Effect of Morpheme Meaning Dominance in Compound Word Recognition: Evidence from L2 Readers of Chinese
In reading, rapid and reliable word recognition relies on high-quality representations at both the lexical and sublexical levels, with stable and flexible connections between form, sound, and meaning. Earlier studies suggested that meaning knowledge affects the formation and quality of orthographic...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| author | Yi Xu Lin Chen |
| author_facet | Yi Xu Lin Chen |
| author_sort | Yi Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In reading, rapid and reliable word recognition relies on high-quality representations at both the lexical and sublexical levels, with stable and flexible connections between form, sound, and meaning. Earlier studies suggested that meaning knowledge affects the formation and quality of orthographic representation in language learning, but the impact of morphemic meaning frequency on learners’ word recognition was not explored. This research examined second language (L2) Chinese readers’ recognition of compound words containing ambiguous morphemes. Using lexical decision tasks in a priming paradigm, we found that dominant primes (i.e., primes with morphemes encoding dominant meanings) facilitated L2 readers’ recognition of subordinate targets. We suggested that dominant meanings are associated with higher-quality orthographic representations in learners and dominant primes; thus, they facilitate readers’ recognition of orthographically and morphologically related subordinate targets. This study confirmed the role of sublexical constituents’ meaning variables in word recognition in language learning. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7e6328ca0b3e4b3e8f635008e5a9f164 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2226-471X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Languages |
| spelling | doaj-art-7e6328ca0b3e4b3e8f635008e5a9f1642025-01-24T13:38:22ZengMDPI AGLanguages2226-471X2025-01-01101910.3390/languages10010009Effect of Morpheme Meaning Dominance in Compound Word Recognition: Evidence from L2 Readers of ChineseYi Xu0Lin Chen1Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15241, USADepartment of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USAIn reading, rapid and reliable word recognition relies on high-quality representations at both the lexical and sublexical levels, with stable and flexible connections between form, sound, and meaning. Earlier studies suggested that meaning knowledge affects the formation and quality of orthographic representation in language learning, but the impact of morphemic meaning frequency on learners’ word recognition was not explored. This research examined second language (L2) Chinese readers’ recognition of compound words containing ambiguous morphemes. Using lexical decision tasks in a priming paradigm, we found that dominant primes (i.e., primes with morphemes encoding dominant meanings) facilitated L2 readers’ recognition of subordinate targets. We suggested that dominant meanings are associated with higher-quality orthographic representations in learners and dominant primes; thus, they facilitate readers’ recognition of orthographically and morphologically related subordinate targets. This study confirmed the role of sublexical constituents’ meaning variables in word recognition in language learning.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/10/1/9compound wordChineselexical representationmorpheme ambiguityword recognition |
| spellingShingle | Yi Xu Lin Chen Effect of Morpheme Meaning Dominance in Compound Word Recognition: Evidence from L2 Readers of Chinese Languages compound word Chinese lexical representation morpheme ambiguity word recognition |
| title | Effect of Morpheme Meaning Dominance in Compound Word Recognition: Evidence from L2 Readers of Chinese |
| title_full | Effect of Morpheme Meaning Dominance in Compound Word Recognition: Evidence from L2 Readers of Chinese |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Morpheme Meaning Dominance in Compound Word Recognition: Evidence from L2 Readers of Chinese |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Morpheme Meaning Dominance in Compound Word Recognition: Evidence from L2 Readers of Chinese |
| title_short | Effect of Morpheme Meaning Dominance in Compound Word Recognition: Evidence from L2 Readers of Chinese |
| title_sort | effect of morpheme meaning dominance in compound word recognition evidence from l2 readers of chinese |
| topic | compound word Chinese lexical representation morpheme ambiguity word recognition |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/10/1/9 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yixu effectofmorphememeaningdominanceincompoundwordrecognitionevidencefroml2readersofchinese AT linchen effectofmorphememeaningdominanceincompoundwordrecognitionevidencefroml2readersofchinese |