Correct use of verb argument structure relies on accurate verb semantic representations whose formation depends partly on use of reverse linking. We predicted that children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI), who have difficulties with reverse linking, would have inaccurate semantic representations for verbs and hence difficulties with verb…

This study investigated whether the semantic similarity and grammatical class of distracter words affects the naming of pictured actions (verbs) in Japanese. Three experiments used the picture-word interference paradigm with participants naming picturable actions while ignoring distracters. In all three experiments, we manipulated the semantic…