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ERIC Number: EJ1306395
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Oct
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0922-4777
EISSN: N/A
Semantic and Syntactic Constraints in Resolving Homography: A Developmental Study in Hebrew
Bar-On, Amalia; Oron, Tal; Peleg, Orna
Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, v34 n8 p2103-2126 Oct 2021
Effects of semantic versus syntactic constraints on resolution of Hebrew heterophonic-homographic words were examined at three reading skill levels. Fourth-and sixth-grade students and a group of adults read aloud sentences containing two types of heterophonic-homographs: noun-noun (e.g., BYCH [Hebrew characters] is read as beitsa 'egg' and bitsa 'swamp') and noun-verb (e.g., GZR [Hebrew characters] is read as gezer 'carrot' and gazar '(he) cut'). Dominant and less-dominant alternatives were identified for each homograph and the alternatives were embedded in two sentences biased semantically towards noun-noun homographs and syntactically towards noun-verb homograph. The reading accuracy and correction results clearly showed a greater effect for syntactic context than for semantic context. For noun-noun words, the dominance effect appeared among the three study groups, though accuracy of reading the less-dominant meaning increased with age, indicating greater reliance on context. For noun-verb words, a small difference between the two meanings was found in the younger group only. We concluded that in resolving Hebrew heterophonic-homographic words, syntactic constraints are sufficient for accurate reading while semantic information is less efficient. The results are discussed in the context of other languages and the unique typology of the Hebrew orthography.
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2123/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 4; Intermediate Grades; Grade 6; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A