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Introduction to Word Association: In psycholinguistics, word association refers to the way words are grouped together in our brain. When we hear or see a word, we often relate it to another word, either by meaning or alphabetically. For example, when a child hears the word “cat,” they might associate it with “dog” because both animals have four legs. There are two main types of word association: by meaning and by form. This concept explains why, during exams, the text we’ve studied appears in our mind—we associate words, not concepts.
Word Association by Meaning: This type of association occurs when we relate a perceived word with another word semantically. For instance, if a boy hears the word “mother,” he might immediately think of “father.” There are four sub-categories of word association by meaning:
a) By Synonyms: When a word is heard whose meaning is similar to another word, it is considered word association by synonyms. For example, if a child hears the word “look,” they might associate it with “see” or “watch.”
b) By Opposites: This occurs when a word is associated with its antonym. For example, the word “death” might be associated with “life.” This process happens unconsciously. Some psychologically affected individuals may become sad when hearing words related to happiness because they associate them with sad words.
c) Hyponyms: These are words that belong to the same category, such as animals or birds. For example, a three-year-old child might associate “eagle” with “crow.”
d) Collocates: These are words that frequently appear together, often joined by “and” or “&.” Examples include “fork and knife.”
Word Association by Form: When words are associated lexically, it falls under word association by form. For example, while typing, we might type “act” instead of “cat” in a hurry. Similarly, during a slip of the tongue, we might unconsciously say the wrong word because our brain has made the wrong association. In tip-of-the-tongue moments, we struggle to utter a word because we cannot make the correct association.
Experiment: Word Association Test Reading words based on their colors can be challenging because we typically focus on word forms and alphabets rather than semantic associations.
Lexical Processing: Lexical processing is the process by which words are formed in our brain. Similar to how a computer processes input and produces output, in language production, we hear or see a word, our brain processes it, and we produce the corresponding words.
For instance, when we hear the letter “a,” it may be processed in our brain as waves or neurons. Our brain receives the signal and prepares to produce the word. This process varies for L1 (first language) and L2 (second language) speakers. L1 tasks usually happen automatically, while L2 speakers may need extra effort. Similarly, monolinguals and bilinguals experience different lexical processing. Bilinguals, for example, might mix English and Urdu words because their processing differs from monolingual speakers.
During lexical processing, words can appear in the form of a visual representation (e.g., “Lahore”) or as an image. This processing can be morphological, semantic, or phonetic, though phonetic processing is rare. Students studying phonetics might perceive the word “cat” as /kat/.
Neuropsychology and Lexical Processing: In neuropsychology, an impaired lexicon can explain why some patients have difficulties with speech production and comprehension but better understanding of nonverbal material. According to Levelt (1992), speech production involves a two-stage process: first, the intended meaning selects an abstract lexical form (a lemma), and then this activates a lexeme, which makes the sound of the word available. However, theories with multiple lexicons face criticism for potential redundancy and lack of falsifiability.
References:
- Research Article: Lexical Processes (Word Knowledge): Psychological and Neural Aspects
- Falk, Y. (2001). Lexical-Functional Grammar: An Introduction to Parallel Constraint-based Syntax. Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford.