Language 8.2

Question 1

What is the difference between linguistic competence and performance? (2 points)

Answer 1

Competence = knowledge, rules, structure
Performance = process of production + comprehension (memory, attention, emotions, reasoning, theory of mind)

Question 2

What are three types of language ambiguity?

Answer 2

Lexical/semantic - context e.g. I buried money in the bank
Structural/syntactic e.g. I shot an elephant in my pyjamas
Referential - pronouns e.g. Jane told Mary she was really jealous

Question 3

What is parsing? (1 sentence)

Answer 3

Determining the syntactic structure of a sentence e.g. grouping words/phrases + deciding subject/object

Question 4

What are two different ways of parsing? (2 points each)

Answer 4

Syntax first
- build syntactic structure first
- then process meaning

Interactionist
- use what info is available + multiple sources used
- no special role of syntax

Question 5

What are the structural principles of the syntax-first method of parsing?

Answer 5

Principle of late closure
- asssume each new word is part of current phrase being built

Principle of minimal attachment
- build simplest syntactic structure possilble

Question 6

What is a garden-path sentence?

Answer 6

A sentence in which structural cues/lexical ambiguity mislead reader into incorrect interpretation until a disambiguating cue appears later in the sentence.

Question 7

Why is it beneficial to understand sentences incrementally rather than waiting? (2 points each)

Answer 7

Waiting:
- heavy working memory burden
- slow and unresponsive

Incrementally:
- lower working memory burden
- fast and responsive but error prone

Question 8

What are 4 methods of testing language comprehension?

Answer 8

Self-paced reading
Eye tracking during reading
Visual world
Event-related potentials

Question 9

What are the benefits and drawbacks of self-based reading? (1 benefit, 3 drawbacks)

Answer 9

Benefits:
- simple and cheap
Drawbacks:
- unnatural reading
- doesn’t explain reasons why
- effects downstream

Question 10

What are the benefits and drawbacks of visual world eye-tracking? (3 benefits, 2 drawbacks)

Answer 10

Benefits:
- more interactive
- spoken language
- high temporal resolution

Drawbacks:
- more complicated setup
- can induce strategies

Question 11

What are event-related potentials, and what are the benefits and drawbacks? (3 benefits, 2 drawbacks)

Answer 11

Electrical brain activity recorded with scalp electrodes

Benefits:
- high temporal resolution
- multi-dimensional data
- can inform about processes

Drawbacks:
- resource intensive
- difficult to combine natural reading