An influence of syntactic and semantic variables on word form retrieval

Abstract

We report the case of DPI, an aphasic patient who shows a phonological impairment in production that spares certain syntactic and semantic categories. On a picture naming task, he produces mostly phono-logical paraphasias, and the probability of producing a correct response depends on the frequency and length of the target word. This deficit occurs in the presence of spared ability to find the grammatical gender of the items that he cannot name, intact conceptual knowledge, and very good reading and word repetition. Therefore, we conclude that DPI's deficit is restricted to the phonological retrieval of a correctly selected lexical entry. However, production errors are not uniform across semantic and syntactic domains. Numerals and names of days and months are totally spared compared to matched controls. In addition, abstract nouns and verbs are significantly less affected than concrete nouns, even when variables affecting phonological retrieval (frequency, length, syllabic structure) are controlled for. This suggests that a functional organisation in terms of semantic and syntactic variables exists at the level of phonological retrieval. We discuss these findings in light of current models of speech production.