ERIC Number: EJ1116038
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Oct
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
EISSN: N/A
Are Nonadjacent Collocations Processed Faster?
Vilkaite, Laura
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v42 n10 p1632-1642 Oct 2016
Numerous studies have shown processing advantages for collocations, but they only investigated processing of adjacent collocations (e.g., "provide information"). However, in naturally occurring language, nonadjacent collocations ("provide" some of the "information") are equally, if not more frequent. This raises the question whether the same kind of processing advantage holds for nonadjacent collocations as for adjacent ones. This paper reports on an eye-tracking experiment in which participants read sentences containing either adjacent or nonadjacent collocations or matched control phrases. The results replicated the finding that collocations are processed faster than control phrases, and extended this finding to nonadjacent collocations. However, the results also suggest that the facilitative effect might be larger for adjacent collocations than for nonadjacent ones.
Descriptors: Phrase Structure, Language Processing, Eye Movements, Task Analysis, Sentences, Control Groups, Psycholinguistics, English, Computational Linguistics, Native Language, Reading Rate, Statistical Analysis, Foreign Countries, Undergraduate Students
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A