Graduation Year
2018
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.S.
Degree Name
Master of Science (M.S.)
Degree Granting Department
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Major Professor
Stefan A. Frisch, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Maria R. Brea-Spahn, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Kyna Betancourt, Ph.D.
Keywords
lexicon, phonotactic probability, probability predictiveness, wordlikeness
Abstract
This thesis suggests that the range of vocabulary in an individual’s lexicon has an influence on in their assessment of nonword wordlikeness. The study included thirteen Spanish-English bilinguals who participated in a language dominance questionnaire, standardized assessments of Spanish and English vocabulary knowledge, and Spanish and English wordlikeness judgment tasks. Resulting data demonstrated moderate correlations between vocabulary knowledge and performance on nonword wordlikeness judgement tasks in Spanish and English. Participants with larger lexicons appeared more tolerant of less probable nonwords, those with low phonotactic probability, while those with smaller lexicons were less accepting of nonwords with low phonotactic probability. The results suggest that an individual’s processing of low probability phonological constituents is influenced by the diversity and complexity of their linguistic knowledge and specifically, their vocabulary acquisition.
Scholar Commons Citation
Leyden, Marisa E., "The Impact of Vocabulary Knowledge on Nonword Judgments in Spanish-English Bilinguals" (2018). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/7327
