ABSTRACT

This study aimed at examining morphological processing mechanisms involved in lexical access across the lifespan in the morphologically complex Russian language. We conducted an unprimed lexical decision experiment using number-dominant nouns in participants of a wide age range (n = 190, 9–87 years old), analysing age as a continuous factor. Additionally, we tested whether morphological processing mechanisms are affected by a linguistic factor – the type of plural formation. The results revealed no age-related change in morphological processing mechanisms in Russian: the processing mechanisms were consistent with the dual-route models across the lifespan. This suggests that morphological processing mechanisms are stable across the lifespan even in a morphologically complex language like Russian. Null effects of the type of plural formation provide evidence in favour of a special status of citation forms.

摘要

本研究旨在检查在形态复杂的俄语中贯穿整个生命周期的词汇访问所涉及的形态处理机制。我们使用数显性名词在广泛年龄范围的参与者中进行了一项未启动的词汇决策实验 ( n = 190, 9–87 岁），将年龄作为连续因素进行分析。此外，我们测试了形态处理机制是否受语言因素影响——复数形式的类型。结果表明，俄语的形态加工机制没有与年龄相关的变化：加工机制与整个生命周期的双途径模型一致。这表明，即使在像俄语这样的形态复杂的语言中，形态处理机制在整个生命周期中也是稳定的。复数形式类型的无效效应提供了支持引用形式特殊地位的证据。