The activation of lexico-syntactic features in semi-lexical nouns

The distinction between the processing mechanisms of content and function words has a long tradition in psycholinguistic research. However, the type of words that challenge this dichotomy, namely semi-lexical words, has gathered less attention. In German, the first noun in pseudo-partitive constructions like die Scheibe Brot ("the slice of bread") is classified as semi-lexical. This study investigated the processing of lexico-syntactic features in semi-lexical nouns compared to regular nouns. Native German speakers participated in a picture-naming task using the picture-word interference paradigm. Grammatical gender congruency and noun category of distractor and target were manipulated. A significant gender congruency effect was observed for semi-lexical nouns, with shorter naming latencies in congruent than in incongruent conditions. These findings suggest that semi-lexical nouns retain a processing route of spreading activation to associated gender nodes like regular nouns. The activation of gender nodes in pseudo-partitives may derive from multiple routes.