A word-association study in Greek and the concept of the syntagmatic-paradigmatic shift

Abstract

This paper examines the developmental shift of response type through a qualitative study of word associations in Greek. In particular, it tests whether the associations produced by Greek speakers confirm findings of similar studies in other languages with respect to the syntagmatic-paradigmatic shift. To this aim, a translated version of the Kent-Rosanoff test was administered to both adults and children who were native speakers of Greek. The findings of this study do not provide support for the concept of the syntagmatic-paradigmatic shift, as they indicate a predominance of paradigmatic associations in children's responses and a majority of syntagmatic associations in adults' responses. The paper discusses the concept of the syntagmatic-paradigmatic shift and suggests the need for further research in word associations in Greek but also in other languages. © 2011 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden.