Abstract
To explain processing differences between regular (e.g., start/started) and irregular (e.g., think/thought) word formation linguistic models posit either a single mechanism handling both morphological clusters or separate mechanisms for regular and irregular words. The purpose of the present study is to investigate how these processing differences map onto brain processes by assessing electrophysiological effects of English past tense forms, using the repetition priming paradigm. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 59 scalp sites as 19 subjects read stem forms of regular and irregular verbs from a list of 1152 words; the stem forms were either preceded (5-9 intervening items) by their past tense forms (= primed condition) or by past tense forms of unrelated verbs (= unprimed condition). The difference between the ERPs to the primed and unprimed stems was taken as a measure of morphological priming. We found that the ERPs to regular verbs were clearly different from those to irregular verbs: the former were associated with an N400 reduction in the primed condition; primed irregular verb stems, however, showed no such effect. Control conditions demonstrated that the N400 modulation for regular verbs cannot be attributed to formal (i.e., phonological or orthographical) priming. These ERP effects indicate that regular verbs serve as more powerful primes for their corresponding stem forms than irregular past tense forms, suggesting that regular (but not irregular) past tense forms may be decomposed into stem plus affix.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Cognitive Brain Research |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Pages (from-to) | 241-253 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| ISSN | 0926-6410 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 01.01.1999 |
Funding
We thank Michael Doyle, Kara Federmeier, Jonathan King and Mick Rugg for their comments. Supported by a grant from the Hermann and Lilly Schilling Foundation (TS 013/177/96) to TFM, a German Science Foundation grant (SFB 282/project B7) to HC, a fellowship of the Biomedical Exchange Program (BMEP) to KS, an ESRC postgraduate training scholarship to TS, and NICHD grant HD22614, NIA grant AG08313 and NIMH grant MH52893 to MK. Appendix A Regular verbs : use, unite, move, require, add, follow, reach, obtain, establish, close, limit, remain, force, end, talk, touch, paint, dedicate, fade, scream, rest, link, fold, kiss, smash, cook, dash, hunt, blink, blush, clench, drill, gasp, shield, deign, faint, flout, glide, call, ask, started, need, receive, walk, pass, report, serve, live, return, cover, play, raise, name, pick, wait, sign, print, washed, stretch, release, load, twist, pursue, carve, administer, crash, slump, choke, erupt, attest, blend, sort, boost, mend, chase, flirt, look, seem, turn, want, consider, happen, show, open, work, base, fill, cause, fix, state, mark, remember, collect, appoint, miss, smoke, press, stain, rush, vote, straighten, melt, drift, grunt, search, toss, bake, blame, dine, cough, dispute, moan, boom, blunt. Irregular verbs : come, find, hold, bring, become, hear, stand, cling, break, win, grow, hang, bind, choose, sweep, eat, light, dig, tear, speak, fling, swear, kneel, undertake, overhear, swim, uphold, freeze, lend, shine, string, strive, mislead, sling, partake, shrink, overshoot, undo, got, took, fled, gave, kept, wrote, lost, built, meant, caught, wore, drew, drove, swung, sold, fought, threw, rode, bent, sang, flew, arose, forgot, foresaw, woke, sprang, blew, crept, spat, withheld, hid, bled, beheld, overcame, dwelt, forbore, mistook, sank, think, tell, know, begin, sit, send, run, lead, meet, spend, fall, strike, understand, shake, buy, drink, teach, feed, sleep, slide, stick, deal, ring, seek, steal, stride, awake, speed, weep, withdraw, weave, withstand, overtake, forgive, shoe, sting, befall, cleave. Regular nonce verbs : luse, renite, zove, renire, chadd, brollow, fleach, protain, perclash, plose, zimit, bemain, lorce, jend, malk, youch, maint, denilate, hade, cheam, prast, nink, yold, fiss, dresh, mook, gash, dunt, hink, glesh, rentch, zill, masp, mield, heign, zain, mout, tride, shrall, fesk, lart, jeed, bequire, lalk, gass, renert, cherve, plive, remirn, wover, bley, faise, pame, gick, quait, drign, brind, zesh, bretch, retweaze, cload, brist, pertway, garve, adbrend, blosh, blump, twoke, elapt, betest, klend, dort, doost, rond, dase, lirt, yook, leem, furn, lont, condrender, goppen, trowne, bleapen, merk, zave, dwill, frause, drick, flade, fark, refrond, conjold, apprelch, brense, troke, shess, nain, drosh, hote, jaighten, quelt, zwift, drunt, weach, choss, grake, glame, rine, jough, displouse, broan, troom, prunt. Irregular nonce verbs : wome–wame, jind–jound, zold–zeld, shling–shlought, beclome–beclame, mear–meard, trand–trood, dwing–dwung, queak–quoke, trin–tron, wrow–wrew, nang–nung, glind–glound, floose–flose, treep–trept, gleat–glate, pright–prit, nig–nug, brear–brore, fleak–floke, twing–twung, shnear–shnore, breel–brelt, overchake–overchook, undergrear–undergreard, klim–klum, upbrold–upbreld, greeze–groze, plend–plent, frine–frone, chring–chrung, blive–blove, misfread–misfred, tling–tlung, perfake–perfook, thrind–thrund, overbroot–overbrot, unclo–unclid, flet–flot, frake–frook, shlee–shled, bive–bave, dreep–drept, snite–snote, ploose–plose, tuild–tuilt, frean–reant, fatch–faught, nemear–nemore, fraw–frew, frive–frove, appring–apprung, chell–chold, gight–gought, bedrow–bedrew, zide–zode, betend–betent, gring–grung, indow–indew, forbret–forbrot, forebree–forebraw, nake–noke, ning–nang, zow–zew, freep–frept, prit–prat, onzold–onzeld, jide–jid, wreed–wred, appmold–appmeld, onbrome–onbrame, attrell–attreld, fordnear–fordnore, misglake–misglook, intring–intrang, shink–shought, zwell–zwold, swow–swew, forblin–forblun, dwit–dwat, thrend–thrent, misbrun–misbran, klead–kled, queet–quet, yend–yent, crall–crell, plike–ploke, underpland–underplood, glake–glook, huy–hought, afflink–afflank, kleach–klaught, cheed–ched, neep–nept, swide–swid, swick–swuck, termeal–termelt, onbling–onblang, treek–trought, sweal–swelt, blide–blode, anake–anoke, tneed–tned, preep–prept, withnaw–withnew, neave–nove, withdrand–withdrood, overplake–overplook, forblive–forblave, bloe–blod, tring–trung, bethall–bethell, threave–thrave. Phonological condition : number–numb, every–ever, feet–fee, early–earl, caper–cape, market–mark, quince–quin, pattern–patter, king–kin, youth–you, master–mast, warm–war, yellow–yell, dollar–doll, beef–bee, blanket–blank, card–car, herd–her, pastor–past, ridge–rid, match–mat, bark–bar, hitch–hit, rocket–rock, willow–will, fancy–fan, carpet–carp, patch–pat, center–cent, gully–gull, dense–den, wander–wand, needle–need, trumpet–trump, beaker–beak, rump–rum, blazer–blaze, limpid–limp, since–sin, several–sever, matter–matt, board–boar, peace–pea, army–arm, farm–far, charge–char, bank–ban, camp–cam, fund–fun, fellow–fell, inner–inn, start–star, screen–scree, panel–pan, lesson–less, belly–bell, tent–ten, battery–batter, damp–dam, wedge–wed, bitch–bit, weird–weir, seam–sea, shrewd–shrew, tart–tar, bust–bus, pansy–pan, twinge–twin, manor–man, hatch–hat, lapse–lap, booty–boot, twitch–twit, pawn–paw, torch–tor, divest–dive, against–again, form–for, week–wee, party–part, county–count, season–seas, corner–corn, style–sty, sight–sigh, factor–fact, dogma–dog, hence–hen, wagon–wag, firm–fir, whisky–whisk, fence–fen, butter–butt, pitch–pit, tooth–too, paint–pain, lawn–law, silly–sill, locust–locus, shovel–shove, topic–top, howl–how, vowel–vow, tackle–tack, ramp–ram, easel–ease, scant–scan, plant–plan, scarf–scar, rustic–rust, wanton–want, offer–off, trickle–trick, ketchup–ketch.
UN SDGs
This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being -
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
Research Areas and Centers
- Academic Focus: Center for Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM)
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