Angelica Zordan, University of Verona

Compounding, i.e., the combination of two lexical roots/stems/words, is a word formation process often used for the expression of novel meanings (Bauer, 2017) and is likely to exist in all languages of the world (Dressler, 2006). While its theoretical aspects have been extensively studied, less is known about how compounds are processed in first (L1) and second (L2) languages by individuals with language and/or learning impairments such as Developmental Dyslexia (DD). Beyond its well-known reading difficulties, DD affects a broader range of linguistic skills, crucially including phonological, morphological, and lexical processing, as long as the comprehension of complex structures (Snowling, 2001; Cappelli & Noccetti, 2022). However, the impact of DD on word formation processes like compounding remains largely underexplored.

This study investigates how middle-school adolescents (age range 11-14 yo) and university students (age range 19-25 yo) with and without DD produce, process, and read noun-noun (NN) compounds in their L1 (Italian) and L2 (English). These languages differ in compound head position – right in English, mostly left in Italian – and semantic constraints in its interpretation – more restricted in Italian, freer in English. After administering some tests to delineate their linguistic profile and English proficiency, participants engage in three tasks in Italian and English: (1) a production task and (2) a visual world eye-tracking task, both involving novel NN compounds whose constituents are linked by different semantic relations (modeled along Pustejovsky 1995’s qualia structure) and (3) an eye-tracking reading task focusing on real NN compounds.

By investigating the role of semantic relations in compounding across L1 and L2 contexts and examining how L1 influences L2 processing, this study aims to deepen our understanding of how individuals with and without DD navigate compounding from a developmental perspective. It further contributes significantly to a broader understanding of language processing, exploring various linguistic and conceptual features of compound words in L1 and L2 within the landscape of language impairment.