Phonological priming effects on word retrieval and tip-of-the-tongue experiences in young and older adults

In a repetition priming paradigm, young and older participants read aloud prime words that sometimes shared phonological components with a target word that answered a general knowledge question. In Experiment 1, prior processing of phonologically related words decreased tip-of-the-tongue states (TOTs) and increased correct responses to subsequent questions. In Experiment 2, the priming task occurred only when the participant could not answer the question. Processing phonologically related words increased correct recall, but only when the participant was in a TOT state. Phonological priming effects were age invariant, although older adults produced relatively more TOTs. Results support the transmission deficit model that the weak connections among phonological representations that cause TOTs are strengthened by production of phonologically related words. There was no evidence that phonologically related words block TOT targets.     

Cognate status and cross-script translation priming

Greek-French bilinguals were tested in three masked priming experiments with Greek primes and French targets. Related primes were the translation equivalents of target words, morphologically related to targets, or phonologically related to targets. In Experiment 1, cognate translation equivalents (phonologically similar translations) showed facilitatory priming, relative to matched phonologically related primes, in conditions in which morphologically related primes showed no effect (50-msec prime exposure). Cross-language morphological priming emerged at longer prime exposure durations (66 msec), but cognate primes continued to generate more priming than did those in the morphological condition. In Experiments 2 and 3, the level of phonological overlap across translation equivalents was varied, and priming effects were measured against those for matched phonologically related primes and those in an unrelated prime condition. When measured against the unrelated baseline, cognate primes showed the typical advantage over noncognate primes. However, this cognate advantage disappeared when priming was measured against the phonologically related prime condition. The results are discussed in terms of how translation equivalents are represented in bilingual memory.     

Phonological priming in the lexical decision task: A failure to replicate

Some models of the lexicon predict that recognition of words should produce activation spreading to phonologically related words. Consistent with this prediction, Hillinger (1980) demonstrated priming in a visual lexical decision task for word targets preceded by graphemically similar or graphemically dissimilar primes that rhymed with the target. In Experiment 1, we investigated whether this phonological priming effect occurred automatically or because of subject strategies. Although semantically associated primes produced significant facilitation in Experiment 1, no evidence of phonological priming was obtained. Experiments 2 to 5 were conducted in an attempt to obtain the phonological priming effect. Experiment 5 was a replication of one of Hillinger’s experiments. In none of these experiments was phonological priming observed. These results indicate either that the lexicon is not organized such that spreading activation occurs on the basis of phonological similarity, or that visual lexical decisions are made without phonological mediation.     

非平衡中-英双语者言语产生中非目标语言的语音激活

采用改造的图片命名启动范式考察非平衡中-英双语者在言语产生中非目标语言的语音激活范围。实验1探讨在准备用汉语命名图片后,英语词汇的语音激活。结果发现,英语语音一致词的命名反应快于语音相关词和语音无关词,且语音相关词的命名反应快于语音无关词,说明在一语的产生过程中,二语对等词和相关词的语音都得到了激活。实验2探讨在准备用英语命名图片后,汉语词汇的语音激活。结果发现,汉语语音一致词的命名反应快于语音相关词和语音无关词,而语音相关词与语音无关词之间的命名反应没有显著差异,说明在二语的产生过程中,只有一语对等词的语音得到了激活。总结果表明,非平衡中-英双语者使用目标语言时,非目标语言的语音也可以得到激活,并且激活范围可能受非目标语言熟练水平的影响。     

Cross-script phonological priming with Japanese Kanji primes and English targets

Two experiments investigated whether Japanese–English bilinguals have integrated phonological stores for their two languages using a masked phonological priming task with Japanese Kanji (logographic) primes and English targets. In both experiments, lexical decisions for English target words were facilitated by phonologically similar Kanji primes. Furthermore, the size of the phonological priming effect was uninfluenced by the participants' English proficiency or target word frequency, which suggests that the priming effect arose from feedback from sublexical phonological representations to lexical orthographic representations. Because of the orthographic and phonological differences between Japanese and English, these findings provide particularly strong support for the Bilingual Interactive Activation (BIA+) model's assumption that representations are integrated across languages.     

汉语语音的语义作用研究

本研究采用语音中介语义启动的实验任务,考察了语音表征在语义激活中的作用。实验一发现,在频率较高的词的加工中没有发现语音中介语义启动效应;在频率较低的词的加工中得到了语音中介语义启动效应,但是这种中介启动效应与直接的语义启动效应有显著差异。实验二进一步考察了当声旁读音与整字语音一致时,整字语音在语义通达中的作用,结果发现:不论是高频字还是低频字,语音中介启动对目标词的加工都有促进效应,并且高频条件下,语音中介启动效应与直接的语义启动效应没有显著差异。     

Strategic reliance on phonological mediation in lexical access

The present study investigated strategic variation in reliance on phonological mediation in visual word recognition. In Experiment 1, semantically related or unrelated word primes preceded word, pseudohomophone (e.g.,trane), or nonpseudohomophone (e.g.,trank) targets in a lexical decision task. Semantic priming effects were found for words, and response latencies to pseudohomophones were longer in related than in unrelated prime conditions. In Experiment 2, related or unrelated word primes preceded word or pseudohomophone targets. A relatedness effect was found for words, although it was significant at a 600-msec prime-target stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) and not at a 200-msec SOA. There was no relatedness effect for pseudohomophones. Experiment 3 was a replication of Experiment 2, except that pseudohomophones were replaced by nonpseudohomophonic orthographic controls. Facilitation effects for related target words were greater in Experiment 3 than in Experiment 2. The results reflect apparent variations in the expectation that a related prime reliably indicates that a target is a word. Although reliance on phonological mediation might be strategically contingent, there could be a brief time period in which phonologically mediated lexical access occurs automatically. Whether phonological information is maintained or suppressed subsequently depends on its overall usefulness for the task.     

双语即时切换下非目标语言语音和语义的激活状态

本研究采用双语即时切换范式, 探讨非熟练中英双语者在对目标语言(启动词)语音或语义的加工过程中非目标语言的激活状态。实验1设置了与启动词的翻译对等词存在语音相关或无关的两类配对词, 要求被试进行语音判断任务, 结果表明, 不论哪种切换条件, 两类配对词在反应时和P200成分上都没有差异, 说明目标语言在语音加工过程中非目标语言的语音层面没有得到自动激活, 从而没有产生启动效应。实验2则设置了语义相关和无关配对词, 并进行语义判断任务, 结果在两种切换条件下都发现明显的语义启动效应及N400差异, 说明非目标语言在语义层面上有得到自动激活, 但激活的程度表现出切换方向上的不一致, L1-L2切换下的语义启动量要明显大于L2-L1, 并且L1-L2的N400差异主要表现在前部脑区, 持续时间更久, 而L2-L1的N400差异主要表现在后部脑区, 但持续时间较短, 表明对于非熟练的双语者来说, 不同切换方向下对共享语义表征的激活加工是不一样的。     

The syllable’s role in word naming

In a series of experiments, the masked priming paradigm with very brief prime exposures was used to investigate the role of the syllable in the production of English. Experiment 1 (word naming task) showed a syllable priming effect for English words with clear initial syllable boundaries (such as BALCONY), but no effect with ambisyllabic words targets (such as BALANCE, where the /l/ belongs to both the first and the second syllables). Experiment 2 failed to show such syllable priming effects in the lexical decision task. Experiment 3 demonstrated that for words with clear initial syllable boundaries, naming latencies were faster only when primes formed the first syllable of the target, in comparison with a neutral condition. Experiment 4 showed that the two possible initial syllables of ambisyllabic words facilitated word naming to the same extent, in comparison with the neutral condition. Finally, Experiment 5 demonstrated that the syllable priming effect obtained for CV words with clear initial syllable boundaries (such as DIVORCE) was not due to increased phonological and/or orthographic overlap. These results, showing that the syllable constitutes a unit of speech production in English, are discussed in relation to the model of phonological and phonetic encoding proposed by Levelt and Wheeldon (1994).     

Impact of phonology on the generation of handwritten responses: Evidence from picture-word interference tasks

State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China The degree to which phonological codes constrain handwriting is at present controversial. Two experiments used a picture-word interference paradigm in which participants wrote down the names of pictures while attempting to ignore visual distractor words presented at various time intervals (SOAs). Distractors could be orthographically and phonologically related, orthographically related only, or unrelated. We found an exclusive effect of phonology at an early SOA, and orthographic priming at a later SOA. In a second experiment, we showed that the effect of phonology was diminished when writers engaged in concurrent articulatory suppression. The results suggest a role of phonology in the generation of handwritten words that is to some extent dependent on situational circumstances.     

Morphological priming: Dissociation of phonological, semantic, and morphological factors

Previous experiments based on a masked-priming paradigm revealed robust morphological priming effects induced by two derivational morphemes in Hebrew: the root and the verbal pattern. However, considering the special characteristics of the masked-priming paradigm, the possible contributions of phonological and/or semantic factors to these morphological effects could not be firmly assessed. In the present study, the role of these factors in morphological priming was examined, using cross-modal presentation. Experiment 1 revealed that priming between morphologically related words in Hebrew is determined by higher level linguistic characteristics and cannot be reduced to phonological overlap. Experiment 2 confirmed that morphological priming occurs in Hebrew even when primes and targets are not semantically related but, nevertheless, increases with semantic similarity. The results support the claim that morphological priming cannot be accounted for by considering semantic and phonological factors alone, and they exemplify the potential of using both masked and cross-modal priming to examine morphological processing.     

Facilitation and interference in the color-naming task

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the phonological activation of the name of pictures when participants had to name the color in which these pictures were depicted. In Experiment 1, participants named the color of pictures whose names and color names shared the phonological beginning (phonologically related condition), the color of pictures whose names and color names did not share phonology (phonologically unrelated condition), and the color of abstract forms (neutral condition). A facilitatory effect was obtained, so participants were faster in the related condition than in the unrelated condition. However, naming latencies were similar in the neutral condition and the unrelated condition. In Experiment 2, the unrelated condition was replaced by a phonologically incongruent condition in which the name of the picture was phonologically unrelated to its color name but related to the name of other response color names. The results showed again a facilitatory effect when the related condition was compared with the incongruent condition. Importantly, an interference effect was also observed, so naming latencies were longer in the incongruent condition than in the neutral condition. These results are discussed in terms of language production models.     

汉-维非熟练双语者非目标语言语音激活与语义激活差异的ERP研究

采用跨语言中介启动范式,通过两个2(词对类型)*2(启动方向)被试内的ERP实验,探讨非熟练汉-维双语者非目标语言语音激活与语义激活状态的差异。结果表明:(1)L2-L1启动方向下,语音相关词对与无关词对诱发P200峰值差异更大,潜伏期更长。(2)L1-L2启动方向下,语义相关词对与无关词对诱发N400峰值差异更大,潜伏期更长。结论:(1)在加工目标语言时非熟练汉-维双语者非目标语言词汇层与概念层都激活。(2)当非目标语言是汉语时语音激活强度大,激活速度较慢;语义激活强度较小,激活速度较快。(3)当非目标语言是维吾尔语时语音激活强度小,激活速度较快;语义激活强度较大,激活速度较慢。     

Loci of phonological effects in the lexical access of words written in a shallow orthography

Summary Three experiments are reported that extend previous observations on the slowing of lexical decisions by phonologically ambiguous forms of Serbo-Croatian words relative to the phonologically unambiguous forms of the same words. The phonological ambiguity arises from the presence of letters whose phoneme interpretation differs between the two Serbo-Croatian alphabets, the Roman and the Cyrillic. In the first experiment, target words were preceded by asterisks or by context words that were associatively related and alphabetically matched to the targets. The effect of word contexts (i.e., priming) was greater for phonologically ambiguous than for phonologically unambiguous targets. The second experiment manipulated the alphabetic match of context word and target word. The effect of this manipulation was limited to phonologically ambiguous words. The third experiment reproduced the details of the first with the addition of visual degradation of the target stimuli on half of the trials. The results of the first experiment were replicated but no interaction between context and visual degradation was observed. The discussion focused on phonologically mediated access of Serbo-Croatian words. A model was proposed in which phonological codes are assembled prelexically according to weighted grapheme-phoneme correspondence rules.     

语音在维——汉双语者汉字识别中的作用

采用语音启动技术,以第二语言为汉语的46名维吾尔族大学生为研究对象,考查了语音在维-汉双语者汉字识别中的作用.结果发现,维吾尔族被试在命名任务和词汇判断任务中都获得了语音启动效应,语义启动效应只出现在词汇判断任务中.结论:语音在维吾尔族大学生汉字识别中是自动激活的,而且语音的自动激活参与了语义通达.     

Phonological priming and cohort effects in toddlers

Adult word recognition is influenced by prior exposure to phonologically or semantically related words (cup primes cat or plate) compared to unrelated words (door), suggesting that words are organised in the adult lexicon based on their phonological and semantic properties and that word recognition implicates not just the heard word, but also related words. We investigate the phonological organisation of the toddler lexicon with two experiments using a picture priming technique. Twenty-four month olds showed inhibition of target recognition in related primed trials compared to unrelated primed trials (Experiment 1) and also in related primed trials compared to unprimed trials (Experiment 2). Further analysis of children’s responding found that this inhibition effect was modulated by the cohort and neighbourhood size of the words tested. Overall, the results indicate a lexical basis for the reported effects and suggest that the phonological properties provide an organisational basis for words in the toddler lexicon.     

Semantic priming is affected by real-time phonological competition: Evidence for continuous cascading systems

Lexical-semantic access is affected by the phonological structure of the lexicon. What is less clear is whether such effects are the result of continuous activation between lexical form and semantic processing or whether they arise from a more modular system in which the timing of accessing lexical form determines the timing of semantic activation. This study examined this issue using the visual world paradigm by investigating the time course of semantic priming as a function of the number of phonological competitors. Critical trials consisted of high or low density auditory targets (e.g., horse) and a visual display containing a target, a semantically related object (e.g., saddle), and two phonologically and semantically unrelated objects (e.g., chimney, bikini). Results showed greater magnitude of priming for semantically related objects of low than of high density words, and no differences for high and low density word targets in the time course of looks to the word semantically related to the target. This pattern of results is consistent with models of cascading activation, which predict that lexical activation has continuous effects on the level of semantic activation, with no delays in the onset of semantic activation for phonologically competing words.     

Is unconscious identity priming lexical or sublexical?

We examined unconscious priming in a stem-completion task with both identity and form-related primes. Participants were given exclusion instructions to avoid completing a stem (e.g., ca---) with a briefly flashed masked word (e.g., candy). In Experiment 1, priming of around 7% occurred for both identity (e.g., candy) and form-based (e.g., windy) primes at a 33 ms exposure duration. When examining only trials in which the participants failed to identify the prime, this effect increased to 12% for identity primes, but remained the same for form-based primes. In Experiment 2, priming without prime identification was 9% for identity primes, 4% for homophone primes, and 3% for orthographic control primes. Although identity priming was greater than form priming in both experiments, regression analyses revealed that orthographic and phonological overlap alone between the flashed primes and targets could completely account for unconscious identity priming. Hence, we conclude that masked words may only activate their sublexical orthographic and phonological representations and not their lexical representations.     

Orthographic and phonological activation in auditory and visual word recognition

A discrete-trials color naming (Stroop)’paradigm was used to examine activation along orthographic and phonological dimensions in visual and auditory word recognition. Subjects were presented a prime word, either auditorily or visually, followed 200 msec later by a target word printed in a color. The orthographic and phonological similarity of prime-target pairs varied. Color naming latencies were longer when the primes and targets were orthographically and/or phonologically similar than when they were unrelated. This result obtained for both prime presentation modes. The results suggest that word recognition entails activation of multiple codes and priming of orthographically and phonologically similar words.     

汉语词汇语音中介效应的眼动研究

使用美国应用科学实验室生产的504型眼动仪,采用语音中介启动范式,对汉语词汇识别是否存在语音中介效应进行考察。结果发现：（1）被试对语音中介词的首次注视点持续时间、凝视时间均显著高于控制条件;（2）当语音中介词为低频词时,被试对语音中介启动词的总注视时间显著高于控制类型;（3）语音中介类型的正确率显著低于控制类型;（4）实验结果表明,汉语词汇识别中存在语音中介效应。