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Muraki EJ, Abdalla S, Brysbaert M, Pexman PM. Concreteness ratings for 62,000 English multiword expressions. Behav Res Methods 2023; 55:2522-2531. [PMID: 35867207 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-022-01912-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Concreteness describes the degree to which a word's meaning is understood through perception and action. Many studies use the Brysbaert et al. (2014) concreteness ratings to investigate language processing and text analysis. However, these ratings are limited to English single words and a few two-word expressions. Increasingly, attention is focused on the importance of multiword expressions, given their centrality in everyday language use and language acquisition. We present concreteness ratings for 62,889 multiword expressions and examine their relationship to the existing concreteness ratings for single words and two-word expressions. These new ratings represent the first big dataset of multiword expressions, and will be useful for researchers interested in language acquisition and language processing, as well as natural language processing and text analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emiko J Muraki
- Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
| | - Summer Abdalla
- School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Marc Brysbaert
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Penny M Pexman
- Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
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Xue W, van Hout R, Cucchiarini C, Strik H. Assessing speech intelligibility of pathological speech: test types, ratings and transcription measures. Clin Linguist Phon 2023; 37:52-76. [PMID: 34955083 DOI: 10.1080/02699206.2021.2009918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 11/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Speech intelligibility is an essential though complex construct in speech pathology. In this paper, we investigated the interrater reliability and validity of two types of intelligibility measures: a rating-based measure, through Visual Analogue Scales (VAS), and a transcription-based measure called Accuracy of Words (AcW), through two forms of orthographic transcriptions, one containing only existing words (EWTrans) and one allowing all sorts of words, including both existing words and pseudowords (AWTrans). Both VAS and AcW scores were collected from five expert raters. We selected speakers with various severity levels of dysarthria (SevL) and employed two types of speech materials, i.e. meaningful sentences and word lists. To measure reliability, we applied Generalizability Theory, which is relatively unknown in the field of pathological speech and language research but enables more comprehensive analyses than traditional methods, e.g., the intraclass correlation coefficient. The results convincingly indicate that five expert raters were sufficient to provide reliable rating-based (VAS) and transcription-based (AcW) measures, and that reliability increased as the number of raters or utterances increased. Generalizability Theory has proved effective in systematically dealing with reliability issues in our experimental design. We also investigated construct and concurrent validity. Construct validity was addressed by exploring the correlations between VAS and AcW within and across speech materials. Concurrent validity was addressed by exploring the correlations between our measures, i.e. VAS and AcW, and two external measures, i.e. phoneme intelligibility and SevL. The correlations corroborate the validity of VAS and AcW to assess speech intelligibility, both in sentences and word lists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Xue
- Centre for Language and Speech Technology (CLST), Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Roeland van Hout
- Centre for Language Studies (CLS), Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Catia Cucchiarini
- Centre for Language Studies (CLS), Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Helmer Strik
- Centre for Language and Speech Technology (CLST), Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Centre for Language Studies (CLS), Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
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Koller S, Müller N, Kauschke C. The Elephant in the Room: A Systematic Review of Stimulus Control in Neuro-Measurement Studies on Figurative Language Processing. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 15:791374. [PMID: 35126074 PMCID: PMC8814624 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.791374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The processing of metaphors and idioms has been the subject of neuroscientific research for several decades. However, results are often contradictory, which can be traced back to inconsistent terminology and stimulus control. In this systematic review of research methods, we analyse linguistic aspects of 116 research papers which used EEG, fMRI, PET, MEG, or NIRS to investigate the neural processing of the two figurative subtypes metaphor and idiom. We critically examine the theoretical foundations as well as stimulus control by performing a systematic literature synthesis according to the PRISMA guidelines. We explicitly do not analyse the findings of the studies but instead focus on four primary aspects: definitions of figurative language and its subtypes, linguistic theory behind the studies, control for factors influencing figurative language processing, and the relationship between theoretical and operational definitions. We found both a lack and a broad variety in existing definitions and operationalisation, especially in regard to familiarity and conventionality. We identify severe obstacles in the comparability and validation potential of the results of the papers in our review corpus. We propose the development of a consensus in fundamental terminology and more transparency in the reporting of stimulus design in the research on figurative language processing.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nadine Müller
- Department of German Studies and Arts, Institute of German Linguistics, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
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Hubers F, Cucchiarini C, Strik H, Dijkstra T. Individual word activation and word frequency effects during the processing of opaque idiomatic expressions. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2021; 75:1004-1020. [PMID: 34507505 PMCID: PMC9016674 DOI: 10.1177/17470218211047995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Idiom processing studies have paid considerable attention to the relationship
between idiomatic expressions as a whole and their constituent words. Although
most research focused on the semantic properties of the constituent words, their
orthographic form could also play a role in processing. To test this, we
assessed both form and meaning activation of individual words during the
processing of opaque idioms. In two primed word naming experiments, Dutch native
speakers silently read sentences word by word and then named the last word of
the sentence. This target word was embedded in either an idiomatic or a literal
context and was expected and correct in this context (COR), semantically related
(REL) to the expected word, or unrelated (UNREL) to the expected word. The
correct target word in the idiomatic context was always part of an opaque idiom.
Faster naming latencies for the idiom-final noun than for the unrelated target
in the idiomatic context indicated that the idiom was activated as a whole
during processing. In addition, semantic facilitation was observed in the
literal context (COR < REL < UNREL), but not in the idiomatic context
(COR < REL = UNREL). This is evidence that the idiom-final noun was not
activated at the meaning level of representation. However, an inhibitory effect
of orthographic word frequency of the idiom-final noun indicated that the
idiom-final noun was activated at the form level. These results provide evidence
in favour of a hybrid model of idiom processing in which the individual words
and the idiom as a whole interact on form and meaning levels of
representation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ferdy Hubers
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Centre for Language and Speech Technology, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Catia Cucchiarini
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Centre for Language and Speech Technology, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Helmer Strik
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Centre for Language and Speech Technology, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Ton Dijkstra
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Tilmatine M, Hubers F, Hintz F. Exploring Individual Differences in Recognizing Idiomatic Expressions in Context. J Cogn 2021; 4:37. [PMID: 34435172 DOI: 10.5334/joc.183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Written language comprehension requires readers to integrate incoming information with stored mental knowledge to construct meaning. Literally plausible idiomatic expressions can activate both figurative and literal interpretations, which convey different meanings. Previous research has shown that contexts biasing the figurative or literal interpretation of an idiom can facilitate its processing. Moreover, there is evidence that processing of idiomatic expressions is subject to individual differences in linguistic knowledge and cognitive-linguistic skills. It is therefore conceivable that individuals vary in the extent to which they experience context-induced facilitation in processing idiomatic expressions. To explore the interplay between reader-related variables and contextual facilitation, we conducted a self-paced reading experiment. We recruited participants who had recently completed a battery of 33 behavioural tests measuring individual differences in linguistic knowledge, general cognitive skills and linguistic processing skills. In the present experiment, a subset of these participants read idiomatic expressions that were either presented in isolation or preceded by a figuratively or literally biasing context. We conducted analyses on the reading times of idiom-final nouns and the word thereafter (spill-over region) across the three conditions, including participants' scores from the individual differences battery. Our results showed no main effect of the preceding context, but substantial variation between readers and variation in contextual facilitation. We encourage interested researchers to exploit the present dataset for follow-up studies on individual differences in idiom processing.
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Gavilán JM, Haro J, Hinojosa JA, Fraga I, Ferré P. Psycholinguistic and affective norms for 1,252 Spanish idiomatic expressions. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0254484. [PMID: 34270572 PMCID: PMC8284670 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
This study provides psycholinguistic and affective norms for 1,252 Spanish idiomatic expressions. A total of 965 Spanish native speakers rated the idioms in 7 subjective variables: familiarity, knowledge of the expression, decomposability, literality, predictability, valence and arousal. Correlational analyses showed that familiarity has a strong positive correlation with knowledge, suggesting that the knowledge of the figurative meaning of an idiom is highly related to its frequency of use. Familiarity has a moderate positive correlation with final word predictability, indicating that the more familiar an idiom is rated, the more predictable it tends to be. Decomposability shows a moderate positive correlation with literality, suggesting that those idioms whose figurative meaning is easier to deduce from their constituents tend to have a plausible literal meaning. In affective terms, Spanish idioms tend to convey more negative (66%) than positive meanings (33%). Furthermore, valence and arousal show a quadratic relationship, in line with the typical U-shaped relationship found for single words, which means that the more emotionally valenced an idiom is rated, the more arousing it is considered to be. This database will provide researchers with a large pool of stimuli for studying the representation and processing of idioms in healthy and clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- José M. Gavilán
- Department of Psychology, Research Center for Behavior Assessment (CRAMC), Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
- * E-mail:
| | - Juan Haro
- Department of Psychology, Research Center for Behavior Assessment (CRAMC), Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
| | - José Antonio Hinojosa
- Instituto Pluridisciplinar, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Psicología Experimental, Procesos Cognitivos y Logopedia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Ciencia Cognitiva—C3, Universidad Nebrija, Madrid, Spain
| | - Isabel Fraga
- Department of Social Psychology, Basic Psychology and Methodology, Cognitive Processes & Behavior Research Group, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Pilar Ferré
- Department of Psychology, Research Center for Behavior Assessment (CRAMC), Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
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Hintz F, Dijkhuis M, van 't Hoff V, McQueen JM, Meyer AS. A behavioural dataset for studying individual differences in language skills. Sci Data 2020; 7:429. [PMID: 33293542 PMCID: PMC7722889 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-020-00758-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
This resource contains data from 112 Dutch adults (18-29 years of age) who completed the Individual Differences in Language Skills test battery that included 33 behavioural tests assessing language skills and domain-general cognitive skills likely involved in language tasks. The battery included tests measuring linguistic experience (e.g. vocabulary size, prescriptive grammar knowledge), general cognitive skills (e.g. working memory, non-verbal intelligence) and linguistic processing skills (word production/comprehension, sentence production/comprehension). Testing was done in a lab-based setting resulting in high quality data due to tight monitoring of the experimental protocol and to the use of software and hardware that were optimized for behavioural testing. Each participant completed the battery twice (i.e., two test days of four hours each). We provide the raw data from all tests on both days as well as pre-processed data that were used to calculate various reliability measures (including internal consistency and test-retest reliability). We encourage other researchers to use this resource for conducting exploratory and/or targeted analyses of individual differences in language and general cognitive skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Hintz
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | | | - Vera van 't Hoff
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - James M McQueen
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Antje S Meyer
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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