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Processing and Representation of German -n Plurals: A Dual Mechanism Approach
- Source :
- Brain and Language. 81:276-290
- Publication Year :
- 2002
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2002.
-
Abstract
- Four subclasses of German noun plurals affixed with -n, exhibiting different degrees of predictability, are investigated in a lexical decision experiment with visual stimuli and in a cross-modal priming experiment. The lexical decision experiment compared -n plurals and irregular -er plurals to plurals with the default affix -s. Whereas the -s plurals yielded no word-form frequency effects, such effects could be observed for all other plural forms, including all subclasses of -n plurals. The priming experiment produced a different pattern. We found that the prior presentations of fully predictable -n plurals prime the stems as effectively as the stem itself, whereas -n plurals with limited predictability yielded only reduced priming effects toward their stems. These results are explained in terms of an extended dual mechanism approach, taking into account an access level and a central level of lexical processing.
- Subjects :
- Male
Linguistics and Language
Mental lexicon
Cognitive Neuroscience
Decision Making
Affix
Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Lexicon
Vocabulary
Language and Linguistics
Linguistics
Semantics
Speech and Hearing
Cognition
Noun
Inflection
Reaction Time
Speech Perception
Lexical decision task
Humans
Female
Psychology
Priming (psychology)
Language
Plural
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 0093934X
- Volume :
- 81
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Brain and Language
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....d13849b8cde8ae0c15f4e449510434ca