MorphoLex-FR: A derivational morphological database for 38,840 French words

Area of Science:

• Psycholinguistics
• Computational Linguistics
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Disparate results in French morphological processing studies stem from inconsistent methodological approaches.
• A standardized morphological database is crucial for comparable research in French.
• Existing English morphological databases lack direct French counterparts.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce MorphoLex-FR, a comprehensive database for French morphological variables.
• Facilitate cross-linguistic comparisons between French and English word processing.
• Provide a resource for investigating the role of morphology in visual word recognition.

Main Methods:

• Developed MorphoLex-FR with 12 morphological variables for prefixes, roots, and suffixes.
• Utilized the French Lexicon Project's 38,840 words for database creation.
• Employed hierarchical regression models to analyze the impact of morphological variables on lexical decision latencies.

Main Results:

• Suffix-related morphological variables significantly predicted lexical decision latencies.
• Suffix frequency and family size showed facilitatory effects.
• Higher percentage of frequent words within a suffix's family had an inhibitory effect.

Conclusions:

• MorphoLex-FR is a valuable resource for French visual word processing research.
• Suffix properties play a key role in how morphologically complex words are processed.
• Standardized methodology enables more reliable cross-linguistic psycholinguistic research.