and for identifying a correct combination of the constituents at the conceptual level. The objective of this study is to assess how lexical processing in aphasia is influenced by the head-modifier structure of nominal compounds. A picture-naming task of 35 compounds with head-initial (pescespada, swordfish, literally fishsword) and head-final (autostrada, highway, literally carroad) forms was administered to 45 Italian aphasic patients, and their accuracy in retrieving constituents was analysed with a mixed-effects logistic regression. The interaction between headedness and constituent position was significant: The modifier emerged as being more difficult to retrieve than the head, but only for head-final compounds. The results are consistent with previous data from priming experiments on healthy subjects and provide convincing evidence that compound headedness is represented at central processing levels.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
Compound words; Picture naming; Compound headedness; Aphasia
English
2014
31
1-2
26
39
none
Marelli, M., Zonca, G., Contardi, A., Luzzatti, C. (2014). The representation of compound headedness in the mental lexicon: a picture naming study in aphasia. COGNITIVE NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, 31(1-2), 26-39 [10.1080/02643294.2013.860024].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/48060
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