Frequency and Category Factors in the Reduction and Assimilation of Function Words: EPG and Acoustic Measures

Many studies have observed phonetic and phonological differences between function words and content words. However, as many of the most commonly cited function words are also very high in frequency, it is unclear whether these differences are the result of syntactic category or word frequency. This study attempts to determine whether syntactically defined function words are indeed phonologically and phonetically reduced or assimilated when word frequency is balanced. Three experiments were designed to distinguish the relative contributions of the factors of category and frequency on phonetic and phonological reduction and assimilation. Overall results suggest that syntactic category and word frequency interact with phonetic and phonological processes in a more complex way than previously believed. Experiment 1 measured final t/d dropping, a reduction process, using electropalatography (EPG). Experiment 2 examined vowel reduction using acoustic measures. In Experiment 3, palatalization, an assimilation process, was examined using EPG. Results showed that t/d dropping responds to the factor of syntactic category, whereas palatalization is affected by word frequency; vowel reduction responded to both factors, with a dominant syntactic category effect and a secondary within-category frequency effect. The implications of these findings for models of lexical representation and theories of language acquisition are discussed.     

Do handwritten words magnify lexical effects in visual word recognition?

An examination of how the word recognition system is able to process handwritten words is fundamental to formulate a comprehensive model of visual word recognition. Previous research has revealed that the magnitude of lexical effects (e.g., the word-frequency effect) is greater with handwritten words than with printed words. In the present lexical decision experiments, we examined whether the quality of handwritten words moderates the recruitment of top-down feedback, as reflected in word-frequency effects. Results showed a reading cost for difficult-to-read and easy-to-read handwritten words relative to printed words. But the critical finding was that difficult-to-read handwritten words, but not easy-to-read handwritten words, showed a greater word-frequency effect than printed words. Therefore, the inherent physical variability of handwritten words does not necessarily boost the magnitude of lexical effects.     

自传体记忆测验（AMT）中线索词的标准化评定

AMT（Autobiographical Memory Test）主要用于测量自传体记忆的概括性和具体性特征,已经被诸多研究者所采用,然而关于测验方法的具体问题鲜有研究,其中测验的关键部分线索词的选择和匹配更没有设计较严谨的量化研究。目的：分析与自传体记忆相关的线索词的多种维度,并通过统计指标的计算选取多种维度上最为匹配的线索词,形成中文版的AMT测验材料。方法：采用专家评定法,选取差异系数（cv）作为线索词的计算指标,并设计了差异系数的函数公式,把维度作为参数来计算情绪词的多维参数的函数值,最终作为线索词选择的依据。结果：依据每个词汇的差异系数函数值选择了三个维度上最为匹配的词汇,得到了以15个中文线索词为测验材料的AMT测验工具。