scholarly journals A new argument for co-active parses during language comprehension

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Dillon ◽  
Caroline Andrews ◽  
Caren M. Rotello ◽  
Matthew Wagers
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Theoretic Approach ◽  
Ambiguity Advantage ◽  
Linguistic Input ◽  
Acceptability Judgments ◽  
Human Sentence Processing ◽  
Processing Mechanism

One perennially important question for theories of sentence comprehension is whether the human sentence processing mechanism is parallel (i.e. it simultaneously represents multiple syntactic analyses of linguistic input) or serial (i.e. it constructs only a single analysis at a time). Despite its centrality, this question has proven difficult to address for both theoretical and methodological reasons (Gibson & Pearlmutter, 2000; Lewis, 2000). In the present study, we reassess this question from a novel perspective. We investigated the well-known ambiguity advantage effect (Traxler, Pickering & Clifton, 1998) in a speeded acceptability judgment task. We adopted a Signal Detection Theoretic approach to these data, with the goal of determining whether speeded judgment responses were conditioned on one or multiple syntactic analyses. To link these results to incremental parsing models, we developed formal models to quantitatively evaluate how serial and parallel parsing models should impact perceived sentence acceptability in our task. Our results suggest that speeded acceptability judgments are jointly conditioned on multiple parses of the input, a finding that is overall more consistent with parallel parsing models than serial models. Our study thus provides a new, psychophysical argument for co-active parses during language comprehension.

Recency preference in the human sentence processing mechanism

Cognition ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Gibson ◽  
Neal Pearlmutter ◽  
Enriqueta Canseco-Gonzalez ◽  
Gregory Hickok
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Human Sentence Processing ◽  
Processing Mechanism

Sentence comprehension: The integration of habits and rules. David J. Townsend and Thomas G. Bever. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001. Pp. 455.

2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 471-477
Author(s):  
Ngoni Chipere
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
The Other ◽  
Statistical Characteristics ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Linguistic Rules ◽  
Statistical Regularities ◽  
Syntactic Derivation ◽  
Linguistic Usage ◽  
Human Sentence Processing

This book attempts to integrate symbolic processing, in the form of minimalism, with connectionism. Minimalism represents sentences as symbolic structures resulting from a formal process of syntactic derivation. Connectionism, on the other hand, represents sentences as patterns of association between linguistic features. These patterns are said to obey statistical regularities of linguistic usage instead of formal linguistic rules. The authors of the book argue that human sentence processing displays both structural and statistical characteristics and therefore requires the integration of the two views.

Language and the Aging Brain: Patterns of Neural Compensation Revealed by Functional Brain Imaging

2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (6) ◽  
pp. 2830-2839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Wingfield ◽  
Murray Grossman
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Functional Brain Imaging ◽  
Sensory Function ◽  
Component Model ◽  
Aging Brain ◽  
Two Component ◽  
General Slowing

Human aging brings with it declines in sensory function, both in vision and in hearing, as well as a general slowing in a variety of perceptual and cognitive operations. Yet in spite of these declines, language comprehension typically remains well preserved in normal aging. We review data from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to describe a two-component model of sentence comprehension: a core sentence-processing area located in the perisylvian region of the left cerebral hemisphere and an associated network of brain regions that support the working memory and other resources needed for comprehension of long or syntactically complex sentences. We use this two-component model to describe the nature of compensatory recruitment of novel brain regions observed when healthy older adults show the same success at comprehending sentences as their younger adult counterparts. We suggest that this plasticity in neural recruitment contributes to the stability of language comprehension in the aging brain.

scholarly journals Multisensory Input Modulates P200 and L2 Sentence Comprehension: A One-Week Consolidation Phase

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasim Boustani ◽  
Reza Pishghadam ◽  
Shaghayegh Shayesteh
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Consolidation Phase ◽  
N400 Component ◽  
Five Senses ◽  
Multisensory Input ◽  
P200 Amplitude

Multisensory input is an aid to language comprehension; however, it remains to be seen to what extent various combinations of senses may affect the P200 component and attention-related cognitive processing associated with L2 sentence comprehension along with the N400 as a later component. To this aim, we provided some multisensory input (enriched with data from three (i.e., exvolvement) and five senses (i.e., involvement)) for a list of unfamiliar words to 18 subjects. Subsequently, the words were embedded in an acceptability judgment task with 360 pragmatically correct and incorrect sentences. The task, along with the ERP recording, was conducted after a 1-week consolidation period to track any possible behavioral and electrophysiological distinctions in the retrieval of information with various sense combinations. According to the behavioral results, we found that the combination of five senses leads to more accurate and quicker responses. Based on the electrophysiological results, the combination of five senses induced a larger P200 amplitude compared to the three-sense combination. The implication is that as the sensory weight of the input increases, vocabulary retrieval is facilitated and more attention is directed to the overall comprehension of L2 sentences which leads to more accurate and quicker responses. This finding was not, however, reflected in the neural activity of the N400 component.

scholarly journals Linguistic input drives brain network configuration during language comprehension

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ileana Quiñones ◽  
Nicola Molinaro ◽  
César Caballero-Gaudes ◽  
Simona Mancini ◽  
Juan Andrés Hernández-Cabrera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Graph Theory ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Angular Gyrus ◽  
Network Configuration ◽  
Linguistic Input ◽  
Gender Type

AbstractAssessing the synchrony and interplay between distributed neural regions is critical to understanding how language is processed. Here, we investigated possible neuro-functional links between form and meaning during sentence comprehension combining a classical whole-brain approach, which characterizes patterns of brain activation resulting from our experimental manipulation, and a novel multivariate network-based approach, which uses graph-theory measures to unravel the architectural configuration of the language system. Capitalizing on the Spanish gender agreement system, we experimentally manipulated formal and conceptual factors: whether the noun-adjective grammatical gender relationship was congruent or not and whether the noun gender type was semantically informative or strictly formal. Left inferior and middle frontal gyri, as well as left MTG/STG emerged as critical areas for the computation of grammatical relations. We demonstrate how the interface between formal and conceptual features depends on the synergic articulation of brain areas divided in three subnetworks that extend beyond the classical left-lateralized perisylvian language circuit. Critically, we isolated a subregion of the left angular gyrus showing a significant interaction between gender congruency and gender type. The functional interplay between the angular gyrus and left perisylvian language-specific circuit proves crucial for constructing coherent and meaningful messages. Importantly, using graph theory we show that this complex system is functionally malleable: the role each node plays within the network changes depending on the available linguistic cues.Significance StatementNeural networks can be described as graphs comprising distributed and interconnected nodes. These nodes share functional properties but also differ in terms of functional specialization and the number of interconnections mediating the efficient transfer of information. Previous work has shown functional connectivity differences based on graph-theory properties between typical and atypical samples. However, here we have used concepts from graph theory to characterize connectivity during language processing using task-related fMRI. This approach allowed us to demonstrate how linguistic input drives brain network configuration during language comprehension. This is the first evidence of functional flexibility in language networks: the communicative capacity of each hub changes depending on whether the linguistic input grants access to meaning or is purely formal.

scholarly journals O EFEITO LABIRINTO ALÉM DA SINTAXE: ELIMINANDO A AMBIGÜIDADE

2004 ◽  
Vol 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Tadeu Gonçalves ◽  
Luiz Arthur Pagani
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Categorial Grammar ◽  
Grammatical Structure ◽  
Garden Path ◽  
Combinatory Categorial Grammar ◽  
Incremental Interpretation ◽  
Human Sentence Processing ◽  
Processing Mechanism

O presente artigo trata das chamadas sentenças-labirinto, mostrando que, em casos em que a entoação e a estrutura informacional são suficientemente claras, a ambigüidade gerada pelo mencionado efeito não ocorre. O artigo contribui para a área do processamento lingüístico humano mostrando que, quando faladas, as sentenças das quais se esperam problemas de processamento sérios podem não apresentar tais problemas. A partir de um modelo teórico chamado Gramática Categorial Combinatória, mostramos como o processamento incremental de sentenças é ajudado pelas informações prosódicas e informacionais na atribuição de estrutura gramatical adequada a sentenças tradicionalmente consideradas “labirinto”. Garden-path effect beyond syntax: eliminating ambiguity Abstract The present article deals with the so-called garden-path effect. Traditionally, garden-path sentences are those that cause serious problem for the mental parser during processing and, although they are perfectly grammatical, there is no attribution of grammatical structure to them. We try to show that, when spoken, the garden-path sentences may not present the same kind of problem to the human sentence processing mechanism. In this paper we show how sufficiently informative data regarding prosody and informational structure can help the parser attribute correct grammatical structure to garden-path sentences when they are spoken. Using a framework called Combinatory Categorial Grammar, we show how incremental interpretation of garden-path sentences can be helped by prosody and informational structure during the processing of such sentences.

Domain-general mechanism relationship with non-canonical sentence comprehension

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel El Bouzaïdi Tiali ◽  
Anna Borne ◽  
Lucile Meunier ◽  
Monica Bolocan ◽  
Monica Baciu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
General Mechanism ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Complex Sentence ◽  
Negative Sentence

Purpose: Canonical sentence structures are the most frequently used in a given language. Less frequent or non-canonical sentences tend to be more challenging to process and to induce a higher cognitive load. To deal with this complexity several authors suggest that not only linguistic but also non-linguistic (domain-general) mechanisms are involved. In this study, we were interested in evaluating the relationship between non-canonical oral sentence comprehension and individual cognitive control abilities.Method: Participants were instructed to perform a sentence-picture verification task with canonical and non-canonical sentences. Sentence structures (i.e., active or passive) and sentence types (i.e., affirmative or negative) were manipulated. Furthermore, each participant performed four cognitive control tasks measuring inhibitory processes, updating in working memory, flexibility and sustained attention. We hypothesized that more complex sentence structures would induce a cognitive cost reflecting involvement of additional processes, and also that this additional cost should be related with cognitive control performances.Results: Results showed better performances for canonical sentences compared to non-canonical ones supporting previous work on passive and negative sentence processing. Correlation results suggest a close relationship between cognitive control mechanisms and non-canonical sentence processing.Conclusion: This study adds evidence for the hypothesis of a domain-general mechanism implication during oral language comprehension and highlights the importance of taking task demands into consideration when exploring language comprehension mechanisms.

scholarly journals BINARY OR NON-BINARY? GENDER MORPHOLOGY IN SPANISH: DIFFERENCES DEPENDENT ON THE TASK

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Mariel Zunino ◽  
Noelia Ayelén Stetie
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Binary Forms ◽  
Comprehension Task ◽  
Processing Cost ◽  
Morphological Variants ◽  
Acceptability Judgments ◽  
Mixed Groups

There is empirical evidence in different languages on how the computation of gender morphology during psycholinguistic processing affects the conformation of sex-generic representations. However, there is no empirical evidence on the processing of non-binary morphological variants in Spanish (-x or -e) in contrast to the generic masculine variant (-o). To analyze this phenomenon, we conducted two experiments: an acceptability judgment task and a sentence comprehension task. The results show differences depending on the task. So, the underlying processes that are put into play in each one generate different effects. In acceptability judgments, which involve strategic processes mediated by beliefs and the linguistic norm, the generic masculine is more acceptable to refer to mixed groups. In the sentence comprehension task, which inquires about automatic processes and implicit representations, the non-binary forms consistently elicited a reference to mixed groups. Furthermore, the response times indicated that these morphological variants do not entail a higher processing cost than the generic masculine.

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