Processing verb–noun compound words in Spanish: Evidence from event-related potentials

Abstract

The following abstract contains 150 words: Studies regarding compound word processing have centred on Noun–noun words, which exhibit endocentricity. Nevertheless, other compound types, such as Spanish Verb–noun compounds, exhibit morphological particularities such as exocentricity, verb argument structure, and metaphorical features, increasing the attributes that may influence compound processing. We analysed whether these traits influenced Spanish Verb–noun compound processing. A lexical decision task was administrated with electroencephalogram (EEG) recording. Following differences in argument structure and metaphorical traits, three compound types were presented: Agentives, Locatives, and Metaphoricals. Locatives were responded worse and slower than Agentives. Metaphoricals elicited increases in the P300 and P600-like components. Thus, verb argument structure and metaphorical processes influence Spanish Verb–noun compound processing. Similarly to endocentric English Noun–noun compounds, processing Spanish Verb–noun compounds involves specific conceptual operations. These conceptual combinations appear to be determined by the projection of verb argument structure and the mapping and assignation of thematic roles.