Auditory processing of prefixed English words is both continuous and decompositional

Journal/Book: J Mem Lang. 1997; 37: 525 B St, Ste 1900, San Diego, CA 92101-4495. Academic Press Inc Jnl-Comp Subscriptions. 438-461.

Abstract: Two experiments compared continuous and discontinuous models of word recognition. Participants heard prefixed words whose full-form and root uniqueness points (Ups) differed, in either a gating or lexical decision paradigm. Identification points and reaction times were analyzed using multiple regression. Full-form UPs predicted performance better than root UPs did. Full-form frequency measures had reliable facilitative relationships with performance while root frequency measures were not consistently significant. Prefix frequency had a reliable, inhibitory effect. Judged prefixedness, semantic transparency, and prefix likelihood were related to performance? alone or in interaction. The results provide evidence for both kinds of word recognition procedures. A model is proposed with two parallel recognition routines: a whole-word routine and a decompositional routine that considers only unbound roots that can combine with the prefix in question. A preliminary rating study provides stimulus values on several dimensions and can be used as a database by other researchers.

Note: Article Wurm LH, SUNY Binghamton, Dept Psychol, Binghamton,NY 13902 USA

Keyword(s): LEXICAL ACCESS; MENTAL LEXICON; CONTINUOUS SPEECH; SPOKEN WORDS; RECOGNITION; MORPHOLOGY; IDENTIFICATION; MODEL

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