Emerging roots: Processing of Maltese verbs

Abstract

In Semitic languages, the consonantal root is considered an inherent property of the morphological system combining morphological functions and meaning. Psycholinguistic studies reinforce its importance for language processing. Yet, an unanswered question is how the meaning of the root is represented. This study sets out to explore the meaning incorporated in Maltese consonantal roots using a computational modeling procedure that is grounded in the framework of the Discriminative Lexicon. Our model is not only able to comprehend and produce Maltese verb forms but additionally, the model can predict the response latencies of a masked auditory priming experiment on Maltese verb forms based on distributional representations of meaning. We conclude that the meaning of roots emerges from sentential contexts in which word forms are used.