scholarly journals Comparing predictors of sentence self-paced reading times: Syntactic complexity versus transitional probability metrics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bob Kapteijns ◽  
Florian Hintz
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Power ◽  
Sentence Length ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Transitional Probability ◽  
Probability Metrics ◽  
Control Variables ◽  
Sentence Complexity ◽  
Word Position ◽  
Reading Experiment ◽  
Best Fit

When estimating the influence of sentence complexity on reading, researchers typically opt for one of two main approaches: Measuring syntactic complexity (SC) or transitional probability (TP). Comparisons of the predictive power of both approaches have yielded mixed results. To address this inconsistency, we conducted a self-paced reading experiment. Participants read sentences of varying syntactic complexity. From two alternatives, we selected the set of SC and TP measures, respectively, that provided the best fit to the self-paced reading data. We then compared the contributions of the SC and TP measures to reading times when entered into the same model. Our results showed that both measures explained significant portions of variance in self-paced reading times. Thus, researchers aiming to measure sentence complexity should take both SC and TP into account. All of the analyses were conducted with and without control variables known to influence reading times (word/sentence length, word frequency and word position) to showcase how the effects of SC and TP change in the presence of the control variables.

scholarly journals Comparing predictors of sentence self-paced reading times: Syntactic complexity versus transitional probability metrics

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0254546
Author(s):  
Bob Kapteijns ◽  
Florian Hintz
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Power ◽  
Sentence Length ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Transitional Probability ◽  
Probability Metrics ◽  
Control Variables ◽  
Word Position ◽  
Reading Experiment ◽  
Best Fit ◽  
Two Alternatives

When estimating the influence of sentence complexity on reading, researchers typically opt for one of two main approaches: Measuring syntactic complexity (SC) or transitional probability (TP). Comparisons of the predictive power of both approaches have yielded mixed results. To address this inconsistency, we conducted a self-paced reading experiment. Participants read sentences of varying syntactic complexity. From two alternatives, we selected the set of SC and TP measures, respectively, that provided the best fit to the self-paced reading data. We then compared the contributions of the SC and TP measures to self-paced reading times when entered into the same model. Our results showed that while both measures explained significant portions of variance in reading times (over and above control variables: word/sentence length, word frequency and word position) when included in independent models, their contributions changed drastically when SC and TP were entered into the same model. Specifically, we only observed significant effects of TP. We conclude that in our experiment the control variables explained the bulk of variance. When comparing the small effects of SC and TP, the effects of TP appear to be more robust.

scholarly journals Syntactic complexity in translated and non-translated texts: A corpus-based study of simplification

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0253454
Author(s):  
Kanglong Liu ◽  
Muhammad Afzaal
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Pairwise Comparison ◽  
Important Variable ◽  
Sentence Length ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Complexity Measures ◽  
British English ◽  
Sentence Complexity ◽  
Comparable Corpora ◽  
Main Effect

This study approaches the investigation of the simplification hypotheses in corpus-based translation studies from a syntactic complexity perspective. The research is based on two comparable corpora, the English monolingual part of COCE (Corpus of Chinese-English) and the native English corpus of FLOB (Freiburg-LOB Corpus of British English). Using the 13 syntactic complexity measures falling into five subconstructs (i.e. length of production unit, amount of subordination, amount of coordination, phrasal complexity and overall sentence complexity), our results show that translation as a whole is less complex compared to non-translation, reflected most prominently in the amount of subordination and overall sentence complexity. Further pairwise comparison of the four subgenres of the corpora shows mixed results. Specifically, the translated news is homogenous to native news as evidenced by the complexity measures; the translated genres of general prose and academic writing are less complex compared to their native counterparts while translated fiction is more complex than non-translated fiction. It was found that mean sentence length always produced a significant effect on syntactic complexity, with higher syntactic complexity for longer sentence lengths in both corpora. ANOVA test shows a highly significant main effect of translation status, with higher syntactic complexity in the non-translated texts (FLOB) than the translated texts (COCE), which provides support for the simplification hypothesis in translation. It is also found that, apart from translation status, genre is an important variable in affecting the complexity level of translated texts. Our study offers new insights into the investigation of simplification hypothesis from the perspective of translation from English into Chinese.

scholarly journals A Study of Syntactic Complexity in Language Production by Chinese-Speaking Older Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Xinmiao Liu ◽  
Haiyan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Sentence Length ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Font Size ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
The Mean

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ??; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;" lang="EN-US"><em>The syntactic complexity of language production changes as a result of ageing. In this study, we made a comparison between Chinese-speaking older and younger adults in terms of the syntactic complexity in spoken language production. To assess the level of syntactic complexity of language production, we applied the traditional measures of syntactic complexity such as sentence length, verbal fluency and the distribution of subordinate clauses. Results indicated that older adults showed a decline in the mean number of clauses, the proportion of right-branching clauses and verbal fluency. These findings indicate that there was a decline in syntactic complexity in spoken language production among Chinese-speaking older adults.</em></span>

scholarly journals A Confront between Amati and Combo Correlations at Intermediate and Early Redshifts

Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1118
Author(s):  
Marco Muccino
Keyword(s):  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Markov Chain ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Energy Equation ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Zero Curvature ◽  
Level 3 ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Best Fit ◽  
The Universe

I consider two gamma-ray burst (GRB) correlations: Amati and Combo. After calibrating them in a cosmology-independent way by employing Beziér polynomials to approximate the Observational Hubble Dataset (OHD), I perform Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulations within the Λ CDM and the wCDM models. The results from the Amati GRB dataset do not agree with the standard Λ CDM model at a confidence level ≥ 3 – σ . For the Combo correlation, all MCMC simulations give best-fit parameters which are consistent within 1– σ with the Λ CDM model. Pending the clarification of whether the diversity of these results is statistical, due to the difference in the dataset sizes, or astrophysical, implying the search for the most suited correlation for cosmological analyses, future investigations require larger datasets to increase the predictive power of both correlations and enable more refined analyses on the possible non-zero curvature of the Universe and the dark energy equation of state and evolution.

Children's Story Retelling Under Different Modality and Task Conditions

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Gazella ◽  
Ida J. Stockman
Keyword(s):  
Visual Presentation ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Presentation Modality ◽  
Lexical Diversity ◽  
Sentence Complexity ◽  
Story Retelling ◽  
Language Sampling ◽  
Task Conditions ◽  
And Task

This study was motivated by the possibility of standardizing a story-retelling task well enough to function as a brief screener of children's global syntactic features. Specifically, the study determined whether the story presentation modality (i.e., audio-only or combined auditory and visual presentation) differentially influenced the quantity of talk, its lexical diversity and sentence complexity, as expressed in children's retold story narratives and responses to direct questions about the story. Twenty-nine Caucasian male preschoolers, who ranged in age from 4;2 to 5;6 (years;months), were randomly assigned to a modality presentation condition. The audio-only group did not differ significantly from the audiovisual group in the amount of talk, lexical diversity, or syntactic complexity of sentences used in the narratives or responses to direct questions. Nevertheless, the story-retelling task yielded the longest and most grammatically complete utterances. Responses to direct questions yielded the largest number of utterances and different words. The clinical implications of these results for standardizing language sampling are discussed.

Syntactic complexity in Finnish-background EFL learners’ writing at CEFR levels A1–B2

2022 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghulam Abbas Khushik ◽  
Ari Huhta
Keyword(s):  
Unit Length ◽  
Sentence Length ◽  
Length Variation ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Verb Phrases ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Automated Tools ◽  
Complex Nominals

Abstract The increasing importance of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) has led to research on the linguistic characteristics of its levels, as this would help the application of the CEFR in the design of teaching materials, courses, and assessments. This study investigated whether CEFR levels can be distinguished with reference to syntactic complexity (SC). 14- and 17-year-old Finnish learners of English (N=397) wrote three writing tasks which were rated against the CEFR levels. The ratings were analysed with multi-facet Rasch analysis and the texts were analysed with automated tools. Findings suggest that the clearest separators at lower CEFR levels (A1–A2) were the mean sentence and T-unit length, variation in sentence length, infinitive density, clauses per sentence or T-unit, and verb phrases per T-unit. For higher levels (B1–B2) they were modifiers per noun phrase, mean clause length, complex nominals per clause, and left embeddedness. The results support previous findings that the length of and variation in the longer production units (sentences, T-units) are the SC indices that most clearly separate the lower CEFR levels, whereas the higher levels are best distinguished in terms of complexity at the clausal and phrasal levels.

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