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1
Psycholinguistics - a dead discipline?

• term coined in 1954 (Osgood)

• aim to describe the exact operation of the
  brain during
• the production or processing of language

psycho- linguistics
psychology
linguistics
2
A paradigm shift in linguistics
1957 publication of Syntactic structures by
Chomsky

• refutes behaviorism
• proposes the mentalist approach
• considers linguistics a subfield of cognitive
  psychology

3
Behaviorism in linguistics and psychology

• reduces mental activity and cognition to
  implicit, observable behavior
• behavior is explained as a relationship
  between input and output (i.e. stimulus and
  response)
• studies of speech behavior and the sound
  system prevailed
• cf. Skinner, B.F. Verbal Behavior (1957)

4
Areas of psycholinguistic interest

• language acquisition (L1 and L2)
• language comprehension
• (includes symbol recognition, speech
  perception)
• language simulation (NLP, PDP)
• concepts of reality and language
• memory constraints (STM/LTM research)
• knowledge representation
• strategies of learning

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X
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• Psycholinguistics and related disciplines
• classic psycholinguistics
• - language acquisition
• - language impairment
• - aphasia research
• - reaction times
• - ERP measurements

6

• Psycholinguistics and related disciplines
• areas of psycholinguistic research
• computability of language processing
• neuroscience / neurolinguistics
• cognitive abilities (vision, motor control...)
• conceptualization
• symbolization

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Classic psycholinguistics concerned
with psychological processes that make
acquisition and use of language
possible approaches (cf. Clark Clark) 1.
language comprehension (spoken and written) 2.
speech production 3. language acquisition
8
Psycholinguistics - the extended view concerned
with language as a cognitive system
internalized within the human mind/brain. ultimat
e goal to characterize this internalized system
- I language (Chomsky)
9

• Classic approaches in psycholinguistics
• 1. language comprehension (spoken and written)
• comprehension at various depth levels
• speech perception
• lexical decoding
• sentence processing
• text processing

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• Classic approaches in psycholinguistics
• 2. Speech production
• reoccurring patterns of speech
• typical errors
• response times
• relation of speech to concepts
• speech impairments

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Classic approaches in psycholinguistics 3.
Language acquisition - L1 acquisition
(developmental psycholinguistics) - L2
learning strategy research - acquisition
constraints
12

• Neurological foundations of language
• correspondence hypothesis
• particular areas of the neocortex are responsible
  for human language faculty
• local results from aphasia research
• temporal results from ERP measurements
• aphasia impairment or loss of language
  ability due to brain damage.

13
Neurological foundations of language Paul Broca
lateralization of language - located lesions
in left hemisphere - related handedness to
speech capability - plasticity of the brain
(i.e. temporal variability) - migration of
neurons - time constraints in acquisition
14
Neurological foundations of language Carl
Wernicke - separated the auditory nerve
(cranial nerve from ear to cortex) along the
planum temporale in the left hemisphere
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Language-related areas of the brain
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Language-related areas of the brain

• Broca aphasics
• nonfluent
• agrammatical
• morphemeless
• unimpaired
• comprehension

• Wernicke aphasics
• fluent (logorrheic)
• impaired meanings
• neologisms
• severely impaired
• comprehension

17

• Language-related areas of the brain
• spatial lateral distribution
• - detectable in lesions
• - PET, fMRI scans
• temporal brain plasticity
• - performance patterns
• - physiological changes during L1
• acquisition
• - learnability constraints

18

• The paradox of psycholinguistics
• L1 acquisition enables children to produce
  virtually infinite amounts of linguistic data.
• Input includes
• distorted input (also deviant input Chomsky)
  can be mispronounciations, slips of the tongue
• omitted rules
• inference of rules out of defective material
• negative evidence
• pointing at errors
• typical errors in L1 go-ed
• atypical errors I no like syntax.

19

• The paradox of psycholinguistics
• phases in L1 acquisition
• single-word stage
• at 12 months first recognizable words
• until 18 months vocabulary increase
• 3 words/month (apple, up...)
• no evidence of grammar acquisition
• no inflection (plural-s, past-ed)

20

• The paradox of psycholinguistics
• phases in L1 acquisition
• after 18 months
• acquisition of grammar begins
• productive use of inflections
• elementary 2-3 word utterances
• after 30 months
• acquisition of most inflections
• core grammatical constructions
• adultlike, multiword speech

21

• Learnability constraints
• critical-period hypothesis (Lenneberg et al.)
• ? age constraints in L1/L2 acquisition
• age estimates between 11-18

22
Learnability constraints
ssdsadsadasdasddasd
Version one the exercise hypothesis. Early in
life, humans have a superior capacity for
acquiring languages. If the capacity is not
exercised it will disappear or decline with
maturation. If the capacity is exercised
language learning abilities will remain intact
throughout life. Version two the maturational
state hypothesis. Early in life, humans have a
superior capacity for learning languages. This
capacity disappears or declines with maturation.
J.S. Johnson/ E.L.Newport in Johnson,Mark (ed.)
1996, pp.250.
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Explainability of cognitive phenomena 1.
Empirism 2. Operationalism 3.
Instrumentalism 4. Idealism 5. Realism
linguistics, psychology, sociology...
physics, astronomy...
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Explainability of cognitive phenomena 1.
Empirism - knowledge as a collection of facts -
universals are not obtainable - theories are
summaries of observations 2. Operationalism -
science is a system of rules - theories are tools
for manipulation
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Explainability of cognitive phenomena 3.
Instrumentalism - not the meaning of words is
important but the way we use them - theories are
instruments of experience - there is no inner
truth 5. Realism - laws have a relationship to
reality that is relevant - tool observation
26

• Chomsky theory an introduction
• refutes structuralism, taxonomy (Harris,
  Bloomfield)
• refutes behaviorism (Skinner, Osgood)
• continues tradition of Descartes (Dualism)
• language acquisition is determined by a LAD
• (language acquisition device) on the basis of a
  UG
• the LAD is a mental organ
• theory is primary, data is secondary
• for cognition and language the
• computer metaphor applies

27

• Chomsky theory an introduction
• 1957 Syntactic Structures
• set of kernel sentences generate
• all possible sentences of a language
• kernel ? transformation rules ? final phrases
• a purely syntactic theory
• transformations are algorithmic procedures
• "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously."

28

• Chomsky theory an introduction
• 1965 Aspects of the theory of syntax
• so-called Standard Theory (ST)
• involves phonology, semantics
• Deep structures ? Surface structures
• (semantics) (phonology)
• Two subfields emerge
• 1. Generative semantics (Katz, Postal)
• 2. Extended Standard Theory (EST)
• (Chomsky, Jackendoff, 1972)

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• Chomsky theory an introduction
• 1. Generative semantics extends transformations
• 2. EST constrains transformations
• EST led to Revised Extended Standard Theory
• (REST) (1973)
• modular
• separates syntax, semantics
• only transformation left move-?

30

• Chomsky theory an introduction
• Further developments
• Rules and Representations (1981)
• introduces principles parameters
• slot ? filler principles
• Government and Binding Theory (1981)
• Minimalist Program (1993)

31

• Language faculty problems of research
• Quine
• investigation of language equals investigation of
  mind
• Chomsky
• knowledge is represented in the brain
• proposes the existence of
• mental representations an abstract terminology
• for physical properties
• extends notion of "material body" for
• entities, principles of unknown character

32
Language faculty problems of research principles
unknown or unobtainable? mind a fixed set /
endowment with inherent constraints Chomsky
proposes 1. problems (science may provide a
solution) 2. mysteries (beyond humans
intellectual grasp) Descartes we are not
intelligent enough to understand to what extent
our free choices are undeterminable
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Language faculty problems of research 1.) Is
the application of the scientific method to the
mind revealing? 2.) Is language artificial? 3.)
In what way do generalizations distort the view
on language?
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• Language faculty problems of research
• 1.) Is the application of the scientific method
  to
• the mind revealing?
• historical coincidence ? biological endowment
• meets aspects of reality in a meaningful way
• tolerance of unexplained phenomena
• (attention research, mental rotation etc.)

35

• Language faculty problems of research
• 2.) Is language artificial?
• Chomsky question is meaningless even if language
• had indeed been created
• has developed basing on endowment and
• environment

36

• Language faculty problems of research
• 3.) In what way do generalizations distort the
  view
• on language?
• Chomsky's demands
• homogeneous speech community
• speakers with 100 competence
• speech unaffected by exterior (e.g. social)
  variables

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• Language faculty problems of research
• 3.) In what way do generalizations distort the
  view
• on language?
• Counterarguments
• humans cannot acquire language in a
• homogeneous community, inconsistence and
• variability are required
• if humans could achieve it, it would be done by
• different properties of the mind than those which
  
• interact with reality

38

• Language faculty
• language faculty
• discrete from other kinds of knowledge
• linguistic knowledge ( speakers competence)
• interacts with processes of perception, memory
• displays in indefinitely large number of strings
• producable and understandable
• syntactic mechanisms are recursive

39

• Chomskys Universal Grammar
• mind design is modular (Fodor, 1997)
• The insight into language faculty may not provide
  
• insight into other modules e.g. vision
• Chomsky proposes
• a differentiated version of the modules
• genetically coherent properties which determine
• human cognitive systems including language
  faculty

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• Chomskys Universal Grammar
• UG the study of the common grammatical
  properties
• shared by all natural languages and of the
• parameters of variation between the languages.
• parameters dimensions of variation,
• e.g. subject parameter
• theory of UG provides tools to study
• any natural language
• example Hawaiian creole (cf. Bickerton)

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Chomskys Universal Grammar initial state end
state
Universal Grammar template
Internalized language (I-language)
L1 acquisition

• Language acquisition skills are formal,
  structural properties

42

• Problems of cognitive research
• common set shared in cognitive community
• knowledge representation
• language processing
• image understanding
• inference
• learning strategies
• problem solving

43
Emergence of a discipline
Cognitive approach interdisciplinary, emerges
at the intersection of the fields
experimental psychology
theoretical linguistics
cognitive approach
computational simulation
Simon/Newell 1958 In 10 years most
psychological theories will be formulated as
computer programs.
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Views on cognitive functioning basic
assumption Cognition, and therefore
language, is information processing
The human mind is a system that receives, stores,
retrieves, transfers and transmits information
(Stillings et al., 1997)
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Views on cognitive functioning The classical
view language faculty is a mental process -
mind can be described as a Turing machine -
linguistic processing is a manipulation of
symbols - cf. the "Chinese room" metaphor
(Searle)
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Views on cognitive functioning The connectionist
view - brain employs a computational
architecture suited to natural
information processing - evidence in functional
split, cf. split-brain patients (McClelland,
Rumelhart, Hinton)
47
The classical cognitive approach Turing machine
a general-purpose information processor components
tape eq. memory subdivided into cells each
containing one symbol head moves tape
back/forth can read/write symbols
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• The classical cognitive approach
• Turings proof
• TM is able to perform all operations a person
  working within a logical system can perform
• TM gives therefore a complete account of what
  information processing is.
• "Any informational simulation process can be
  realized by a Turing machine" (Turing/Church
  thesis)

49

• Turing machines and cognition
• anything computable can be computed
• can make decision about well-formedness of
  artificial languages
• simple steps, primitive building blocks lead to
  emergence of complex behavior
• reasons of relevance
• 1.) provide a complete description of information
  processing
• 2.) may answer cognitively interesting questions
• 3.) extend finite states into infinite behavior
  e.g.
• novelty of language

50

• The tri-level hypothesis
• mind shares properties with a TM
• brain a physical symbol system
• not one single level of description applies
  (Marr)
• 3 levels of description
• 1. physical level
• 2. procedural level
• 3. computational or implementational level

51

• The tri-level hypothesis
• 1. the physical level of description
• describes the components of a system
• incomplete, static
• gives factual knowledge, "what
• 2. the procedural level of description
• non-physical description of informational
  processing steps
• dynamic, incomplete
• no description of interpretation of procedures
• gives procedural knowledge, "how"

52

• The tri-level hypothesis
• 3. the computational/implementational level of
  description
• interpretation of the procedures
• gives interpretational knowledge, "why"
• tendencies reductionism, neuroscience
• tries to reduce 3. and 2. to 1.

53
The cognitive approach The mind as an
information processing system can be described
using a physical, a procedural and an
implementational vocabulary (Dawson) goal to
find the relationships between these levels of
research physical description neuroscience,
linguistics procedural description psychology,
linguistics computational description computer
science
54
Language comprehension and the Tri-level
hypothesis 1. physical (structural sentence
comprehension) - Clark Clark 2. procedural
(psychological models of text comprehension -
Kintsch v.Dijk 3. implementational (AI
programs for text analysis) - Minsky, Schank,
Charniak
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• 1. Physical (structural sentence comprehension)
• Clark Clark
• comprehension derivation of meaning from a
  (phonological) representation
• meaning composed from constituents
• intermediate constituents (syntactic
  units,phrases)
• final constituents (words, lexemes)
• forms propositional representations
• prerequisite parsing of language

56

• 2. Procedural (psychological models of text
  comprehension - Kintsch v.Dijk
• subdivides micro- and macroprocesses
• cognitive tasks required
• a.) parser (turns verbal text into intermediate
  sematic representation, list of propositions)
• b.) coherence generator (builds coherence from
• the list)
• c.) inferencer (fills in missing propositions)
• d.) organizer (determines facts on basis of world
  knowledge)
• Parser a mechanism that divides strings of texts
  into smaller components.

57

• 3. implementational (AI programs for text
  analysis) - Minsky, Schank, Charniak
• Frames "A frame is a data structure for
  representing a stereotyped situation" (Minsky)
• a format for formalized storage of knowledge
• maps unknown structures onto known structures

example HOUSE subframe of building Is-part
of village, city, suburb material wood,
stone, concrete of windows integer, gt2 of
doors integer, default 1
Frame
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• 3. implementational (AI programs for text
  analysis) - Minsky, Schank, Charniak
• scripts formalized representations of complex
• actions
• list of primitives (stereotype procedures) e.g.
• ACT, PTRANS
• "consists of concepts and relations between
  concepts" (Schank)
• example restaurant script
• story grammars
• lists of stereotype rules
• Rule 1 story setting episode
• Rule 2 setting (state)
• Rule 3 episode event reaction

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• Mental Representations
• theoretical postulates
• internal states
• Fodor (1997) Representational Theory of Mind
  (RTM)
• cognitive mechanisms extract information from
• outside world
• info is processed, stored, retrieved via an
• internalised system of representations
• representations have semantic content
• modern psycholinguistics
• distributed vs. local representation
• words are stored in single units vs. storage
  patterns

60

• Computable linguistic approaches
• Chomsky Principles and Parameters
• strategy slot ? filler
• set of principles shared by all languages
• parameters function as "switches to adjust
• the principles

Lexicon
D-Structure S-Structure Logical
Form Phonological Form
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Computable linguistic approaches Lexicon set of
entries/word forms , syntax information
D-Structure underlying representation of a
sentence, X-bar theory S-Structure natural
language sentence generation move-a -
rule language processing not rule processing
but setting of parameter values ? increased
power of the lexicon carry ? NP_Verb_NP read ?
NP_verb
Problem How is this knowledge formally
represented?
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Computable linguistic approaches
input
knowledge of language 1. Syntax 2. Lexicon
world knowledge
grammatical analysis
semantic analysis
domain knowledge
Internal linguistic representation
63
The connectionist approach 1.) serial processing
is too slow (cf. Feldman) neuron action
potential takes 1-3 ms to build up humans
solve complex tasks in ca. 100 ms ? suggests
parallel processing 2.) system stability brain
exhibits enormous damage-resistance ? suggests
network-like storage systems 3.) natural language
processing hard for computers, easy for humans
and vice versa ? qualitative difference of brain
architecture 4.) connectionist models are
neurally inspired ? imitate neural functioning
64
Rumelhart's components of a connectionist
system a.) set of processing units b.) state of
activation defined over the processing units c.)
output function for each unit, generates
output d.) pattern of connectivity e.) activation
rule for combining inputs to new activation
level f.) learning rules that modify d.) g.)
system environment
65

• Formats of representation
• 1.) multimodular model (Paivio)
• two parallel sets - imagenes
• - logogenes
• can be primed (threshold function)
• 2.) semantic networks (Collins/Quillian)
• types of nodes - conceptual nodes
• - property nodes
• types of relationships IS-A relationships
• HAS-PROP relationships

66
Logogene model of word recognition (Morton)
reality input
visual analysis
auditory analysis
visual evidence
auditory evidence
cognitive system
logogene system
semantic evidence
response
response buffer
67

• Logogene model priming effects
• activation potential of logogenes decreases over
  time
• high-frequency words low thresholds
• low thresholds facilitate recognition

A
A
C
T
E
T
68

• Logogene model priming effects
• non-words or degraded signal
• activates nearest match item
• memory effects
• primacy effect vs. recency effect

A
A
T
C
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Semantic networks (Collins/Quillian)
Can be bought
Can be read
Merchandise
Is bound
Book
Is small
Has pages
Pictorial Book
Exercise Book
Paperback
Is expensive
For study
Is cheap
Has pictures
Has diagrams
70

• Cognitive networks (Hays)
• refined set of nodes/relationships
• nodes events (start, end, duration)
• entities (object, notion, form)
• properties (shape, mass...)
• modalities (static, dynamic)
• relationships paradigmatic (hierarchical)
• syntagmatic (parallel)
• discoursive (interactive)
• attitudinal (positive,negative)
• metalinguistic (external)

71

• The stance of neuroscience
• Science of mental life will be reduced to neural
  functioning (Churchland)
• reductionist approach
• eliminates psychological explanation for
  language processing
• emphasis on relevance of neuronal measurements

Low-level implemen- tations
Physical symbol systems
Mental structures, language
Neural structures
Language of thought
72

• Neuronal functioning
• diagram of a neuron

Dendrites short branches projecting from cell
body. Receive messages from other neurons Cell
body (soma) contains the nucleus of the cell
Axon a long tube which carries information
from cell body to synaptic terminalsSynaptic
terminals secrete transmitter substance
73

• Measurement methods in psycholinguistics
• ERP measurement
• PET scan
• MRI / fMRI scan
• lesions research
• continuum

high-grained spatial resolution low- grained
temporal resolution
low-grained spatial resolution high- grained
temporal resolution
PET
lesions
74
ERP measurements ERP event-related
potentials notice activities in the relevant
cortical regions linguistic phenomena are
correlated with activity
example after presentation of the unexpected
ending of a sentence delay of the amplitude
75

• PET positron emission tomography
• weakly radioactive substance used as marker
• regions of high activity involve more blood
  flow.
• synaptic ends extract more molecules, among
• those radioactive molecules
• positron-emitting radioactive molecules
• mark location
• positron e hits an electron e-
• particles annihilate each other
• radiation of energy (light etc.)
• detectors (PET cameras) arranged in a
• torus (ringlike) structure around the subjects'
  head

76

• MRI and lesions
• MRI magneto-resonance imaging
• particles seen as magnetic dipoles e.g. H2
  nuclei
• reposition themselves in magnetic fields
• induction of electric currents
• lesions
• lead to aphasias
• language-specific
• example Englishspeaking aphasiacs retained
• the ability to generate irregular forms
• whereas Germanspeaking subjects did better
• in regular forms

77
Comprehension and understanding Mental Models -
blueprint /abstraction of aspects of the physical
world - representations in the mind of real or
imaginary situations - mind constructs
"small-scale models" of reality that it uses to
anticipate events - can be constructed from
perception, imagination, or comprehension of
discourse - underlie visual images, but can also
be abstract, representing situations that cannot
be visualised
78
Mental models and comprehension mental models
theory of text comprehension (Johnson-Laird et
al.) derives from a theory of deductive
inference mental models of spatially related
objects contain information about relations not
explicitly described Example The man is in
front of the tree. The tree is in front of the
house. contains the information The man is in
front of the house.
79
Mental models and comprehension Reasoning is a
semantic process rather than syntactic -
recipients build mental models of the relevant
situations based on world knowledge - recipients
conclusion is true within the models - emphasis
on causality of events/situations fundamental
representational assumption individuals seek to
minimize the load on working memory by
representing explicitly only those cases that are
true
80

• Text comprehension
• understanding a story requires process of
  constructing a mental model consistent with the
  constraints of the story
• recall errors provide insight into how the
  construal is designed or
• how reader's world knowledge interacts (cf.
  processing model)
• 2 processes construction (encoding)
• reconstruction (recall)
• both underlie errors

81

• Strategies in text understanding
• relevance of causal knowledge structures
• reader establishes a causal field
• contains specific circumstances of the story
• ? explicit identification of conditions perhaps
  only implicitly mentioned
• He sat in the waiting room, his cheeks bloated.
  After a while, a nurse called him up.
  Reluctantly, he followed her next door.
• representation updates world knowledge.
• stored for recall (on specific cues).

82

• Strategies in text understanding
• constraints of causality A causes B
• 1. temporal constraint (A precedes B)
• 2. counterfactuality constraint (if A had not
  happened, B would not have happened)
• 3. sufficiency constraint
• If B occurs after A, circumstances for A are
  still prevailing
• steps of comprehension
• 1. identification of clauses corresponding to
  events
• 2. identification of causal relations
• 3. establishment of causal chains

83

• Comprehension processes
• experimental evidence reader constructs chains
• propositions from main causal chains are more
  likely to be recalled
• propositions with more causal connections than
  others are more likely to be recalled
• basic blocks the event clauses (propositions)
• PDP approach building blocks are propositions
• evolution of reader's mental state as a function
  of time
• ? a trajectory in situation-state space moves
  from point to point

84

• A comprehension model
• knowledge of causal relations between points
  "belief function - assigns degree of belief (can
  be between 0 and 1)
• situation identification t1 t2 t3
• Mary heard the ice-cream truck 1 1 0
• Mary wanted to buy ice-cream 0 1 0
• Mary is eating ice-cream 0 0 1
• Mary is sleeping 0 0 0
• story comprehension finding a most probable
  trajectory in situation-state space with respect
  to a belief function.

85
Causal chaining 1 3 2 4 5 7 6
1 hear(M,truck) 2 want(M,ice-cream) 3
be(ice-cream,expensive) 4 go(M,money) 5 buy(M,
ice-cream) 6 eat(M,ice-cream) 7 sleep(M)
temporal
causal
surface anaphora
deep anaphora
Mary heard the ice-cream truck. Mary wanted to
buy ice-cream. Ice-cream is expensive. Mary goes
home for the money. She buys the ice-cream. John
has also chilled drinks. Mary is eating
ice-cream. Mary is sleeping.
86

• Micro- and macrostructures (Kintsch et al.)
• surface structure of a discourse set of
  propositions, ordered by semantic relations
• 2 levels
• A microstructures the local level of discourse,
  individual propositions (eat(Mary,ice-cream)
• B macrostructure the global discourse structure
• - sets global constraints (topic, title)
• - establishes the "meaningful whole"

87
Formation of Microstructures The Swazi tribe was
at war with a neighboring tribe because of a
dispute over cattle. Among the warriors were two
men, Kakra and his younger brother Gum. Kakra
was killed in a battle. Step 1 - identify most
important proposition- "was at war" Step 2 -
relate other propositions to this proposition
according to coherence rules (limited by
capacity of STM). Step 3 - try to relate
propositions in next sentence to propositions
that are active in STM. (example fails - no
terms in 2nd sentence can be directly connected
to preceding sentence Step 4- If step 3 failed,
do "reinstatement search" - reinstates
information about the text from LTM into STM -
effort to link new propositions to old ones -
reinstatement slows comprehension Step 5- If
reinstatement fails, start a new coherence
graph - try to make inference to link new
material to old material. Example inference
Kakra Gum were Swazi warriors.
88
Spatial cognition and language
89

• Spatial cognition and language
• Try to name the colors of the displayed words
• source http//artsci.wustl.edu/jprinz/cog25.htm

90

• Spatial cognition and language
• Are image and name stored together or separately?
• cf. logogene/imagene
• parallel activation of visual and lexical entry
• The Imagery debate
• existence of internal representations
• rat experiments (Toulmin) evidence for the
  representation of maps
• A) propositional representation (Pylyshyn)
  mental "jumping" on a map without time delay
• B) analogue representation (Kosslyn et al.)
  mental scanning, mental rotation

91

• Visual recognition process
• 1. initial sensing of visual information
  photosensitive cells (rods and cones) in retina,
• activated by individual photons
• each receptor responds to a tiny portion
  (minutes of arc) of the visual field,
• receptors are never activated alike
• 2. neurons in retina connected to neurons in the
  
• first visual cortical area
• -for shape perception
• -different cell types for different tasks (spots,
  edges...)

92
Kosslyns proto-model of object recognition
93
Kosslyns proto-model of object
recognition visual buffer attention
window -edge detection -selective input for
-establishes regions contiguous sets of
points of homogeneous value
Stimulus encoding (Kosslyn) 1. degraded
contours vertices high-information part
of contours cf. Biederman p.152
in Kosslyn/Osherson (eds.)1995.
94
Encoding of spatial properties 2. missing parts
more recognition time needed when parts have been
removed 3. disrupted parts, distorted spatial
relation among parts ? violation of viewpoint
consistency
95

• On mental rotation (Shepard, Kosslyn, et al.)
• direct proportionality between time and angle
• more complex objects /3D objects longer times
• identical images in different scales scale
  difference proportional to identification times
• activation of motor areas in the brain
• critical angle for letters 120

96

• Spatial reasoning in language and mind
• introspective reports on simple relation tasks
  using comparative adjectives
• The Empire State building is higher than the
  Eiffel tower.
• mental comparison based on spatial descriptions
• Cathy is taller than Linda. Linda is taller than
  Mary.
• ? Cathy is taller than Mary.
• spatial descriptions in language triggering of
• mental models - simplified reality, cf.
• The knife is in front of the vase. The vase is on
  the left of the glass. The glass is behind the
  dish.
• represented symmetrically with equal distances
• way descriptions turns always with 90 angle

97

• Temporal cognition
• temporal phenomena considered
• physical time
• biological time
• time as a philosophical and abstract concept
• perceived time
• time in language
• physical Newtons notion of time
• Absolute, true, and mathematical time, of itself,
  and from its own nature flows equably without
  regard to anything external, and by another name
  is called duration relative, apparent, and
  common time, is some sensible and external
  (whether accurate or unequable) measure of
  duration by the means of motion, which is
  commonly used instead of true time such as an
  hour, a day, a month.

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• Temporal concepts in the sciences
• Einsteins model of the universe
• time considered as the 4th dimension
• physical processes are reversible
• paradox of time (Prigogine et al.)
• biological time circadian rhythms of living
  organisms
• psychological time cause-effect relationships
• - inferences base on temporal arrangements of
• events
• - real time is mediated (lateral inhibition)
• - segmentation of cognitive processing
• (cf. slips-of-the-tongue)

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Temporal perception and language
correlates Miller/Johnson-Laird 4 foci of
temporal experience 1. short time intervals 2.
estimation of duration 3. simultaneousness 4.
temporal perspective (placement of events in
past, present, future)
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Temporal phenomena in language categories gramma
tical (tense, aspect) lexical (aktionsarten,
temporal adverbs, temporal conjunctions,
temporal prepositions). All thoughts are
tensed (Higginbotham) - necessity of
representing time in language space-time metaphor
(Langacker) Western languages linear paradigm of
time exotic languages cycles, subcycles
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Temporality and tenses
doubts about future tense as a tense at all has
modal functions complexity hypothesis meaning of
tenses combination of intrinsic meaning and
contextual meaning
intrinsic meaning relation between time of event
E and a time of reference R contextual meaning
relation between time of reference R and time of
speech S
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Event structure
1. telic, no expansion (to explode, to
flash) 2. telic, linear (to start) 3. telic,
limited (to arrive)
t
t
t
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Event structure

• 4. telic, beginning and
• end (to read a novel)
• 5. telic, iterative
• (to twiddle)
• temporal telicity can be
• parallel to spatial telicity (to arrive)
• independent of spatial telicity (to explode)

t
t
104
Conceptual development representations
building blocks of cognition and
language concepts the formats of
representation hierarchy of concept
acquisition 1.spontaneous concepts bottom-up
approach, find abstract, systematic
entity 2.scientific concepts top-down, find
concrete grounds children lack scientific
concepts concepts which are subject to
conscious awareness are under voluntary control
and form part of an organized system (Vygotsky)
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• Conceptualization and language
• Jackendoff, Langacker cognitive behavior is
  primarily a conceptualization of space
• language encodes iconic-imaginal modi of
  cognition
• space concepts are more frequent than time
  concepts
• real space is manifested in linguistic phenomena
• space concepts transform into other concepts
  through metaphorical extension
• (read through a text, work on a thesis)
• base on primary experiences during language
  development

106

• Conceptual semantics and cognitive grammar
• shared encoding of spatial concepts and
  extension into other conceptual areas
• languages have hierarchical structure based on
  metaphors

• Conceptual semantics
• (Jackendoff et al.)
• insists on autonomy of syntax
• and on formal representation
• concepts generated mentally on
• basis of a limited set of primitives,
• limited principles of combinability
• Jackendoff concepts are
• finite schemes

• Cognitive grammar
• (Langacker)
• meaning is conceptualization
• grammar, lexicon poles on a
• continuum
• semantics materializes them
• in different ways

107

• Cognitive grammar
• model relates language to conceptual world,
  human experience
• humans share experiences and biological
  endowment
• ? idea that physical experiences shaped thinking
• and language
• Lakoff the universal basis of language and
  cognition
• is the visual conceptualization of space and
• movement
• language therefore reflects fundamental stimuli
• presupposes categorization which involves
  conceptual distinctions (night, day)

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Categorization and construal categorization
process of putting together a number of
experiences into one conceptual category and
relating it to and distinguishing it from, other
conceptual categories construal a cognitive
strategy by which the speaker decides on a
particular linguistic alternative in portraying a
given conceptualization ex. use of passive rather
than active ? focusing on object of action rather
than agent
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Cognitive basis force-dynamics early physical
experience of push/ pull/weight/gravity
(Talmy) imaging modes 1.entities and their
spatial relationships among each other 2.global
perspective on a scene 3.focus on scene (figure
and ground) 4.scene conceptualized as a field of
forces expression of concepts mainly through
words, also through grammar (both are poles on a
continuum) expressions base on experience (gold
nugget/gold dust) special case ? not
experience-based names for abstract entities (cf.
quark types)
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