Norming an Odd-Word-Out task for a language assessment tool in Brazilian Portuguese: effect of sensory qualia relations and implicit syntactic structure.
Abstract
The odd word out task is standard for assessing verbal semantic processing, yet normed stimuli for Brazilian Portuguese (BP) are lacking. This is problematic given linguistic differences between Brazilian and European Portuguese and the clinical relevance of semantic deficits following brain lesions or during awake neurosurgery. This study examined the influence of constitutive qualia, telic qualia, and implicit syntactic relations on performance in an odd word out task in BP. Healthy participants (n = 210) completed a task involving three-word sequences containing one unrelated target. Accuracy was high across relation types (mean = 94.6%), while reaction times differed, with fastest responses for syntactic relations, followed by constitutive and telic relations, suggesting an influence of implicit syntax on semantic processing. Targets were identified more quickly and accurately in the third position. These results provide normative data for BP speakers and underscore the importance of these factors when designing language assessment tools.