ABSTRACT
Models of language processing distinguish between retrieval of information from long-term memory (the mental lexicon) and operations that combine lexical information into larger structures. Memory retrieval and combinatorial operations occur at the levels of meaning, syntax, and phonology. These combinatorial operations result in the unification of the conceptual, syntactic, and phonological building blocks that are retrieved from memory. While the left temporal cortex plays an important role in lexical retrieval, Broca’s area and the adjacent cortex seem to be relevant to unification.
