ABSTRACT
Although this book is about psycholinguistics – the study of the mechanisms that govern language use – it has focused on understanding rather than production. The reason for this emphasis was explained in chapter 1. It is easier to study language understanding than language production, and comprehension has therefore been more widely investigated. However, a number of methods for the study of speaking and writing have been developed, and it is sometimes argued (e.g. Butterworth, 1980a) that the operation of the language processor can be examined more directly in production than in comprehension. Butterworth supports this claim by noting that the output of the production system – speech or writing – is more tangible than that of the comprehension system – mental representations. The properties of such representations can be determined only by indirect methods, but speech and writing are more easily analysed. Nevertheless, the tighter experimental control that can be exercised in studies of comprehension continues to guarantee their favour among psycholinguists.
