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Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology

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Operationalization of Sign Language Phonological Similarity and its Effects on Lexical Access.

Joshua T Williams^1,2, Adam Stone², Sharlene D Newman¹

¹Indiana University.

Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education

|June 3, 2017

Summary

Phonological similarity aids sign language lexical access. This study found that overlapping sublexical features in American Sign Language (ASL) signs improve retrieval speed and accuracy, supporting memory-based models.

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Area of Science:

Psycholinguistics
Linguistics
Cognitive Science

Background:

Cognitive mechanisms underlying sign language lexical access remain largely unexplored.
Understanding phonological similarity is crucial for sign language linguistics and cognitive models.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if phonological similarity facilitates lexical retrieval in sign languages.
To identify the most suitable similarity metric for sign language data.
To inform theories on the construction of phonological similarity in the lexicon.

Main Methods:

Utilized a new lexical database for American Sign Language (ASL).
Collected sign repetition latencies and accuracy from native ASL signers.
Assessed performance on sign reproduction tasks from a computer screen.

Main Results:

Phonological similarity was found to facilitate repetition latencies and accuracy.
Facilitation occurred when sublexical features overlapped without strict constraints.
The MaxD similarity measure (overlap of any 4 sublexical features) best fit the data.

Conclusions:

Lexical access in sign language is enhanced by phonologically similar representations in memory.
Optimal operationalization of phonological similarity involves liberal constraints on the overlap of 4 out of 5 sublexical features.
Findings align with existing definitions of phonological similarity in the literature.