Translation semantic variability: How semantic relatedness affects learning of translation-ambiguous words

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 783-794 ◽  
Author(s):  
JENNIFER BRACKEN ◽  
TAMAR DEGANI ◽  
CHELSEA EDDINGTON ◽  
NATASHA TOKOWICZ
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Semantic Relatedness ◽  
Continuous Measure ◽  
Unique Variance ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
One To One ◽  
Dichotomous Classification

Translations often do not align directly across languages, and indirect mappings reduce the accuracy of language learning. To facilitate examination of this issue, we developed a new continuous measure for quantifying the semantic relatedness of words with more than one translation (hereafter translation-ambiguous words). Participants rated the similarity of each translation to every other translation, yielding a Translation Semantic Variability (TSV) score, ranging from 1.00 (unrelated) to 7.00 (related). Then, we determined how relatedness between translations affects translation-ambiguous word learning from German to English. German words with low TSV scores were recognized as translations more slowly and less accurately than German words with high TSV scores. TSV explains unique variance beyond the previously-used dichotomous classification of words as form vs. meaning ambiguous. We propose that the relatedness of the translation alternatives influences learning because it affects the ease with which a one-to-one mapping can be established between form and meaning.

scholarly journals Quantifying Lexical Ambiguity in Speech To and From English-Learning Children

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Meylan ◽  
Jessica Mankewitz ◽  
Sammy Floyd ◽  
Hugh Rabagliati ◽  
Mahesh Srinivasan
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
First Language ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Multiple Meanings ◽  
Small Sample Sizes ◽  
Word Senses

Because words have multiple meanings, language users must often choose appropriate meanings according to the context of use. How this potential ambiguity affects first language learning, especially word learning, is unknown. Here, we present the first large-scale study of how children are exposed to, and themselves use, ambiguous words in their actual language learning environments. We tag 180,000 words in two longitudinal child language corpora with word senses from WordNet, focusing between 9 and 51 months and limiting to words from a popular parental vocabulary report. We then compare the diversity of sense usage in adult speech around children to that observed in a sample of adult-directed language, as well as the diversity of sense usage in children's own productions. To accomplish this we use a Bayesian model-based estimate of sense entropy, a measure of diversity that takes into account uncertainty inherent in small sample sizes. This reveals that sense diversity in caregivers' speech to children is similar to that observed in a sample of adult-directed written material, and that children' use of nouns --- but not verbs --- is similarly diverse to that of adults. Finally, we show that sense entropy is a significant predictor of vocabulary development: children begin to produce words with a higher diversity of adult sense usage at later ages. We discuss the implications of our findings for theories of word learning.

POSSIBILITIES OF THE CONTEXTUAL METHOD USING IN THE TURKISH LEXICOLOGY

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (31) ◽  
pp. 453-467
Author(s):  
Tetyana Yablonska
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
General Description ◽  
Problem Situation ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Narrow Context ◽  
Turkish Language

The relevance of the Turkish Language learning is substantiated in the article for many reasons. First, because of its prevalence in the whole world. Secondly, due to the huge number of lexical and stylistic features, such as context, polysemantic words, slang, dialects, colloquial words, phraseological units and their diversity. Thirdly, because of its morphological features and also thanks to another pleasant feature of the Turkish language, which is closely related to its clarity and conciseness. The article defines the possibilities of the contextual method using in the Turkish language Lexicology studying. Such teaching methods as descriptive (for a general description of the context); contextual-interpretive (to identify the functional and semantic meaning of a word), as well as a method of creating a problem situation using a contextual task were used for achieving the goal. The essence of the term “context” is determined and the place of context in modern linguistics is considered. The emphasis was also placed on the problems of general Lexicology, which allow the use of contextual analysis and substantiated the primary role of the context in its different types in identifying meanings. The classification of the context is considered, namely the narrow context (microcontext) and wide context (macrocontext). The difficulties of translating words from Turkish and vice versa due to their ambiguity are stipulated. Context has been shown to understand the meaning of a word or phrase. It is a powerful weapon that sheds light on the meaning of unfamiliar and ambiguous words, and the semantic characteristics of the word are described, traced, studied and analyzed. They are based on a typical context. This feature is peculiar not only any foreign language, but to Turkish due to its emotional color and individuality.

scholarly journals Listeners and Readers Generalise Their Experience With Word Meanings Across Modalities

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Anne Gilbert ◽  
Matthew H. Davis ◽  
M. Gareth Gaskell ◽  
Jennifer M Rodd
Keyword(s):  
Priming Effect ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Semantic Relatedness ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Subordinate Meaning ◽  
Target Words

Research has shown that adults’ lexical-semantic representations are surprisingly malleable. For instance, the interpretation of ambiguous words (e.g. bark) is influenced by experience such that recently encountered meanings become more readily available (Rodd et al., 2016, 2013). However the mechanism underlying this word-meaning priming effect remains unclear, and competing accounts make different predictions about the extent to which information about word meanings that is gained within one modality (e.g. speech) is transferred to the other modality (e.g. reading) to aid comprehension. In two web-based experiments, ambiguous target words were primed with either written or spoken sentences that biased their interpretation toward a subordinate meaning, or were unprimed. About 20 minutes after the prime exposure, interpretation of these target words was tested by presenting them in either written or spoken form, using word association (Experiment 1, N=78) and speeded semantic relatedness decisions (Experiment 2, N=181). Both experiments replicated the auditory unimodal priming effect shown previously (Rodd et al., 2016, 2013) and revealed significant cross-modal priming: primed meanings were retrieved more frequently and swiftly across all primed conditions compared to the unprimed baseline. Furthermore, there were no reliable differences in priming levels between unimodal and cross-modal prime-test conditions. These results indicate that recent experience with ambiguous word meanings can bias the reader’s or listener’s later interpretation of these words in a modality-general way. We identify possible loci of this effect within the context of models of long-term priming and ambiguity resolution.

Arguing over Texts

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Camper
Keyword(s):  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Rhetorical Theory ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Textual Interpretation ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
Textual Meaning

Arguing over Texts presents a rhetorical method for analyzing how people disagree over the meaning of texts and how they attempt to reconcile those disagreements through argument. The book recovers and adapts a classification of recurring types of disagreement over textual meaning, invented by ancient Greek and Roman teachers of rhetoric: the interpretive stases. Drawing on the rhetorical works of Aristotle, Cicero, Quintilian, and Hermogenes, the book devotes a chapter to each of the six interpretive stases, which classify issues concerning ambiguous words and phrases, definitions of terms, clashes between the text’s letter and its spirit, internal contradictions, applications of the text to novel cases, and the authority of the interpreter or the text itself. From the dispute over Phillis Wheatley’s allegedly self-racist poetry to the controversy over whether some of Abraham Lincoln’s letters provide evidence he was gay, the book offers examples from religion, politics, history, literary criticism, and law to illustrate that the interpretive stases can be employed to analyze debates over texts in virtually any sphere. In addition to its classical rhetorical foundation, the book draws on research from modern rhetorical theory and language science to elucidate the rhetorical, linguistic, and cognitive grounds for the argumentative construction of textual meaning. The method presented in this book thus advances scholars’ ability to examine the rhetorical dynamics of textual interpretation, to trace the evolution of textual meaning, and to explore how communities ground their beliefs and behaviors in texts.

scholarly journals Contribution to Semantic Analysis of Arabic Language

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anis Zouaghi ◽  
Mounir Zrigui ◽  
Georges Antoniadis ◽  
Laroussi Merhbene
Keyword(s):  
Information Retrieval ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
String Matching ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Matching Algorithm ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Lesk Algorithm ◽  
Context Of Use

We propose a new approach for determining the adequate sense of Arabic words. For that, we propose an algorithm based on information retrieval measures to identify the context of use that is the closest to the sentence containing the word to be disambiguated. The contexts of use represent a set of sentences that indicates a particular sense of the ambiguous word. These contexts are generated using the words that define the senses of the ambiguous words, the exact string-matching algorithm, and the corpus. We use the measures employed in the domain of information retrieval, Harman, Croft, and Okapi combined to the Lesk algorithm, to assign the correct sense of those proposed.

Emotionality effects in ambiguous word recognition: The crucial role of the affective congruence between distinct meanings of ambiguous words

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182199000
Author(s):  
Pilar Ferré ◽  
Juan Haro ◽  
Daniel Huete-Pérez ◽  
Isabel Fraga
Keyword(s):  
Word Processing ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Semantic Ambiguity ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Positive Valence ◽  
Affective Meanings ◽  
Valence Effect ◽  
Affective Word

There is substantial evidence that affectively charged words (e.g., party or gun) are processed differently from neutral words (e.g., pen), although there are also inconsistent findings in the field. Some lexical or semantic variables might explain such inconsistencies, due to the possible modulation of affective word processing by these variables. The aim of the present study was to examine the extent to which affective word processing is modulated by semantic ambiguity. We conducted a large lexical decision study including semantically ambiguous words (e.g., cataract) and semantically unambiguous words (e.g., terrorism), analysing the extent to which reaction times (RTs) were influenced by their affective properties. The findings revealed a valence effect in which positive valence made RTs faster, whereas negative valence slowed them. The valence effect diminished as the semantic ambiguity of words increased. This decrease did not affect all ambiguous words, but was observed mainly in ambiguous words with incongruent affective meanings. These results highlight the need to consider the affective properties of the distinct meanings of ambiguous words in research on affective word processing.

Kraepelin revisited: a reassessment and statistical analysis of dementia praecox and manic-depressive insanity in 1908

1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 843-858 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Jablensky ◽  
H. Hugler ◽  
M. Von Cranach ◽  
K. Kalinov
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Dementia Praecox ◽  
Schizoaffective Disorders ◽  
Homogeneous Groups ◽  
Manic Depressive ◽  
Original Case ◽  
State Examination ◽  
Dichotomous Classification

SynopsisA meta-analysis was carried out on 53 cases of dementia praecox (DP) and 134 cases of manic-depressive insanity (MDI) originally diagnosed by Kraepelin or his collaborators in Munich in 1908. The original case material was coded in terms of Present State Examination syndromes and analysed statistically for internal consistency and discrimination between the two diagnostic entities. Kraepelin's DP and MDI were found to define homogeneous groups of disorders which could be clearly distinguished from one another. A CATEGO re-classification of the cases revealed an 80·2% concordance rate between Kraepelin's diagnoses and ICD-9. Cluster analysis of the original data reproduced closely Kraepelin's dichotomous classification of the psychoses but suggested that DP was a narrower concept than schizophrenia today, while MDI was a composite group including both ‘typical’ manic-depressive illnesses and schizoaffective disorders.

Semantic ambiguity norms for 530 Spanish words

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 457-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUAN HARO ◽  
PILAR FERRÉ ◽  
ROGER BOADA ◽  
JOSEP DEMESTRE
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Objective Measures ◽  
Semantic Ambiguity ◽  
Subjective Ratings ◽  
Subjective Measures ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Ambiguous Words

ABSTRACTThis study presents semantic ambiguity norms for 530 Spanish words. Two subjective measures of semantic ambiguity and two subjective measures of relatedness of ambiguous word meanings were collected. In addition, two objective measures of semantic ambiguity were included. Furthermore, subjective ratings were obtained for some relevant lexicosemantic variables, such as concreteness, familiarity, emotional valence, arousal, and age of acquisition. In sum, the database overcomes some of the limitations of the published databases of Spanish ambiguous words; in particular, the scarcity of measures of ambiguity, the lack of relatedness of ambiguous word meanings measures, and the absence of a set of unambiguous words. Thus, it will be very helpful for researchers interested in exploring semantic ambiguity as well as for those using semantic ambiguous words to study language processing in clinical populations.

Assessment of Language Learning Strategies in Technology-Enhanced Learning Environment

2020 ◽  
pp. 83-99
Author(s):  
Wagdi Rashad Ali Bin-Hady ◽  
Abdu Al-kadi ◽  
Ali Abbas Falah Alzubi ◽  
Hassan Saleh Mahdi
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
English Language ◽  
Cognitive Strategies ◽  
Technology Enhanced Learning ◽  
Language Learning Strategies ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
And Gender

This chapter reports on the Yemeni and Saudi EFL learners' use of language learning strategies (LLSs) in technology-mediated language learning contexts. The study examines whether nationality and gender play a significant role in using LLSs on electronic platforms. The study adopted a correlative design in which 100 Yemeni and Saudi university students were recruited to respond to an online close-ended questionnaire. Drawing on Oxford's classification of learning strategies, the findings of this study showed that metacognitive and cognitive strategies were used more frequently compared to the other LLSs. Moreover, the findings of t-test showed a significant difference in the use of LLSs attributed to nationality in favor of the Saudi learners and no significant difference in the choice of LLSs attributed to gender. The study provided some suggestions for EFL learners to benefit from technology in their English language learning.

Forming associations between language and sensorimotor traces during novel word learning

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 156-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
BIRGIT ÖTTL ◽  
CAROLIN DUDSCHIG ◽  
BARBARA KAUP
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Arm Movement ◽  
Learning Phase ◽  
Movement Direction ◽  
Lower Visual Field ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Multisensory Environment ◽  
Novel Word Learning

abstractEmbodied models of language comprehension are based on the assumption that words become associated with sensorimotor experiences during initial word learning. To test this hypothesis, adult participants learned artificial words as labels for novel objects in a multisensory environment. In a word learning phase, novel objects were located in the participant’s upper or lower visual field and participants learned the objects’ names by interacting with them. In a test phase, participants responded to the color of the words with either an upwards or a downwards directed arm movement in a Stroop-like paradigm. Responses were fastest when the movement direction was compatible with the word’s referent location (i.e., the location of the novel object in vertical space) during the learning phase. This finding suggests that sensorimotor experiences become associated with words during initial word learning. The results of the current study and implications for language learning are discussed.

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