What do pseudowords tell us about word processing? An overview

This article provides an overview of the use of pseudowords—letter strings that resemble real words by adhering to phonotactic and orthotactic rules (e. g., fambo follows the rules of English phonology and orthography, but it does not have an actual meaning)—in written word processing research, with...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Martínez Tomás, Celia, Baciero De Lama, Ana, Lázaro López-Villaseñor, Miguel, Hinojosa Poveda, José Antonio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/118137
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/118137
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Pseudowords
Word recognition
Orthography
Print-to-sound
Semantics
Syntax
Logopedia
6104.04 Psicolingüística
6104.01 Procesos Cognitivos
Descripción
Sumario:This article provides an overview of the use of pseudowords—letter strings that resemble real words by adhering to phonotactic and orthotactic rules (e. g., fambo follows the rules of English phonology and orthography, but it does not have an actual meaning)—in written word processing research, with a focus on readers in alphabetic languages. We review how pseudowords have been used in research to isolate specific features of words to examine the cognitive mechanisms underlying various aspects of their processing, including orthographic, phonological decoding, lexical-semantic, and syntactic components, as well as to the way those empirical observations have shaped theories and models of word recognition. The overview also considers their broader applications, such as in studying non-alphabetic scripts, speech processing, and language disorders like dyslexia. By providing a focused synthesis of empirical findings, this article underscores the critical insights that research using pseudowords offers into the interconnected nature of cognitive mechanisms in language processing.