Question

A United States House member used malapropisms (inappropriate words used in place of the appropriate ones) as in the following: 'peach tree dish' instead of \textit{petri dish}
'gazpacho police' instead of \textit{gestapo}
'fragrantly violated' instead of \textit{flagrantly violated}
Such malapropisms show which of the following?

• A. \textbf{Lexical access uses sound similarity.}
• B. \textbf{Mental lexicon is arranged by sound.}
• C. \textbf{Words are arbitrary pairings of sound and meaning.}
• D. \textbf{Borrowed words are not part of the lexicon.}

Hint:

Malapropisms reveal how our brain retrieves words: both sound-based and meaning-based connections exist in the mental lexicon. Errors often occur when sound similarity dominates.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding malapropisms
A malapropism occurs when a speaker mistakenly uses a word that sounds similar to the intended one but has a very different meaning. Examples:
- "peach tree dish" for "petri dish,"
- "gazpacho police" for "gestapo."
This shows that the speaker's lexical retrieval is influenced by phonological similarity.
Step 2: Analyzing the options
- (A) Lexical access uses sound similarity.
Correct. When retrieving words, speakers often select words that are phonologically close to the intended target, leading to sound-based errors. - (B) Mental lexicon is arranged by sound.
Correct. The mental lexicon (our internal dictionary) is structured in multiple ways: by meaning (semantic fields) and by phonological similarity. Malapropisms show that phonological arrangement also plays a role.
- (C) Words are arbitrary pairings of sound and meaning.
This is a general principle of linguistics, but it does not explain why "peach tree dish" substitutes for "petri dish." So, not the best answer here.
- (D) Borrowed words are not part of the lexicon.
Incorrect. Borrowed words (like "gestapo") are integrated into the lexicon of speakers. The issue here is similarity in sound, not borrowing. Step 3: Conclusion
The correct explanation is that malapropisms arise because lexical access relies on sound similarity and because the mental lexicon is also organized by sound. \[ \boxed{Correct Answer: (A) and (B)} \]