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Different Multiword Verb Categories are Processed Differentially in the Brain: Evidence from EEG Analysis and Decoding
Poster Session D, Thursday, October 1, 4:30 - 6:30 pm, Wangari Maathai
Hassane Kissane1, Nikola Koelbl2, Achim Schilling3, Patrick Krauss3; 1University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany, 2University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany, 3University Hospital Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
Introduction: The mental representation of multiword verb constructions is a central question in neurolinguistics: are they stored as single lexical units or completely compositional items? This study investigates the neurocognitive processing of two types of multiword verbs: phrasal verbs (e.g., look up) and prepositional verbs (e.g., decide on). Taking into consideration verb-to-infinitive constructions (e.g., want to go) as a control group. Methods: We analysed event-related potentials from eleven native English speakers who completed a listening task while EEG data were recorded. Grand-averaged waveforms and root-mean-square amplitudes were analysed across four time windows. Results: Therefore, statistical comparisons showed a significantly larger N400 amplitude for prepositional verbs compared to phrasal verbs, while no significant differences were found between prepositional and verb-to-infinitive constructions. Multivariate pattern analyses (MVPA) confirmed neural discriminability between phrasal and prepositional verbs, but not between prepositional and verb-to-infinitive structures. Conclusion: These results suggest that prepositional and verb-to-infinitive constructions are processed compositionally via valency-based integration, whereas phrasal verbs are stored as lexicalised units. The findings support a theoretical valency model in which multiword verb constructions differ in their degree of lexicalisation, with measurable consequences for real-time neural processing.
Topic Areas: Syntax and Combinatorial Semantics, Speech Perception