Maguire, Phil and Maguire, Rebecca and Cater, Arthur (2010) The influence of interactional semantic patterns on the interpretation of noun–noun compounds. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 36 (2). pp. 288-297. ISSN 1939-1285
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Abstract
The CARIN theory (C. L. Gagné & E. J. Shoben, 1997) proposes that people use statistical knowledge about the relations with which modifiers are typically used to facilitate the interpretation of modifier–noun combinations. However, research on semantic patterns in compounding has suggested that regularities tend to be associated with pairings of semantic categories, rather than individual concepts (e.g., P. Maguire, E. J. Wisniewski, & G. Storms, in press; B. Warren, 1978). In the present study, the authors investigated whether people are sensitive to interactional semantic patterns in compounding. Experiment 1 demonstrated that the influence of a given modifier on ease of interpretation varies depending on the semantic category of the head. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the relation preference of the head noun influences ease of interpretation when the semantic category of the modifier is compatible with that preference. In light of these findings, the authors suggest that people are sensitive to how different semantic categories tend to be paired in combination and that this information is used to facilitate the interpretation process.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | interactional semantic patterns; interpretation; noun–noun compounds; CAIRN theory; |
| Academic Unit: | Faculty of Science and Engineering > Computer Science Faculty of Science and Engineering > Psychology |
| Item ID: | 10619 |
| Identification Number: | https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018687 |
| Depositing User: | Phil Maguire |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Mar 2019 15:03 |
| Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition |
| Publisher: | American Psychological Association |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| URI: | |
| Use Licence: | This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here |
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