Efficiency in discourse processing: Does morphosyntax adapt to accommodate new referents?

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (s3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Schnell ◽  
Nils Norman Schiborr ◽  
Geoffrey Haig
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Discourse Processing ◽  
Discourse Production ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
Cognitive Challenge ◽  
Direct Objects

Abstract The introduction of new referents into discourse has traditionally been regarded as a major challenge to language processing, for which speakers deploy specific syntactic configurations, guided by the speaker’s assessment of the recipient’s state of mind (‘recipient design’). In this paper we probe these assumptions against discourse data from nine languages. We find little evidence for specialized syntactic configurations accommodating new referents; the only notable exception is the association of new reference with direct objects, suggests that linking new referents to already established discourse frames through a transitive construction is preferable to isolating them in an intransitive one. Where specific intransitive predicates are indeed found to host new referents, we find this to be motivated primarily by semantic considerations. Contrary to long-held assumptions, we conclude that the cognitive challenge of referent introduction is only weakly reflected in morphosyntax; instead, discourse production is most efficient when new referents are integrated seamlessly with content-driven demands of the narration.

Models of Discourse Representation

2021 ◽  
pp. 276-356
Author(s):  
Erik D. Reichle
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Text Processing ◽  
Discourse Processing ◽  
Discourse Representation ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Large Representative

This chapter first describes what has been learned about how readers represent the meaning of discourse by integrating the meanings to individual sentences to construct the representations needed to understand larger segments of text. The chapter reviews the key findings related to text processing and how this sparked an ongoing debate about the extent to which the making of inferences during reading is obligatory. The chapter reviews precursor theories and models of discourse representation that attempt to explain how discourse representations are generated via the interaction of language processing and memory. The chapter then reviews a large, representative sample of the models that have been used to simulate and understand aspects of discourse processing. They are reviewed in their order of development to show how the models have evolved to accommodate new empirical findings. The chapter concludes with an explicit comparative analysis of the discourse-processing models and discusses the empirical findings that each model can and cannot explain.

scholarly journals Using eye-tracking to investigate topics in L2 acquisition and L2 sentence and discourse processing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Roberts ◽  
Anna Siyanova
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Discourse Processing ◽  
Target Language ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
Major Benefit ◽  
The Moment

Second language (L2) researchers are becoming more interested in both L2 learners' knowledge of the target language and how that knowledge is put to use during real-time language processing. Researchers are therefore beginning to see the importance of combining traditional L2 research methods with those that capture the moment-by-moment interpretation of the target language, such as eye-tracking. The major benefit of the eye-tracking method is that it can tap into real-time (or online) comprehension processes during the uninterrupted processing of the input, and thus, the data can be compared to those elicited by other, more metalinguistic tasks to offer a broader picture of language acquisition and processing. In this article, we present an overview of the eye-tracking technique and illustrate the method with L2 studies that show how eye-tracking data can be used to (a) investigate language-related topics and (b) inform key debates in the fields of L2 acquisition and L2 processing. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013.

scholarly journals Modulating the left inferior frontal cortex by task domain, cognitive challenge and tDCS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Nardo ◽  
Katerina Pappa ◽  
John Duncan ◽  
Peter Zeidman ◽  
Martina F. Callaghan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Spoken Language Processing ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Inferior Frontal Cortex ◽  
Domain Generality ◽  
Cognitive Challenge

ABSTRACTThe left inferior frontal cortex (LIFC) is a key region for spoken language processing, but its neurocognitive architecture remains controversial. Here we assess the domain-generality vs. domain-specificity of the LIFC from behavioural, functional neuroimaging and neuromodulation data. Using concurrent fMRI and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) delivered to the LIFC, we investigated how brain activity and behavioural performance are modulated by task domain (naming vs. non-naming), cognitive challenge (low vs. high), and tDCS (anodal vs. sham). The data revealed: (1) co-existence of neural signatures both common and distinct across tasks within the LIFC; (2) domain-preferential effects of task (naming); (3) significant tDCS modulations of activity in a LIFC sub-region selectively during high-challenge naming. The presence of both domain-specific and domain-general signals, and the existence of a gradient of activation where naming relied more on sub-regions within the LIFC, may help reconcile both perspectives on spoken language processing.

scholarly journals Using eye-tracking to investigate topics in L2 acquisition and L2 sentence and discourse processing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Roberts ◽  
Anna Siyanova
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Discourse Processing ◽  
Target Language ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
Major Benefit ◽  
The Moment

Second language (L2) researchers are becoming more interested in both L2 learners' knowledge of the target language and how that knowledge is put to use during real-time language processing. Researchers are therefore beginning to see the importance of combining traditional L2 research methods with those that capture the moment-by-moment interpretation of the target language, such as eye-tracking. The major benefit of the eye-tracking method is that it can tap into real-time (or online) comprehension processes during the uninterrupted processing of the input, and thus, the data can be compared to those elicited by other, more metalinguistic tasks to offer a broader picture of language acquisition and processing. In this article, we present an overview of the eye-tracking technique and illustrate the method with L2 studies that show how eye-tracking data can be used to (a) investigate language-related topics and (b) inform key debates in the fields of L2 acquisition and L2 processing. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013.

Into the Unknown

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashlee Milton
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Information Retrieval ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
The United States ◽  
Open Problems ◽  
Community Needs ◽  
Subliminal Stimulus ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
Search Engine Result

Mental health disorders (MHD) are a rising, yet stigmatized, topic. With statistics reporting that one in five adults in the United States will be afflicted by a MHD in their lifetime, researchers have begun exploring the behavioral nuances that emerge from interactions of these individuals with persuasive technologies, mainly social media. Yet, there is a gap in the analysis pertaining to a persuasive technology that is part of their everyday lives: search engines (SE). Each day, users with MHD embark on information seeking journeys using SE. Every step of the search process for better or worse has the potential to influence a searcher’s state of mind. In this thesis work, we empirically investigate what subliminal stimulus SE present to these vulnerable individuals during their searches. We do so by utilizing an information retrieval foundation that leverages data and techniques from psychology, social media, and natural language processing. Outcomes from this work showcase open problems related to query suggestions, search engine result pages, and ranking, that the information retrieval community needs to address so that SE can better support individuals with MHD.

Analyzing Discourse Processing Using a Simple Natural Language Processing Tool

2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 511-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott A. Crossley ◽  
Laura K. Allen ◽  
Kristopher Kyle ◽  
Danielle S. McNamara
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language Processing ◽  
Natural Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Discourse Processing ◽  
Natural Language Processing Tool

scholarly journals Extended Perspective Shift and Discourse Economy in Language Processing

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse A. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Discourse Processing ◽  
Contextual Cues ◽  
Current Perspective ◽  
Narrative Reporting ◽  
Narrative Forms

Research spanning linguistics, psychology, and philosophy suggests that speakers and hearers are finely attuned to perspectives and viewpoints that are not their own, even though perspectival information is not encoded directly in the morphosyntax of languages like English. While some terms seem to require a perspective or a judge for interpretation (e.g., epithets, evaluative adjectives, locational PPs, etc.), perspective may also be determined on the basis of subtle information spanning multiple sentences, especially in vivid styles of narrative reporting. In this paper, I develop an account of the cues that are involved in evaluating and maintaining non-speaker perspectives, and present an economy-based discourse processing model of perspective that embodies two core principles. First, perspectives are subject to a “speaker-default,” but may shift to a non-speaker perspective if sufficient contextual cues are provided. Second, the processor follows the path of least resistance to maintaining perspective, opting to maintain the current perspective across sentences as long as the shifted perspective continues to be coherent. The predictions of the model are tested in a series of offline and online studies, manipulating the form of an attitude report and the tense of the sentence that follows. Implications for processing perspective and viewpoint in speech and narrative forms are explored.

scholarly journals Intersentential coreference expectations reflect mental models of events

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theres Grüter ◽  
Aya Takeda ◽  
Hannah Rohde ◽  
Amy J. Schafer
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Mental Model ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Discourse Processing ◽  
Mental Event ◽  
Event Representation ◽  
The World ◽  
Incoming Information ◽  
New Evidence

Comprehenders’ perception of the world is mediated by the mental models they construct. During discourse processing, incoming information allows comprehenders to update their model of the events being described. At the same time, comprehenders use these models to generate expectations about who or what will be mentioned next. The temporal dynamics of this interdependence between language processing and mental event representation has been difficult to disentangle. The present visual world eye-tracking experiment measures listeners’ coreference expectations during an intersentential pause between a sentence about a transfer-of-possession event and a continuation mentioning either its Source or Goal. We found a temporally dispersed but sustained preference for fixating the Goal that was significantly greater when the event was described as completed rather than incomplete (passed versus was passing). This aligns with reported offline sensitivity to event structure, as conveyed via verb aspect, and provides new evidence that our mental model of an event leads to early and, crucially, proactive expectations about subsequent mention in the upcoming discourse.

scholarly journals LANGUAGE COMPETENCE OF STUDENT TOWARD RIGHT HEMISPHER BRAIN FUNCTION : A Neuropragmatic Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Handoko Handoko ◽  
Gusdi Sastra ◽  
Ike Revita
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Discourse Processing ◽  
English Department ◽  
Paper Test ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Communication Assessment ◽  
The Right

It has been known that the right hemisphere is contributed to language processing, especially in macro level, including macrostructure or discourse processing. This research is aimed at evaluating the students’ ability in language processing concerning macrostructure and the right hemispher brain function. This research is based on Dharmaperwira-prins method “Right Hemisphere Communication Assessment” (Pemeriksaan Komunikasi Hemisfer Kanan/PKHK). Research on students’ ability in macrostructure processing is important to conduct since students nowadays are regarded lack of ability in well being communication. The research is conducted toward 38 students of English Department of Andalas University. The data are taken by paper test which is designed to evaluate the students’ ability in macrostructure. The result of research shows that most students have problems in providing important information, adjective, and feeling. By this result, it can be assumed that the participants have problem in right hemisphere competence concerning to language processing. These problems evoke not by accident or lesion in right hemisphere, yet it is caused by brain development which is focused on left hemisphere only.Keyword: Right Hemisphere, Language Assessment, Lexical Semantic, Macrostructure, Pragmatic

Language processing is not a race against time

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giosuè Baggio ◽  
Carmelo M. Vicario
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Human Brain ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Language System ◽  
Moderating Factors

AbstractWe agree with Christiansen & Chater (C&C) that language processing and acquisition are tightly constrained by the limits of sensory and memory systems. However, the human brain supports a range of cognitive functions that mitigate the effects of information processing bottlenecks. The language system is partly organised around these moderating factors, not just around restrictions on storage and computation.

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