title: Seeing a phrase "time and again" matters: the role of phrasal frequency in the processing of multiword sequences.
abstract: Are speakers sensitive to the frequency with which phrases occur in language? The authors report an eye-tracking study that investigates this by examining the processing of multiword sequences that differ in phrasal frequency by native and proficient nonnative English speakers. Participants read sentences containing 3-word binomial phrases (bride and groom) and their reversed forms (groom and bride), which are identical in syntax and meaning but that differ in phrasal frequency. Mixed-effects modeling revealed that native speakers and nonnative speakers, across a range of proficiencies, are sensitive to the frequency with which phrases occur in English. Results also indicate that native speakers and higher proficiency nonnatives are sensitive to whether a phrase occurs in a particular configuration (binomial vs. reversed) in English, highlighting the contribution of entrenchment of a particular phrase in memory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy. anna.siyanova@unimore.it
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Siyanova-Chanturia
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Conklin
authors.forename: Walter J B
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: van Heuven
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011932:Reading; D012660:Semantics; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult