Effects of Systematicity on Word Learning in Preschool Children: The Case of Semitic Morpho-Phonology

This study investigated the role of systematicity in word learning, focusing on Semitic morpho-phonology where words exhibit multiple levels of systematicity. Building upon previous research on phonological templates, we explored how systematicity based on such templates, whether they encode meanings or not, influenced word learning in preschool-age Hebrew-speaking children. We examined form–meaning systematicity, where words share phonological templates and carry similar categorical meanings of manner-of-motion (e.g., finupál and bizudáx carry the meaning of skipping), and form-only systematicity, where words are phonologically similar but do not share a meaning (e.g., finupál and bizudáx belong to different categories of manner-of-motion). We aimed to discern how these systematicity types impact the learning of the meaning of the word as a whole, that is, the encoding of visual form combined with manner-of-motion. Using novel Semitic-like stimuli, our experiments demonstrated that different types of systematicity involve different effects on word learning. Experiment 1 showed that form–meaning systematicity hindered the learning of the manner-of-motion. In contrast, Experiment 2 revealed that form systematicity facilitated learning these features. The findings suggest a complex interplay of top-down and bottom-up processes in word learning, expanding our understanding of systematicity in word learning.