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MULTIMODAL LINGUISTICS: Directions of research

MULTIMODAL LINGUISTICS: Directions of research. CML-2008 Montenegro, September 2008. Andrej A. Kibrik ( Institute of Linguistics, RAN ) kibrik@comtv.ru. The mainstream linguistic approach.

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MULTIMODAL LINGUISTICS: Directions of research

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  1. MULTIMODAL LINGUISTICS: Directions of research CML-2008 Montenegro, September 2008 Andrej A. Kibrik (Institute of Linguistics, RAN) kibrik@comtv.ru

  2. The mainstream linguistic approach • Language consists of hierarchically organized segmental units, such as phonemes, morphemes, words, phrases, and sentences • Linguistic form is thus equated with verbal form • Search for “linguistic form” in Google: • The first result is: • “A meaningful unit of language, such as an affix, a word, a phrase, or a sentence.” (TheFreeDictionary.com) • «В своей совокупности языковые знаки образуют особого рода знаковую систему – язык. <…> Наиболее типичным языковым знаком является слово <…> Форма выражения любого словесного знака состоит из фонем» (Лингвистический энциклопедический словарь, с. 167)

  3. In related disciplines • Assumption typically held by other cognitive scientists, for example psychologists: language consists of words, sentences, and other verbal units • “With no more than 50 to 100 K words humans can create and understand an infinite number of sentences” (Bernstein et al. 1994: 349-350) • When psychologists and neuroscientists work with “language”, they almost invariably think that language is a set of individual words or, at most, sentences

  4. However • There are prosodic, that is non-verbal aspects to sound • Imagine prosody-free talk • or, vice versa, talk behind a wall • Apart from sound, there are other channels of communication, in the first place through vision (body language, gesture, gaze, etc.)

  5. Multimodality • In order to understand language and communication, all aspects of linguistic form shold be taken into account • This is what is sometimes called the multimodal approach • Modality, or mode, refers to a distinct type of input • In particular, modality is a kind of stimulus associated with one the human senses, particularly hearing and sight • So the verbal component, prosody, and body language all count as modes or modalities • Hence the notion of multimodality

  6. Goals of this talk • Emphasize the importance of prosody and visual aspects of communication in linguistic research • Show how prosody and visual communication interact with the verbal component, thus suggesting not only the multimodal, but also the cross-modal approach • Propose that linguistics cannot progress without seriously taking multimodality into account

  7. Are these goals relevant and important? • After all, linguists and other scholars have already been pursuing these issues for many decades, and the respective research traditions are quite rich • But: • First, prosody and visual communication are marginalized in linguistics, they are located in certain “pockets” of the overall linguistic panorama and are tolerated by the mainstream as “paralinguistics” • Those focusing on these information channels often treat them as a “thing in itself”, without integration with the verbal component

  8. Plan of talk • I. Prosody • Sentence • II. Gestures • Reference • III. Relative contribution of three information channels • IV. Signed languages • Reference • V. Wider context

  9. I. PROSODY • Prosodic components • pausing • accents • pitch • tempo (of various scope) • registers • degrees of reduction • glottal features • loudness • ................ • Prosody is responsible for discourse segmentation into Elementary Discourse Units (EDUs), identified on the basis of several prosodic components and strongly correlated with clauses

  10. ....(1.5) /\Озеро ...(0.5)какое-то, Lake some ..(0.3) (Или /\речка, Either river или /\озеро, or lake но по-моему \озеро, but I guess lake потому что’..(0.2) как-то-оwbecause somehow...(0.6)\маленькоетакое, small such \небольшое.) minor ....(1.0) ’и-иh ...(0.7)через/него and across it..(0.3)как-то\бревнокакое-то, somehow log some типа\моста. like bridge ....(1.5) /\Ozero ...(0.5) kakoe-to, ..(0.3) (Ili/\rečka, ili/\ozero, no po-moemu\ozero, potomučto’..(0.2) kak-to-oW ...(0.6) \malen’koetakoe, \nebol’šoe.) ....(1.0) ’i-iH ...(0.7) čerez /nego ..(0.3) kak-to \brevnokakoe-to, tipa \mosta. An example of prosodically oriented discourse transcription

  11. Night Dream Stories • Corpus of spoken Russian stories • Speakers: children and adolescents • Subject matter: retelling of night dreams • Discourse type: monologic narrative (personal stories) • Joint study with Vera Podlesskaya and a group of our graduate students

  12. ....(1.5) /\Озеро ...(0.5)какое-то, Lake some ..(0.3) (Или /\речка, Either river или /\озеро, or lake но по-моему \озеро, but I guess lake потому что’..(0.2) как-то-оwbecause somehow...(0.6)\маленькоетакое, small such \небольшое.) minor ....(1.0) ’и-иh ...(0.7)через/него and across it..(0.3)как-то\бревнокакое-то, somehow log some типа\моста. like bridge ....(1.5) /\Ozero ...(0.5) kakoe-to, ..(0.3) (Ili/\rečka, ili/\ozero, no po-moemu\ozero, potomučto’..(0.2) kak-to-oW ...(0.6) \malen’koetakoe, \nebol’šoe.) ....(1.0) ’i-iH ...(0.7) čerez /nego ..(0.3) kak-to \brevnokakoe-to, tipa \mosta. Segmentation (lines)

  13. ....(1.5) /\Озеро ...(0.5)какое-то, Lake some ..(0.3)(Или /\речка, Either river или /\озеро, or lake но по-моему \озеро, but I guess lake потому что’..(0.2)как-то-оwbecause somehow...(0.6)\маленькоетакое, small such \небольшое.) minor ....(1.0) ’и-иh...(0.7)через/него and across it..(0.3)как-то\бревнокакое-то, somehow log some типа\моста. like bridge ....(1.5) /\Ozero...(0.5) kakoe-to, ..(0.3) (Ili/\rečka, ili/\ozero, no po-moemu\ozero, potomučto’..(0.2) kak-to-oW...(0.6) \malen’koetakoe, \nebol’šoe.) ....(1.0)’i-iH...(0.7)čerez /nego..(0.3)kak-to \brevnokakoe-to, tipa \mosta. Pauses

  14. ....(1.5) /\Озеро ...(0.5)какое-то, Lake some ..(0.3) (Или /\речка, Either river или /\озеро, or lake но по-моему \озеро, but I guess lake потому что’..(0.2) как-то-оwbecause somehow...(0.6)\маленькоетакое, small such \небольшое.) minor ....(1.0) ’и-иh ...(0.7)через/него and across it..(0.3)как-то\бревнокакое-то, somehow log some типа\моста. like bridge ....(1.5) /\Ozero ...(0.5) kakoe-to, ..(0.3) (Ili/\rečka, ili/\ozero, no po-moemu\ozero, potomučto’..(0.2) kak-to-oW ...(0.6) \malen’koetakoe, \nebol’šoe.) ....(1.0) ’i-iH ...(0.7) čerez/nego ..(0.3) kak-to\brevnokakoe-to, tipa\mosta. Pitch accents

  15. ....(1.5) /\Озеро ...(0.5)какое-то, Lake some ..(0.3) (Или /\речка, Either river или /\озеро, or lake но по-моему \озеро, but I guess lake потому что’..(0.2) как-то-оwbecause somehow...(0.6)\маленькоетакое, small such \небольшое.) minor ....(1.0) ’и-иh ...(0.7)через/него and across it..(0.3)как-то\бревнокакое-то, somehow log some типа\моста. like bridge ....(1.5) /\Ozero ...(0.5) kakoe-to, ..(0.3) (Ili/\rečka, ili/\ozero, no po-moemu\ozero, potomučto’..(0.2) kak-to-oW ...(0.6) \malen’koetakoe, \nebol’šoe.) ....(1.0) ’i-iH ...(0.7) čerez /nego ..(0.3) kak-to \brevnokakoe-to, tipa \mosta. Tempo: wide and narrowscope

  16. ....(1.5) /\Озеро ...(0.5)какое-то, Lake some ..(0.3) (Или /\речка, Either river или /\озеро, or lake но по-моему \озеро, but I guess lake потому что’..(0.2) как-то-оwbecause somehow...(0.6)\маленькоетакое, small such \небольшое.) minor ....(1.0)’и-иh ...(0.7)через/него and across it..(0.3)как-то\бревнокакое-то, somehow log some типа\моста. like bridge ....(1.5) /\Ozero ...(0.5) kakoe-to, ..(0.3) (Ili/\rečka, ili/\ozero, no po-moemu\ozero, potomučto’..(0.2) kak-to-oW ...(0.6) \malen’koetakoe, \nebol’šoe.) ....(1.0) ’i-iH ...(0.7) čerez /nego ..(0.3) kak-to \brevnokakoe-to, tipa \mosta. Other prosodic phenomena

  17. Prosody and sentence • Does spoken language consist of sentences? • Sheer facts: • Spoken language is the primary form of language • Spoken language does not contain periods, question marks and other explicit signals of sentence boundaries • Research question: • Is sentence, as a theoretical construct, as identifiable and as basic for the primary form of language as it is (or as it is thought to be) for written language?

  18. Transitional continuity • Term by J. DuBois et al. 1992 • Alternative term by Sandro V. Kodzasov: phase • Discourse semantic category: ‘end’ vs. ‘non-end’ (=expectation of a forthcoming end) • End of tentative sentence – falling tonal accent • Non-end – rising tonal accent

  19. A canonical example of the transitional continuity distinction z57:15-16 • ..(0.4) /\Мы-ы’ ..(0.4) \как бы за них /взя-ались, ..(0.4) /\My-y’ ..(0.4) \kakbyzanix /vzja-alis’, We sort of at them got.hold • ...(0.5) и-и ввь= || ..(0.2) полетели \вве-ерх. • ...(0.5) i-i vv’= || ..(0.2) poleteli \vve-erx. • and flew upward • Rising (“comma”) • Non-end • Falling (“period”) • End • If things were that easy, sentence would be uncontroversial

  20. ....(1.5) /\Озеро ...(0.5)какое-то, ..(0.3) (Или /\речка, или /\озеро, но по-моему \озеро, потому что’..(0.2) как-то-оw...(0.6)\маленькоетакое, \небольшое.) ....(1.0) ’и-иh ...(0.7)через/него..(0.3)как-то\бревнокакое-то, типа\моста. ....(1.5) /\Ozero ...(0.5) kakoe-to, Lake some ..(0.3) (Ili/\rečka, Either river ili/\ozero, or lake no po-moemu\ozero, but I guess lake potomučto’..(0.2) kak-to-oWbecause somehow...(0.6) \malen’koe takoe, small such \nebol’šoe.) minor ....(1.0) ’i-iH ...(0.7) čerez /negoand across it ..(0.3) kak-to\brevno kakoe-to,somehow log some tipa\mosta.like bridge Uncanonical situation: Non-end with a falling tonal accent

  21. The problem of two kinds of falling • The existence of non-final falling calls relevance of sentence into question • However, the distinction between two kinds of falling is very systematic • The two kinds of falling: • are prosodically distinct • have distinct discourse functions

  22. Prosodic criteria of the final vs. non-final falling distinction • Target frequency band • Post-accent behavior • Pausing pattern • Reset vs. latching • Steepness of falling • Interval of falling

  23. Target frequency band • Final falling (“period”): targets at the bottom of the speaker’s F0 range • Non-final falling (“faling comma”): targets at level several dozen Hz (several semitones) higher

  24. F0 graph for the “lake” example 12 10 12 8 5 \ozero, \malen’koe \nebol’ \brevno kakoe \mosta. takoe, šoe. -to,

  25. Representation of EDU continuity types in corpus

  26. The status of sentence • In the speech of most speakers final falling is clearly distinct from non-final patterns • Final intonation, expressly distinct from non-final intonation (both rising and falling), makes the notion of sentence valid for spoken discourse • Speakers “know” when they complete a sentence and when they do not • Apparently, spoken sentences are the prototype of written sentences • However, identification of sentences is possible only on the basis of a complex analytic procedure

  27. Conclusions on prosody and sentence • Sentence is an intermediate hierarchical grouping between a whole discourse and an EDU (roughly, clause) • Sentence is a complex, non-elementary unit of spoken language • These conclusions, possible only due to prosodic analysis, are of prime importance for linguistic theory • The notion of sentence, so salient in theories restricted to the verbal component alone, can only be evaluated relying on prosodic evidence

  28. II. GESTURE • In the course of linguistic communication, it is not just that the speaker speaks and the addressee listens • In addition, the speaker displays, and the addressee observes • Gesture • Gaze • Mimics • Posture • Proxemics • Cultural symbolism • ..................... (see, for example, Крейдлин 2002, Бутовская 2004)

  29. Gestures • Gestures are kinetic behaviors of arms and other limbs, capable of conveying meaning from speaker to addressee. • Among the various types of gestures (see e.g. McNeill 1992) pointing gesturesare one of the most salient types.

  30. Pointing • Возьмите игрушки там!

  31. Elements of a canonical pointing act

  32. Phylogeny and ontogeny • Appear an exclusive property of humans (Tomasello et al. 2007) • Are a very ancient gesture type (Крейдлин 2007) • Appear at the end of the first year • Can participate in binary multimodal constructions “word + gesture”, such as open POINT (Butcher and Goldin-Meadow 2000)

  33. Reference and pointing • Reference is a fundamental linguistic phenomenon, accounting for about every third word in running discourse • Studies of reference (deixis, anaphora, etc.) are among the central concerns of modern linguistics • Pointing is the developmental source of reference

  34. Pointing, deixis, and exophora • Deixis is the most widely recognized function of pointing • However, quite frequently pointing is associated with exophora, that is mention of perceptually activated referents (O'Neill 1996, Levy 2000: 219, Nikolaeva 2003 )

  35. Exophoric reference (from Nikolaeva 2003) • a. My s Anatoliem uže mnogo let očen’ rabótaem, <three intervening clauses> • e. on mnogo raz zavjázyval, ‘Anatolij and I have been working together for many years, <…> he was winding it up (drinking) many times’

  36. Anaphora • Anaphora (reference to items activated by prior discourse) is secondary to exophora (reference to items activated by perceptual availability) • Exophora is the ontological source of anaphora • Anaphora occasionally occurs with pointing

  37. Pointing and prosody • Pointing and accentuation are analogous phenomena, both associated with making an item salient • Levy (2000): energy expenditure • Nikolaeva (p.c.): pointing invariably cooccurs with accent

  38. Substitution: Referent vs. demonstratum • Reference to non-specific items: Vot počemu my i obraščàemsja poroj k psixologam. ‘This is why we address psychologists now and then’ • This phenomenon is known as deferred ostension, analogic deixis, ostensive metonymy, etc. • In substitution, reference does not have to be non-specific He got a big scar here (pointing to one’s cheek) (Levelt 1989)

  39. Virtual pointing • Pointing to imaginary targets • cf. Buehler’s Deixis am Phantasma, McNeill’s abstract pointing

  40. Frequency in two discourse types • Nikolaeva 2003 (TV shows): • 5.4 poinring gestures per 100 EDUs • 2.7 are virtual pointing • Nikolaeva p.c. 2007 (retelling of a film): • 4.2 pointing gestures per 100 EDUs • All are virtual pointing • Pointing in exophora/anaphora is as frequent as in deixis

  41. a. … əə Kogda on exal po= po doróge, • b. on əə mm … poravnjalsja s dévočkoj, ‘As he rode along the road, he passed a girl<...>’

  42. d. onzasmotrélsja na neë, ‘he gaped at her’

  43. Establishment of spatial relations • By illustrative gestures, as in the previous example • By verbal devices a. i naprotiv menja sideli dve devočki-mulátki, <21 intervening clauses> y. vot êti dve devočki naprotiv i jà, ‘‘And across from me sat two brown-skinned girls, <…> these two girls and I<...>’ • There is no difference for the referential system what was used to establish spatial relations • Verbal and gestural material is jointly used to convey the inner cognitive representation from the speaker to the addressee

  44. Conclusions on pointing and reference • The pointing gesture is the developmental source of reference • The use of pointing is intimately connected to reference • Reference, a central linguistic phenomenon, cannot be understood if we fail to take gesture into account

  45. III. Relative contribution of three information channels Discourse Vocal channelsVisual channel Verbal channelProsodic channel

  46. What is the contribution of different channels? • Traditional approach of mainstream linguistics: the verbal channel is so central that prosody and the visual channel are at best downgraded as “paralinguistics” • Applied psychology • It is often stated that (figures go back to Mehrabian 1971): • body language conveys 55% of information • prosody conveys 38% of information • the verbal component conveys 7% of information • «Words may be what men use when all else fails» (Крейдлин 2002: 6) • Who is right?

  47. Experimental study • Isolate three information channels • Present a sample discourse in all possible variants (23=8) • Present each of the eight variants to a group of subjects • Assess the degree of understanding in each case • El’bert 2007, Kibrik and El’bert 2008

  48. Experimental material • Russian TV serial “Tajny sledstvija” – “Mysteries of the investigation” • Experimental excerpt: 3 min. 20 sec. • Preceded by a 8 minutes context (that starts from the beginning of the series) • The excerpt fully consists of a conversation, to ensure that we are testing the understanding of discourse rather than of the film in general • Two vocal channels have been separated: • verbal alone – running subtitles • prosodic alone – superimposed filter creating the “behind a wall” effect • Subjects: • 99 participants, divided into 8 groups • Native speakers of Russian • Each group comprised 10 to 17 subjects

  49. Full version

  50. Visual + verbal channels

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