Production of German –n plurals in aphasia: Effects of dominance and predictability

摘要

Background: In picture naming, both unimpaired and impaired speakers are usually better in naming singular than plural forms of the same noun, such as cat/cats. This singular-advantage is especially present in the case of singular-dominant nouns (e.g., table has higher surface frequency compared to its corresponding plural tables). However, for plural-dominant items (e.g., eyes has a higher surface frequency compared to eye) such singular advantage disappears. Thus, the lexical representation/processing of singular-dominant and plural-dominant nouns seem to differ but the exact underlying source for this dominance effect is still a matter of debate. While most of the available data stem from English experiments, less data are available from German. Aims: This study examines the effect of plural dominance for the German – n plural, a plural form, which can be predictable or non-predictable on the basis of the ending of the singular word form and its grammatical gender. Hence, this study examines the role of dominance and predictability of plural production in aphasia. Our data will enrich the development of materials for the assessment of morpho-lexical impairments in aphasia.