scholarly journals Quantifiers in Natural Language: Efficient Communication and Degrees of Semantic Universals

Entropy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 1335
Author(s):  
Shane Steinert-Threlkeld
Keyword(s):  
Special Property ◽  
Function Word ◽  
Communication Analysis ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Information Theoretic ◽  
Artificial Languages ◽  
Efficient Communication ◽  
Information Theoretic Measures ◽  
And Function

While the languages of the world vary greatly, they exhibit systematic patterns, as well. Semantic universals are restrictions on the variation in meaning exhibit cross-linguistically (e.g., that, in all languages, expressions of a certain type can only denote meanings with a certain special property). This paper pursues an efficient communication analysis to explain the presence of semantic universals in a domain of function words: quantifiers. Two experiments measure how well languages do in optimally trading off between competing pressures of simplicity and informativeness. First, we show that artificial languages which more closely resemble natural languages are more optimal. Then, we introduce information-theoretic measures of degrees of semantic universals and show that these are not correlated with optimality in a random sample of artificial languages. These results suggest both that efficient communication shapes semantic typology in both content and function word domains, as well as that semantic universals may not stand in need of independent explanation.

scholarly journals Complexity/informativeness trade-off in the domain of indefinite pronouns

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 166
Author(s):  
Milica Denić ◽  
Shane Steinert-Threlkeld ◽  
Jakub Szymanik
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Function Word ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Efficient Communication ◽  
Universal Properties ◽  
Linguistic Analyses ◽  
Indefinite Pronoun ◽  
And Function ◽  
Indefinite Pronouns

The vocabulary of human languages has been argued to support efficient communication by optimizing the trade-off between complexity and informativeness (Kemp & Regier 2012). The argument has been based on cross-linguistic analyses of vocabulary in semantic domains of content words such as kinship, color, and number terms. The present work extends this analysis to a category of function words: indefinite pronouns (e.g. someone, anyone, no-one, cf. Haspelmath 2001). We build on previous work to establish the meaning space and featural make-up for indefinite pronouns, and show that indefinite pronoun systems across languages optimize the complexity/informativeness trade-off. This demonstrates that pressures for efficient communication shape both content and function word categories, thus tying in with the conclusions of recent work on quantifiers by Steinert-Threlkeld (2019). Furthermore, we argue that the trade-off may explain some of the universal properties of indefinite pronouns, thus reducing the explanatory load for linguistic theories.

Kinematic Differentiation of Prosodic Categories in Normal and Disordered Language Development

2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1088-1102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Goffman
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Rhythmic Movement ◽  
Function Word ◽  
Rhythmic Movements ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Language Impaired ◽  
Kinematic Measures ◽  
Prosodic Categories ◽  
And Function

Prosody is complex and hierarchically organized but is realized as rhythmic movement sequences. Thus, observations of the development of rhythmic aspects of movement can provide insight into links between motor and language processes, specifically whether prosodic distinctions (e.g., feet and prosodic words) are instantiated in rhythmic movement output. This experiment examined 4–7-year-old children’s (both normally developing and specifically language impaired) and adults’ productions of prosodic sequences that were controlled for phonetic content but differed in morphosyntactic structure (i.e., content vs. function words). Primary analyses included kinematic measures of rhythmic structure (i.e., amplitude and duration of movements in weak vs. strong syllables) across content and function contexts. Findings showed that at the level of articulatory movement, adults produced distinct rhythmic categories across content and function word contexts, whereas children did not. Children with specific language impairment differed from normally developing peers only in their ability to produce well-organized and stable rhythmic movements, not in the differentiation of prosodic categories.

Phonological Pairing as a Reading Aid for Retarded Children

1975 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Booker Miller
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Mentally Retarded ◽  
Content Word ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Function Word ◽  
Serial List ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Mentally Retarded Children ◽  
Educable Mentally Retarded ◽  
And Function

Thirty-three educable mentally retarded children were exposed to one of three modes of word presentation: phonologically paired words in the content-function order; phonologically paired words in the function-content order; serial list with words randomly assigned. The results of the investigation indicated that the demonstrated learning performance of mentally retarded children was significantly enhanced by the phonological pairing of words, phonological pairing in the content-function word order being superior to phonological pairing in the function-content word order. It was concluded that the incorporation of new words into the educable mentally retarded child's reading vocabulary can be enhanced by the phonological pairing of content and function words.

Acoustic Scanning and Syntactic Processing Three Reading Experiments — First and Second Language Learners

1974 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Hatch ◽  
Pam Polin ◽  
Susan Part
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Foreign Students ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Syntactic Processing ◽  
Function Word ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Word Position ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Relationship

To test the acoustic scanning hypothesis for reading, three experiments were conducted with monolingual and bilingual subjects. Ss performed a crossout task, cancelling letters in a text as they read it for comprehension. Letters remaining uncancelled were then analyzed. In Experiment 1, letters were frequently unmarked in function words, words which are highly predictable since they serve primarily to mark case relationships between content words. Changing passage difficulty did not effect the ratio of letters marked in content and function words. No significant difference was found between monolingual and highly-proficient bilinguals. In Experiments 2 and 3, Anglos marked letters in content words and especially in syllables receiving primary or secondary stress, leaving uncancelled those in unstressed function word position. Less proficient foreign students marked almost equal numbers of letters in function and content words and in stressed and unstressed positions. They also marked letters in digraphs as frequently as in single grapheme to phoneme correspondences. In the experiments, Anglos used acoustic scanning along with prediction of syntax for the task; less proficient bilinguals did not. The relationship between acoustic scanning and syntactic processing is discussed and suggestions for classroom application of the findings are included.

Dissociations between Vowel Durations and Formant Frequency Characteristics

1985 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Bernstein-Ratner
Keyword(s):  
Frequency Characteristics ◽  
Function Word ◽  
Simple Relationship ◽  
Conversational Speech ◽  
Clear Speech ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Rate Of Speech ◽  
And Function

Disagreement exists on the degree to which rate of speech and segmental duration affect the formant frequency characteristics of vowels. Post hoe analysis of the vowel characteristics of words uttered by women in conversational speech with both adult and child addressees indicates that there is no simple relationship between the length of vowels and the degree to which their formant frequency characteristics resemble those seen in citation forms of speech. In the ease of women addressing children, it was possible for content and function words to share formant frequency characteristics that maximally differentiated their embedded vowels, despite the relatively shorter duration of function word vowels. Implications for the elicitation of "clear speech" are discussed.

Word Identification: Imageability, Semantics, and the Content-Functor Distinction

1988 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 789-799 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen Davelaar ◽  
Derek Besner
Keyword(s):  
Word Processing ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Function Word ◽  
Word Class ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Word Classes ◽  
Sensory Impression ◽  
And Function ◽  
Processing Differences ◽  
Processing Mechanisms

It has often been suggested that different special-purpose mechanisms underlie the processing of content words and function words. The received view is that processing differences in various tasks arise because of differences between these word classes in terms of their semantic/syntactic function, despite the fact that these tasks often involve word processing in the absence of any sentence context. It is also well known that the ease with which a word arouses a sensory impression is often a good predictor of word-processing performance, yet the literature largely ignores the fact that, typically, imageability and word class are confounded factors. A series of three experiments shows that in the context of a Stroop task, the typical content-function word difference can be obtained, but that this word class difference disappears completely when the items are matched on the dimension of imageability. It is suggested that the processing of decontextualized content and function words does not necessarily engage distinct special purpose processing mechanisms. Implications for understanding previously published work on word class effects in other paradigms are briefly noted.

Large-sample confidence intervals of information-theoretic measures in linguistics

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-54
Author(s):  
Ryan Ka Yau Lai ◽  
Youngah Do
Keyword(s):  
Maximum Likelihood ◽  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Delta Method ◽  
Confidence Bounds ◽  
Likelihood Estimator ◽  
Information Theoretic ◽  
Leibler Divergence ◽  
Information Theoretic Measures ◽  
Data Points ◽  
Measure Of Uncertainty

This article explores a method of creating confidence bounds for information-theoretic measures in linguistics, such as entropy, Kullback-Leibler Divergence (KLD), and mutual information. We show that a useful measure of uncertainty can be derived from simple statistical principles, namely the asymptotic distribution of the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) and the delta method. Three case studies from phonology and corpus linguistics are used to demonstrate how to apply it and examine its robustness against common violations of its assumptions in linguistics, such as insufficient sample size and non-independence of data points.

A Guide to Old Spanish

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven N. Dworkin
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Standard Language ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Sound System ◽  
Old Spanish ◽  
And Function ◽  
Linguistic Structures ◽  
Verb Tense ◽  
Modern Standard

This book describes the linguistic structures that constitute Medieval or Old Spanish as preserved in texts written prior to the beginning of the sixteenth century. It emphasizes those structures that contrast with the modern standard language. Chapter 1 presents methodological issues raised by the study of a language preserved only in written sources. Chapter 2 examines questions involved in reconstructing the sound system of Old Spanish before discussing relevant phonetic and phonological details. The chapter ends with an overview of Old Spanish spelling practices. Chapter 3 presents in some detail the nominal, verbal, and pronominal morphology of the language, with attention to regional variants. Chapter 4 describes selected syntactic structures, with emphasis on the noun phrase, verb phrase, object pronoun placement, subject-verb-object word order, verb tense, aspect, and mood. Chapter 5 begins with an extensive list of Old Spanish nouns, adjectives, verbs, and function words that have not survived into the modern standard language. It then presents examples of coexisting variants (doublets) and changes of meaning, and finishes with an overview of the creation of neologisms in the medieval language through derivational morphology (prefixation, suffixation, compounding). The book concludes with an anthology composed of three extracts from Spanish prose texts, one each from the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries. The extracts contain footnotes that highlight relevant morphological, syntactic, and lexical features, with cross references to the relevant sections in the body of the book.

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