The processing of multiword expressions in children and adults: An eye-tracking study of Chinese

Abstract

AbstractThe processing advantage for multiword expressions over novel language has long been attested in the literature. However, the evidence pertains almost exclusively to multiword expression processing in adults. Whether or not other populations are sensitive to phrase frequency effects is largely unknown. Here, we sought to address this gap by recording the eye movements of third and fourth graders, as well as adults (first-language Mandarin) as they read phrases varying in frequency embedded in sentence context. We were interested in how phrase frequency, operationalized as phrase type (collocation vs. control) or (continuous) phrase frequency, and age might influence participants’ reading. Adults read collocations and higher frequency phrases consistently faster than control and lower frequency phrases, respectively. Critically, fourth, but not third, graders read collocations and higher frequency phrases faster than control and lower frequency sequences, respectively, although this effect was largely confined to a late measure. Our results reaffirm phrase frequency effects in adults and point to emerging phrase frequency effects in primary school children. The use of eye tracking has further allowed us to tap into early versus late stages of phrasal processing, to explore different areas of interest, and to probe possible differences between phrase frequency conceptualized as a dichotomy versus a continuum.