Semantic and syntactic constraints in resolving homography: a developmental study in Hebrew

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 ביצה...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Reading & writing 2021-10, Vol.34 (8), p.2103-2126
Main Authors: Bar-On, Amalia, Oron, Tal, Peleg, Orna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
Age differences
Ambiguity
Constraints
Context
Definitions
Education
Elementary school students
Error Correction
Grade 4
Grade 6
Hebrew language
Homographs
Language and Literature
Language Classification
Language Skills
Language typology
Linguistics
Literacy
Neurology
Nouns
Oral Reading
Orthography
Psycholinguistics
Reading
Reading accuracy
Reading Instruction
Reading Skills
Semantics
Semiotics
Semitic Languages
Sentences
Social Sciences
Syntax
Verbs
Word meaning
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Summary: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 ביצה is read as beitsa ‘egg’ and bitsa ‘swamp’ ) and noun–verb (e.g., GZR גזר 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.
ISSN:0922-4777
1573-0905
DOI:10.1007/s11145-021-10129-6