1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Language and Linguistics
  4. Volume 20, Issue 2
  5. Article
Volume 20, Issue 2
  • ISSN 1606-822X
  • E-ISSN: 2309-5067
PDF

Abstract

Abstract

Semantic transparency deals with the interface between lexical semantics and morphology. It is an important linguistic phenomenon in Chinese in the context of prediction of meanings of compounds from their constituents. Given prominence of compounding in Chinese morpho-lexical processes, to date there is no semantic transparency dataset available to support verifiable and replicable quantitative analysis of semantic transparency in Mandarin Chinese. In addition, the relation between semantic transparency and morphological structure has not been systematically examined. This paper reports a crowdsourcing-based experiment designed for the construction of a large semantic transparency dataset of Chinese compounds which includes semantic transparency ratings of both the compound and each constituent root of the compound. We also present an analysis of the effects of morphological structure on semantic transparency using the constructed dataset. Our study found that in a transparent modifier-head compound, the head tends to get greater semantic transparency rating than the modifier. Interestingly, no such effect is observed in coordinative compounds. This result suggests that compounds of different morphological structures are processed differently and that the concept of head plays an important role in the word-formation process of compounding. We advocate that crowdsourcing can be a highly instrumental method to collect linguistic judgments and to construct language resources in Chinese language studies. In addition, the proposed methodology of comparing constituent transparency and word transparency sheds light on the relation between morpho-lexical structure and cognitive processing of lexical meanings.

© ILAS
Available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/lali.00035.wan
2019-04-05
2023-09-22

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/lali.00035.wan
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/lali.00035.wan.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1075/lali.00035.wan&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Allen, Margaret R.
    1979 Morphological investigations. Storrs: University of Connecticut. (Doctoral dissertation.)
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Aronoff, Mark
    1976 Word formation in generative grammar. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Balota, David A. & Yap, Melvin J. & Hutchison, Keith A. & Cortese, Michael J.
    2012 Megastudies: What do millions (or so) of trials tell us about lexical processing?In Adelman, James S. (ed.), Visual word recognition volume 1: Models and methods, orthography and phonology, 90–115. London: Psychology Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Chen, Keh-Jiann & Huang, Chu-Ren & Chang, Li-Ping & Hsu, Hui-Li
    1996 Sinica corpus: Design methodology for balanced corpora. In Park, Byung-Soo & Kim, Jong-Bok (eds.), Proceeding of the 11th Pacific Asia Conference on Language, Information and Computation, 167–176. Seoul: Kyung Hee University.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Dictionary Editing Section Institude of Linguistics Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
    Dictionary Editing Section Institude of Linguistics Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (ed.) 2012 Xiandai Hanyu cidian [The Contemporary Chinese dictionary]. 6th edn.Beijing: The Commercial Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Feldman, Laurie Beth & Pastizzo, Matthew John
    2003 Morphological facilitation: The role of semantic transparency and family size. In Baayen, R. Harald & Schreuder, Robert (eds.), Morphological structure in language processing, 233–258. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110910186.233
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110910186.233 [Google Scholar]
  7. Frisson, Steven & Niswander-Klement, Elizabeth & Pollatsek, Alexander
    2008 The role of semantic transparency in the processing of English compound words. British Journal of Psychology99(1). 87–107. 10.1348/000712607X181304
     https://doi.org/10.1348/000712607X181304 [Google Scholar]
  8. Gan, Hongmei
    2008 Yuyi toumingdu dui zhongji Hanyu yuedu zhong cihui xuexi de yingxiang [The effect of semantic transparency on vocabulary learning in intermediate Chinese reading]. Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong [Applied Linguistics] 2008(1). 82–90.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Gao, Bing & Gao, Fengqiang
    2005 Hanyu zici shibie zhong cipin he yuyi toumingdu de jiaohu zuoyong [The interaction between word frequency and semantic transparency in the recognition of Chinese words]. Xinli Kexue [Journal of Psychological Science] 28(6). 1358–1360.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Han, Yi-Jhong & Huang, Shuo-Chieh & Lee, Chia-Ying & Kuo, Wen-Jui & Cheng, Shih-Kuen
    2014 The modulation of semantic transparency on the recognition memory for two-character Chinese words. Memory & Cognition42(8). 1315–1324. 10.3758/s13421‑014‑0430‑1
     https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-014-0430-1 [Google Scholar]
  11. Huang, Chu-Ren & Wang, Shichang
    2016 Zhongbao celüe zai yuyan ziyuan jianshe zhong de yingyong [The application of crowdsourcing strategy in utilizing language resources]. Yuyan Zhanlüe Yanjiu [Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning] 1(6). 36–46.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Huang, Shuanfan
    1998 Chinese as a headless language in compounding morphology. In Packard, Jerome L. (ed.), New approaches to Chinese word formation: morphology, phonology and the lexicon in Modern and Ancient Chinese, 261–284. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110809084.261
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110809084.261 [Google Scholar]
  13. Keuleers, Emmanuel & Balota, David A.
    2015 Megastudies, crowdsourcing, and large datasets in psycholinguistics: An overview of recent developments. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology68(8). 1457–1468. 10.1080/17470218.2015.1051065
     https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2015.1051065 [Google Scholar]
  14. Levin, Beth & Hovav, Malka R.
    2001 Morphology and lexical semantics. In Spencer, Andrew & Zwicky, Arnold M. (eds.), The handbook of morphology, 248–271. Hoboken: JohnWiley & Sons.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Lexicon of Common Words in Contemporary Chinese Project Group
    Lexicon of Common Words in Contemporary Chinese Project Group (ed.) 2008 Xiandai Hanyu changyongcibiao [Lexicon of common words in Contemporary Chinese]. Beijing: The Commercial Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Li, Jinxia
    2011 Xiandai Hanyu cidian de ciyi toumingdu kaocha [A quantification analysis of the transparency of lexical meaning of Modern Chinese dictionary]. Hanyu Xuebao [Chinese Linguistics] 2011(3). 54–62.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Li, Jinxia & Li, Yuming
    2008 Lun ciyi de toumingdu [On the transparency of lexical meaning]. Yuyan Yanjiu [Studies in Language and Linguistics] 28(3). 60–65.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Libben, Gary
    1998 Semantic transparency in the processing of compounds: Consequences for representation, processing, and impairment. Brain and Language61(1). 30–44. 10.1006/brln.1997.1876
     https://doi.org/10.1006/brln.1997.1876 [Google Scholar]
  19. Libben, Gary & Gibson, Martha & Yoon, Yeo B. & Sandra, Dominiek
    2003 Compound fracture: The role of semantic transparency and morphological headedness. Brain and Language84(1). 50–64. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0093934X02005205?via%3Dihub. 10.1016/S0093‑934X(02)00520‑5
     https://doi.org/10.1016/S0093-934X(02)00520-5 [Google Scholar]
  20. Marslen-Wilson, William & Tyler, Lorraine K. & Waksler, Rachelle & Older, Lianne
    1994 Morphology and meaning in the English mental lexicon. Psychological Review101(1). 3–33. 10.1037/0033‑295X.101.1.3
     https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.101.1.3 [Google Scholar]
  21. Mok, Leh Woon
    2009 Word-superiority effect as a function of semantic transparency of Chinese bimorphemic compound words. Language and Cognitive Processes24(7–8). 1039–1081. 10.1080/01690960902831195
     https://doi.org/10.1080/01690960902831195 [Google Scholar]
  22. Myers, James & Derwing, Bruce & Libben, Gary
    2004a The effect of priming direction on reading Chinese compounds. Mental Lexicon Working Papers1(1). 69–86.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Myers, James & Libben, Gary & Derwing, Bruce
    2004b The nature of transparency effects in Chinese compound processing. (Poster presented at theFourth International Conference on the Mental Lexicon, Windsor, 30 June-3 July, 2004.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Plag, Ingo
    2003 Word-formation in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511841323
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511841323 [Google Scholar]
  25. Pollatsek, Alexander & Hyönä, Jukka
    2005 The role of semantic transparency in the processing of Finnish compound words. Language and Cognitive Processes20(1-2). 261–290. 10.1080/01690960444000098
     https://doi.org/10.1080/01690960444000098 [Google Scholar]
  26. Reddy, Siva & McCarthy, Diana & Manandhar, Suresh
    2011 An empirical study on compositionality in compound nouns. In Wang, Haifeng & Yarowsky, David (eds.), Proceedings of 5th International Joint Conference on Natural Language Processing, 210–218. Chiang Mai: Asian Federation of Natural Language Processing.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Ren, Min
    2012 Yingxiang Xiandai Hanyu shuangyin fuheci yuyi toumingdu de jizhi yanjiu [Semantic transparency of the Modern Chinese compounds]. Heibei Shifan Daxue Xuebao (Zhexue Shehui Kexue Ban) [Journal of Hebei Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition)] 2012(4). 85–91.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Schnoebelen, Tyler & Kuperman, Victor
    2010 Using Amazon Mechanical Turk for linguistic research. Psihologija43(4). 441–464. 10.2298/PSI1004441S
     https://doi.org/10.2298/PSI1004441S [Google Scholar]
  29. Schreuder, Robert & Baayen, R. Harald
    1995 Modeling morphological processing. In Feldman, Laurie B. (ed.), Morphological aspects of language processing, 131–154. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Song, Xuan
    2013 Hanyu fuheci yuyi toumingdu de shiyi moshi fenxi [A paraphrastic analysis of the semantic transparency of Chinese compounds]. Yunnan Shifan Daxue Xuebao (Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue Yu Yanjiu Ban) [Journal of Yunnan Normal University (Teaching and Research on Chinese As a Foreign Language)] 11(3). 48–52.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Sprouse, Jon
    2011 A validation of Amazon Mechanical Turk for the collection of acceptability judgments in linguistic theory. Behavior Research Methods43(1). 155–167. 10.3758/s13428‑010‑0039‑7
     https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-010-0039-7 [Google Scholar]
  32. Tsai, Chih-Hao
    1996 Effects of semantic transparency and morphological structure on the representation and recognition of Chinese disyllabic words. In Cheng, Tsai-Fa & Li, Yafei & Zhang, Hongming (eds.), Proceedings of the Joint Meeting of the Fourth International Conference on Chinese Linguistics and the Seventh North American Conference on Chinese Linguistics, vol.21, 326–343. Los Angeles: University of Southern California.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Wang, Chunmao & Peng, Danling
    1999 Hechengci jiagong zhong de cipin cisu pinlü ji yuyi toumingdu [The roles of surface frequencies, cumulative morpheme frequencies, and semantic transparencies in the processing of compound words]. Xinli Xuebao [Acta Psychologica Sinica] 31(3). 266–273.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. 2000 Chongfu qidong zuoye zhong ci de yuyi toumingdu de zuoyong [The role of semantic transparencies in the processing of compound words]. Xinli Xuebao [Acta Psychologica Sinica] 32(2). 127–132.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Wang, Shichang
    2016 Crowdsourcing method in empirical linguistic research: Chinese studies using Mechanical Turk-based experimentation. Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. (Doctoral dissertation.)
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Wang, Shichang & Huang, Chu-Ren & Yao, Yao & Chan, Angel
    2014 Building a semantic transparency dataset of Chinese nominal compounds: A practice of crowdsourcing methodology. In Baptista, Jorge & Bhattacharyya, Pushpak & Fellbaum, Christiane & Forcada, Mikel & Huang, Chu-Ren & Koeva, Svetla & Krstev, Cvetana & Laporte Eric (eds.), Proceedings of Workshop on Lexical and Grammatical Resources for Language Processing (LG-LP 2014 at COLING-2014), 147–156. Dublin: Dublin City University.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. 2015 Mechanical Turk-based experiment vs laboratory-based experiment: A case study on the comparison of semantic transparency rating data. In Zhao, Hai (ed.), Proceedings of the 29th Pacific Asia Conference on Language, Information and Computation (PACLIC-29), 53–62. Shanghai: Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. 2019 (to appear). SemTransCNC 1.0: Semantic transparency of Chinese nominal compounds 1.0. Philadelphia : Language Data Consortium, University of Pennsylvania.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Xu, Caihua & Li, Tang
    2001 Yuyi toumingdu yingxiang ertong cihui xuexi de shiyan yanjiu [The role of semantic transparency on word recognition and reading comprehension: An experimental study on children]. Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong [Applied Linguistics] 2001(1). 53–59.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Yuan, Chunfa & Huang, Changning
    1998 Jiyu yusu shujuku de Hanyu yusu ji gouci yanjiu [Studies on Chinese morpheme and word formation based on morpheme database]. Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong [Applied Linguistics] 1998(3). 83–88.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Zwitserlood, Pienie
    1994 The role of semantic transparency in the processing and representation of Dutch compounds. Language and Cognitive Processes9(3). 341–368. 10.1080/01690969408402123
     https://doi.org/10.1080/01690969408402123 [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1075/lali.00035.wan
Loading
The effect of morphological structure on semantic transparency ratings
Language and Linguistics 20, 225 (2019); https://doi.org/10.1075/lali.00035.wan
/content/journals/10.1075/lali.00035.wan
/content/journals/10.1075/lali.00035.wan
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): compound word-formation; constituent semantic transparency; crowdsourcing; headedness; Mandarin Chinese

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error