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Spoken Idiom Recognition: Meaning Retrieval and Word Expectancy

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Abstract

This study investigates recognition of spoken idioms occurring in neutral contexts. Experiment 1 showed that both predictable and non-predictable idiom meanings are available at string offset. Yet, only predictable idiom meanings are active halfway through a string and remain active after the string’s literal conclusion. Experiment 2 showed that the initial fragment of a predictable idiom inhibits recognition of a word providing a congruous, but literal, conclusion to the expression. No comparable effects were obtained with non-predictable idioms. These findings are consistent with the view that spoken idiom identification differs from word recognition and occurs word-by-word, just as with other familiar, multi-lexical phrases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Trieste, Via S. Anastasio 12, 34134, Trieste, Italy

    Patrizia Tabossi, Rachele Fanari & Kinou Wolf

Authors
  1. Patrizia Tabossi
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  2. Rachele Fanari
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  3. Kinou Wolf
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Correspondence to Patrizia Tabossi.

Additional information

The present study was supported by PRIN 2003–2004. We would like to thank Corrado Cavallero, Simona Collina, Melinda Tucker and Francesco Zardon for their valuable help.

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Tabossi, P., Fanari, R. & Wolf, K. Spoken Idiom Recognition: Meaning Retrieval and Word Expectancy. J Psycholinguist Res 34, 465–495 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-005-6204-y

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