mental lexicon
[/ˈmen.təl ˈlek.sɪ.kən/]
nounpl: mental lexicons
léxico mental
1. The mental storage system containing all the words and vocabulary that a person knows and can access for language comprehension and production
When you read a word, your mental lexicon is activated to retrieve its meaning.
Quando você lê uma palavra, seu léxico mental é ativado para recuperar seu significado.
2. The internalized dictionary of morphemes, phonemes, and word meanings that speakers use in language processing
The mental lexicon is organized in a way that allows speakers to quickly access words during conversation.
O léxico mental é organizado de forma a permitir que os falantes acessem rapidamente as palavras durante a conversa.
3. In cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics, the neural representation of vocabulary knowledge
Research on the mental lexicon has shown that word frequency affects how quickly we can recognize and produce words.
A pesquisa sobre o léxico mental mostrou que a frequência das palavras afeta a velocidade com que podemos reconhecer e produzir palavras.
This term is primarily used in academic and scientific contexts in both Brazil and the United States, particularly in linguistics, psychology, and cognitive science research. It is not commonly used in everyday conversation but is fundamental to understanding how bilingual speakers manage multiple languages and how language acquisition occurs. In Brazilian universities, this concept is increasingly important in studies of bilingualism and language disorders.
Related Idioms & Phrases
access the mental lexicon
organize the mental lexicon
retrieve from the mental lexicon
expand one's mental lexicon
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