Accessing object names when producing complex noun phrases: Implications for models of lexical access

Producing connected speech involves coordinating the retrieval of various types of information: a) lexical items, b) its grammatical properties, and c) its phonological composition. In this article we explore these processes during the production of compound noun phrases (NPs) such as “the dog and the car”. We report three experiments in which we investigated the scope and degree of incrementality of planning. In the first experiment, naming latencies were longer for compound NPs with semantically related items (e.g., “the dog and the horse”) than for compound NPs with unrelated items. In the second experiment, the lexical frequency of the two nouns in the NP was manipulated. The results showed an effect of the frequency of the first item, but no effect of the frequency of the second. Finally, in the third experiment, naming latencies were not affected by the phonological similarity between the two nouns of the NP. These results provide evidence for the fact that the availability of the second lexical item in this type of utterance does not affect the onset of articulation. These findings, as well as other data previously reported in the literature, are discussed in relation to the issue of the coordination of the retrieval of various lexical items.