Language Processing and Parsing
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Language Processing and Parsing

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Questions and Answers

What is parsing in language processing?

  • Understanding the syntactic and semantic relations among words (correct)
  • Deleting irrelevant words from a sentence
  • Paying attention to intonation only
  • Recalling the meaning of words only

    • Listeners build a phrase structure representation of a sentence as they hear it.

    True

    What influences the parsing process?

    Grammar rules, word order, intonation, and word knowledge.

    In shadowing tasks, individuals repeat what they hear with a very short delay of ____ seconds.

    <p>0.3</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What term is used to describe sentences that lead to incorrect interpretations?

    <p>Garden path sentences</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the following terms to their descriptions:

    <p>Shadowing = Rapidly repeating what you hear Garden Path Sentences = Sentences that mislead the reader Parsing = Building structural representations of a sentence Intonation = The rise and fall in pitch of speech</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The sentence 'The old man the boat' is grammatically correct.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main purpose of using garden path sentences in language studies?

    <p>To analyze how people process sentences in real time.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which principle suggests that we build the simplest structure when interpreting incoming speech?

    <p>Minimal attachment</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Real-world knowledge is always helpful in parsing sentences correctly.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does 'lexical ambiguity' refer to?

    <p>The phenomenon where a word has multiple meanings.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The sentence 'Jack built the house that the malt that the rat that the cat that the dog worried killed ate lay in' demonstrates __________ in language.

    <p>embedding</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the type of ambiguity with its description:

    <p>Lexical ambiguity = Word with multiple meanings Structural ambiguity = Sentence structure with multiple interpretations Garden pathing = Misleading sentence structures Parsing = Interpreting sentences in real-time</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following sentences is an example of 'garden pathing'?

    <p>The horse raced past the barn fell.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The late closure principle involves attaching incoming material to the most distant phrase.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What effect does context have on interpreting ambiguous words?

    <p>Context helps resolve which meaning of an ambiguous word is selected.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of psycholinguistics?

    <p>To describe processes used in speaking and understanding language</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Language comprehension is a slow and conscious process.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the basic elements that language is made up of?

    <p>Sounds, words, and syntax</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The process of detecting incoming speech is called _____ segmentation.

    <p>word</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What factors influence auditory discrimination?

    <p>Adequate hearing mechanisms and intact auditory pathways</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the following concepts with their descriptions:

    <p>Semantic Priming = Facilitation of understanding a word by prior exposure to a related word Lexical Decision Tasks = Experiments to determine how quickly individuals can recognize words Complexity Of Meaning = The layers of meaning derived from language context Mishearing Phenomena = When a person misinterprets or mishears spoken language</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why do we perceive sounds as discrete units in speech?

    <p>Because of the rule-based nature of language</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one consequence of the Segmentation Problem in speech?

    <p>Difficulty in distinguishing words or phrases in continuous speech</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Parsing

    • Parsing is figuring out the syntactic and semantic relations among words and phrases in a sentence.
    • Listeners build a phrase structure representation of a sentence as they hear it.
    • Each incoming word is assigned a grammatical category and attached to the tree being constructed in the mind.

    Parsing is influenced by

    • The rules of grammar/syntax.
    • The linear presentation of a sentence (what comes first).
    • Intonation and stress.
    • Word knowledge.

    Shadowing Tasks

    • Shadowing tasks require participants to repeat what they hear as rapidly as possible.
    • Good shadowers:
      • show very short delays (0.3 seconds).
      • Correct speech errors and missing morphemes.
      • Don't remember the errors they corrected.
      • Are more likely to correct predictable errors.
    • Shadowing tasks provide insight into language parsing.

    Processing Times & Eye Gaze Tracking

    • Written sentences are given to subjects.
    • Subjects are asked to read the sentence and indicate when they understand it.
    • Length of time taken and eye gaze reveal how we process sentences.
    • 'Garden path' sentences demonstrate how we process sentences in real time.

    Garden Path Sentences

    • We don't wait until the end of a sentence to understand it.
    • We predict what comes next and build its structure as we hear or read it.
    • For example, in "The old man the boat," most people will initially assume a structure like 'the old man [verb phrase]' because "the" often precedes a noun phrase.
    • However, the sentence continues with "the boat," which suggests a different structure, requiring a reanalysis. This happens because of the common assumptions we make:
      • The subject comes first.
      • "Old" is an adjective and usually modifies "man."
      • "Man" is usually a noun and not a verb.

    Intonation and Stress

    • Intonation and stress can provide clues to syntactic structure, helping us understand the meaning of garden path sentences.
    • For example, in the phrase "He lives in the White house," the emphasis on the word "house" suggests that it is a noun, not a verb, making it easier to understand the intended meaning.

    Parsing Hints

    • There are two main ideas that help us interpret incoming speech:
    • Minimal attachment: We build the simplest possible structure, typically avoiding embedded structures. In "The horse raced past the barn fell," we initially interpret it as the horse fell, rather than the horse that raced past the barn fell.
    • Late closure: We attach incoming material to the most recent phrase. In "The Dr said the patient will die yesterday," we tend to associate 'yesterday' with 'will die' instead of 'the doctor said'.
    • These hints help us process syntax quickly but may lead to garden-pathing experiences.

    No Real-World Override

    • "The performer sent the flowers was very pleased" and "The florist sent the flowers was very pleased" are both equally likely to cause garden-pathing. This means our real-world knowledge does not override grammatical structure in determining an initial interpretation.

    Memory Limitation

    • The sentence, "This the dog that worried the cat that killed the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built," is more difficult to understand than "Jack built the house that the malt that the rat that the cat that the dog worried killed ate lay in."
    • This demonstrates the limitations of embedding in language processing, as our ability to hold information in working memory declines with sentence complexity.

    Lexical Ambiguity

    • Lexical ambiguity occurs when a word has multiple meanings. For example, "pear" and "pair" are both pronounced the same.
    • Which meaning of a word is selected depends on factors such as:
      • Frequency of the word in the language (how common each meaning is)
      • Context of the utterance (meaning of the sentence and surrounding sentences or discourse).
      • For example, if your friend says, "I am hot," the activated meaning of "hot" will depend on what is more common for them and the context of the conversation.

    Structural Ambiguity

    • Structural ambiguity arises when a sentence's structure allows for multiple interpretations.
    • The selection between interpretations is based on:
      • Frequency of the syntactic structure (how common each structure is)
      • Environmental context (the situation in which the sentence occurs)
      • Linguistic context (the previous sentences).

    Update the Discourse Record

    • Discourse refers to the flow of language in a conversation or text.
    • Updating the discourse record involves comprehending the current utterance in relation to the previous utterances or context, building a coherent representation of the overall meaning.

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    SPE1103 2024 Week 9 Lecture Notes - Language Processing Comprehension PDF

    Description

    This quiz explores the intricacies of language parsing, including syntactic and semantic relations in sentences. It covers the factors influencing parsing, such as grammar rules, intonation, and shadowing tasks. Gain a deeper understanding of how we process language in real time.

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