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Sentence Processing II. Language Use and Understanding Class 11. Announcements. On-line readings - those that are missing are generally available electronically from journal websites; library list will hopefully soon be up-to-date Copy room papers will also be updated soon
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Sentence Processing II Language Use and Understanding Class 11
Announcements • On-line readings - those that are missing are generally available electronically from journal websites; library list will hopefully soon be up-to-date • Copy room papers will also be updated soon • In case the paper is unavailable or disappears - YOU are responsible for getting it, by contacting me or going to the original journal if necessary.
Altmann et al., 1992 • Relative/Complement ambiguity • The fireman told the woman that he had risked his life for… • … many people in similar fires • …to install a smoke detector. • Referential Hypothesis • Choose syntax that allows a unique referent to be found in context • If you can’t, interpret subsequent material as a modifier • If you can, to be parsimonious then pick the simple NP interpretation
Tanenhaus et al. 1995 • Referential Context • Put the apple on the towel in the box. Put the apple on the towel in the box referent goal garden-path goal
Sensitivity and time course in sentence processing: Put the apple on the towel in the box.
Multiple referents eliminate the goal garden-path Put the apple (that’s) on the towel in the box.
1.0 Instruction Ambiguous 0.8 Unambiguous 0.6 Eye Movements to Incorrect Goal Proportion of Trials with 0.4 0.2 0.0 One-Referent Context Multiple referents eliminate the goal garden-path Put the apple (that’s) on the towel in the box.
1.0 Instruction Ambiguous 0.8 Unambiguous 0.6 Eye Movements to Incorrect Goal Proportion of Trials with 0.4 0.2 0.0 One-Referent Context Two-Referent Context No garden-path with two potential referents Put the apple (that’s) on the towel in the box.
Sent. Proc. III: Constraint-based models • A history of syntactic ambiguity resolution • 2-stage models, e.g. The Garden-Path Theory (Lyn Frazier, Janet Fodor, etc.) • The Referential Hypothesis (Altmann, Crain, Steedman) • Constraint-based theories (Tanenhaus and colleagues, MacDonald and colleagues)
The influence of non-syntactic information • Plausibility • The historian read the manuscript • …during the trip. • …had been destroyed in the fire. • How likely is it for a manuscript to be the object of read? • How likely is it for a manuscript to be the subject of another clause?
The influence of non-syntactic information • Verb subcategorization • Read: <Agent, theme> He read the book. <Agent> He read • Which is more frequent?