W4 Flashcards
Pragmatics-
the branch of linguistics dealing with language in context
Competence vs performance-
competence involves “knowing” the language and performance involves “doing” something with the language
generative grammar-
grammar which describes a language in terms of a set of logical rules formulated so as to be capable of generating the infinite number of possible sentences of that language
Phrase structure rules-
a type of rewrite rule used to describe a given language’s syntax
Encapsulation-
A language mechanism for restricting direct access to some of an object’s components/ information hiding
parsing-
the process of analysing a string of symbols
modular-
language processing is specialised in the brain to the extent that it occurs partially in different areas than other types of information processing
garden-path sentences-
a grammatically correct sentence that starts in such a way that a reader’s most likely interpretation will be incorrect
minimal attachment-
the parser builds the simplest structure in terms of syntactic relations
late closure-
if grammatically permissible, new items should be attached to the clause or phrase currently being processed
incrementally-
the processing stages of linguistic output
lexical ambiguity-
the meaning of a word is unclear
homonym-
a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning
homonymy-
the relationship between words that are homonyms
polysemy-
the capacity for a sign to have multiple related meanings
metonymy-
an object or idea is referred to by the name of something closely associated with it, as opposed to by its own name
detonation-
a words literal definition—its dictionary definition—and contains no emotion
connotation-
the subjective or associated meaning of a word
synonym-
a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word
antonym-
a word opposite in meaning to another
outline garden path model
reader initially computes a single syntactic analysis without consideration of context
outline constraint-satisfaction theory
all possible syntactic analyses are computed at once on the basis of all relevant sources of information
what are good-enough representations
sufficient to understand the gist of a sentence, but involve some simplification or imprecision
why do we not have exhaustive representation
would be cognitively expensive and unnecessary in many contexts
what are grammaticality judgements based on
implicit knowledge of the syntactic rules of your language
Chomsky says grammar is generative, what does this mean?
- There are a finite number of rules in order to express an infinite number of sentences
- This is due to a property of the language known as recursion (when a rule refers to a version of itself in its definition)
- We cannot have stored all the possible sentences in our heads, and we can always come up with new ones that are well-formed- rule-governed creativity
- A grammar should be able to generate all possible grammatical sentences but not more
what do modular accounts of parsing say
syntactic information first and on its own, subsequent processing takes other kinds of information into account (2 stage)
what do interactive accounts of parsing say
say all information at the same time
what type of model is the Frazier (1987) Garden Path Model
modular account
outline Frazier (1987) Garden Path Model
- Stage 1- parsing done solely on basis of syntactic preferences (done on 2 principles)
- Minimal attachment- go for the simplest structure
- Late closure- incorporate words in the currently open phrase or clause, if possible
- Stage 2- if parse is incompatible with syntax, semantics, theme, or information, reanalysis occurs
what do constraint based models suggest
- we use all information that we have simultaneously to derive structure
- All potentially relevant sources of information (constraints) can be used immediately to help syntactic parsing
how does semantics differ from parsing
there are an unlimited number of possibilities
outline the ordered access model (Duffy 1988)
- Hybrid of exhaustive and selective access models
- Prior context can give “contextual boost”, increase the activation level of one meaning
- Homonyms can be biased or balanced, depending on the relative frequencies of the meanings
biased homonym-
where 1 meaning is much more frequent than the other meaning
outline the underspecification model
- Initially we activate a single but underspecified meaning of a word, this is the same for all semantically related senses
- No immediate selection of a specific sense
- Context-driving homing-in stage
- Means context not used as a judge, but a tool to get to the right specific interpretation
inferences-
The process of developing information that goes beyond the literal meaning of the text
3 types of inferences
- Logical- based on word meaning
- Bridging- backward inference, meaning we relate new info that comes into to information which has already been processed, in order to maintain coherence
- Elaborative- extending the text with your own world knowledge
When are inferences made according to minimalist approach?
- says we only make 2 kinds of inferences
- These are those necessary for local coherence, and those based on quickly available information (usually based in STM)
- Most elaborative inferences are made at the time of recall, not during processing
outline search after meaning model
- This is a hybrid approach
- Sometimes we read more minimalist, sometimes more constructionist
- This depends on the reader’s goals
- Minimalist used when more cursory, faster reading, and when reader has less background knowledge
- More constructionist when more in-depth, slower, reading for enjoyment
what is theory of mind
- The ability to understand that other people can have different views, beliefs, mental states, and that their mental representation of the world can be different from the actual one
when does theory of mind emerge
3-4 years old
