Brain Processing of Compound Verbs in Second Language Learning using Brain Scanning Techniques and ERP

Bagheri, Mahboobe; Saeedi, Zari

doi:10.22067/jlkd.2025.95260.1345

Brain Processing of Compound Verbs in Second Language Learning using Brain Scanning Techniques and ERP

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mahboobe Bagheri ¹

Zari Saeedi ²

¹ PhD Candidate, Linguistics Department, Faculty of Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran.

² Associate Professor, Linguistics Department, Faculty of Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba"i University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22067/jlkd.2025.95260.1345

Abstract

Language as a cognitive capacity possesses a generative system known as syntax through which humans unconsciously produce and comprehend sentences. Nevertheless, the neural mechanisms underlying this process remain to be fully explored. This study aimed to investigate the processing of Persian compound verbs among non-native learners of Persian at the Institute for Cognitive Science Studies. In the first phase, forty participants completed an online questionnaire containing 320 compound verbs. Based on frequency, 240 verbs were selected and categorized into four non-verbal groups (nominal, adjectival, adverbial, and prepositional). Subsequently, two tests were designed: one to assess the comprehension of verb meanings in phrases and another to evaluate the processing of compound verbs in two categories: opaque and transparent. The tests were developed using the Sokhan Dictionary (Anvari, 2002) and Compound Verbs in Modern Persian (Saeedi, 2016). In the next phase, ten participants were randomly selected for ERP brain imaging. Prior to the experiment, all participants, who were right-handed, completed questionnaires on general health, working memory, and attention level. Data were analyzed using EEGLAB in MATLAB and paired-sample t-tests. The ERP components N400, P300, and P600, associated with semantic and syntactic processing, were examined. The findings revealed that compound verbs, particularly opaque ones, required deeper processing and elicited distinct neural patterns in learners’ brains. Therefore, in teaching Persian as a second language, special attention should be paid to the semantic transparency of compound verbs. The results open new perspectives in neurolinguistics and hold practical implications for instructional material design and content development.

Keywords

Brain Scanning/Event-Related Potentials (ERP)

Persian Compound Verbs

Cognitive Science

Non-native Persian Learners

Subjects

Psychology of language

کتابنامه

انوری، ح. (1381). فرهنگ سخن (جلد 1 و 2). انتشارات سخن.

Badecker, W., & Kuminiak, F. (2007). Morphology, agreement and working memory retrieval in sentence production: Evidence from gender and case in Slovak. Journal of Memory and Language, 56(1), 65–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2006.08.004 ResearchGate

Clahsen, H. (1999). Lexical entries and rules of language: A multidisciplinary study of German inflection. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22(6), 991–1013. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X99002228.

Dabir-Moghaddam, M. (1997). Compound verbs in Persian. Studies in the Linguistic Sciences, 27(2), 25–59.

Eshaghi, M. (2022). A corpus of light verb constructions in Persian. Language Resources and Evaluation, 56(2), 467–495. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10579-021-09572-9.

Faghiri, P., & Samvelian, P. (2014). Separability in Persian complex predicates: An experimental study. Proceedings of the 36th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, 1934–1939.

Ferro, M., Pezzulo, G., & Pirrelli, V. (2010). Morphology, memory and the mental lexicon. Lingue e Linguaggio, 9(2), 199‑238.

Friederici, A. D. (2011). The brain basis of language processing: From structure to function. Physiological Reviews, 91(4), 1357–1392. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00006.2011.

Geng, X., & Yamada, M. (2020). An augmented reality learning system for Japanese compound verbs: Study of learning performance and cognitive load. Smart Learning Environments, 7(1), 1–17.

Goldberg, A. E. (1995). Constructions: A construction grammar approach to argument structure. University of Chicago Press.

Hillyard, S. A., & Anllo-Vento, L. (2004). Event-related brain potentials in the study of visual selective attention. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101(suppl_1), 14678–14685.

Karimi, S., & Samvelian, P. (2014). Persian complex predicates: How compositional are they? Journal of Linguistics, 50(3), 1–38. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022226713000204.

Kilambi, P. (2020). Compound words: A cognitive linguistic study. Preprints. [https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202008.0601.v1.

Kutas, M., & Federmeier, K. D. (2011). Thirty years and counting: Finding meaning in the (N400) component of the event-related brain potential (ERP). Annual Review of Psychology, 62, 621‑647. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.131123.

Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press.

Lambton, A. K. S. 1984 [1953]. Persian Grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.

Langacker, R. W. (1987). Foundations of cognitive grammar: Theoretical prerequisites (Vol. 1). Stanford University Press.

Lazard, G. (1957). Grammire du Persan Contemporain. Paris: Klincksieck.

Lee, H. J., Cheng, S. K., Lee, C. Y., & Kuo, W. J. (2021). The neural basis of compound word processing revealed by varying semantic transparency and morphemic neighborhood size. Brain and Language, 221, Article 104985. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2021.104985.

Pantcheva, M. (2008). The nominal element in complex predicates. Tromsø: CASTL, University of Tromsø.

Payne, B. R. (2020). Event-related brain potentials in multilingual language processing. In M. Schmid & B. Köpke (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of language attrition. Oxford University Press.

Polich, J. (2007). Updating P300: An integrative theory of P3a and P3b. Clinical Neurophysiology, 118(10), 2128–2148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2007.04.019.

Saeedi, Z. (2009). Adjectiv Adjectival Nuclear Junctur al Nuclear Junctures in P es in Persian: A Role & Ref ersian: A Role & Reference Grammar Analysis. The ITB Journal: Vol. 10: Iss. 1, Article 2.

Saeedi, Z. (2012). Adverbial Nuclear Junctures in Persian. Proceedings of the 8^th Linguistics Conference.

Saeedi, Z. (2014- 24-25 Feb.). The Linking Algorithm and Event Structure of Persian Adverbial Complex Predicates. Published in Proceedings of the 9th Iranian Conference on Linguistics.

Saeedi, Z. (2016). Complex Predicates in Modern Persian: A Functional Characterization, Equinox Publishing.

Saeedi, Z. (2017, 1396/11). Nominal Predication in Persian: A Functional Characterization. In Nolan, B. and Diedrichsen, E. (Eds.). Argument Realisation in Complex Predicates and Complex Events. Benjamins Publication. https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.180.13sae

Shabani-Jadidi, P. (2012). Processing compound verbs in Persian (PhD thesis). Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, University of Ottawa, Canada.

Shabani-Jadidi, P. (2016). Processing compound verbs in Persian: Experimental evidence from second language speakers. McGill University.

Shabani-Jadidi, P. (2017). Processing Persian compound verbs: Evidence from masked priming experiments. Lingua, 197, 50–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2017.05.001

Seyednozadi, S. (2021). The role of (N400) and P600 in semantic and syntactic processing of sentences: An overview. Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, 12(4), 393–400. https://doi.org/10.32598/bcn.12.4.324.1.

Tabaian, H. (1979). Persian compound verbs. Lingua 47: 189-208.

Ward, J. (2015). The Student’s Guide to Cognitive Neuroscience (third). New York: psychology press London and New York.

Wittenberg, E., & Kuperberg, G. R. (2014). Sustained neural activity to the light verb construction. Journal of Memory and Language, 73, 31–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2014.02.002

Wittenberg, E., Jackendoff, R., Kuperberg, G. R., Paczynski, M., Snedeker, J., & Wiese, H. (2014). The difference between “giving a rose” and “giving a kiss”: Event structure and light verb constructions. Journal of Memory and Language, 73, 31–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2014.02.002.

Woodman, G. F. (2010). A brief introduction to the use of event-related potentials in studies of perception and attention. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 72(8), 2031–2046. https://doi.org/10.3758/APP.72.8.2031.

Yousefzadeh, F., Krott, A., Shabani-Jadidi, P., & Tabatabaei, O. (2024). Persian compounds in the mental lexicon: Psycholinguistic evidence from written word production. Frontiers in Communication, 9, 1293401. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1293401.

Send comment about this article

Name *

Enter Name.

Email Address *

Enter a valid email address.

Affiliation *

Enter a vaid affiliation.

Comments *

Enter comments (At leaset 10 words)

Security Code *