Sentence processing: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Process of understanding speech}}

{{more citations needed|date=December 2008}}

'''Sentence processing''' takes place whenever a reader or listener processes a language utterance, either in isolation or in the [[context (language use)|context]] of a conversation or a text. Many studies of the human language comprehension process have focused on reading of single utterances (sentences) without context. Extensive research has shown that language comprehension is affected by context preceding a given utterance as well as many other factors.

Many studies of the human language comprehension process have focused on reading of single utterances (sentences) without context. Extensive research has shown, however, that language comprehension is affected also by context preceding a given utterance, as well as many other factors.

==Ambiguity==

Sentence comprehension has to deal with ambiguity<ref>{{cite journal|last=Altmann|first=Gerry|title=Ambiguity in sentence processing|journal=Trends in Cognitive Sciences|date=April 1998|volume=2|issue=4|pages=146–151|doi=10.1016/s1364-6613(98)01153-x|pmid=21227111|s2cid=12113211}}</ref> in spoken and written utterances, for example [[Ambiguity|lexical]], [[Syntactic ambiguity|structural]], and [[semantic ambiguity|semantic ambiguities]]. Ambiguity is ubiquitous, but people usually resolve it so effortlessly that they do not even notice it. For example, the sentence ''[[Time flies like an arrow]]'' has (at least) the interpretations ''Time moves as quickly as an arrow'', ''A special kind of fly, called time fly, likes arrows'' and ''Measure the speed of flies like you would measure the speed of an arrow''. Usually, readers will be aware of only the first interpretation. Educated readers though, spontaneously think about the [[arrow of time]] but inhibit that interpretation because it deviates from the original phrase and the temporal lobe acts as a switch.

Instances of ambiguity can be classified as '''local''' or '''global''' ambiguities. A sentence is globally ambiguous if it has two distinct interpretations. Examples are sentences like ''Someone shot the servant of the actress who was on the balcony'' (was it the servant or the actress who was on the balcony?) or ''The cop chased the criminal with a fast car'' (did the cop or the criminal have a fast car?). Comprehenders may have a preferential interpretation for either of these cases, but syntactically and semantically, neither of the possible interpretations can be ruled out.

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==== Modular vs. interactive ====

A modular view of sentence processing assumes that each factor involved in sentence processing is computed in its own module, which has limited means of communication with the other modules. For example, syntactic analysis creation takes place without input from semantic analysis or context-dependent information, which are processed separately. A common assumption of modular accounts is a ''feed-forward'' architecture in which the output of one processing step is passed on to the next step without feedback mechanisms that would allow the output of the first module to be corrected. Syntactic processing is usually taken to be the most basic analysis step, which feeds into semantic processing and the inclusion of other information. A separate mental module parses sentences and lexical access happens first. Then, one syntactic hypothesis is considered at a time. There is no initial influence of meaning, or semantic. Sentence processing is supported by a temporo-frontal network. Within the network, temporal regions subserve aspects of identification and frontal regions the building of syntactic and semantic relations. Temporal analyses of brain activation within this network support syntax-first models because they reveal that building of syntactic structure precedes semantic processes and that these interact only during a later stage.<ref>{{Cite book | title=Sentence Processing: A Cross-Linguistic Perspective. Syntax and Semantics 31 | publisher=San Diego: [[Academic Press]] | pages=464 | isbn=978-0126135312 | editor-last1=Hillert | editor-first1=D. | year=1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Friederici|first1=Angela|title=Towards a neural basis of auditory sentence processing|journal=Trends in Cognitive Sciences|date=1 February 2002|volume=6|issue=2|pages=78–84|doi=10.1016/S1364-6613(00)01839-8|urlpmid=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136466130001839815866191|accessdatedoi-access=2015free|hdl=11858/00-12001M-050000-0010-E573-8|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

Interactive accounts assume that all available information is processed at the same time and can immediately influence the computation of the final analysis. In the interactive model of sentence processing, there is no separate module for parsing. Lexical access, syntactic structure assignment, and meaning assignment happen at the same time in parallel. Several syntactic hypotheses can be considered at a time. The interactive model demonstrates an on-line interaction between the structural and lexical and phonetic levels of sentence processing. Each word, as it is heard in the context of normal discourse, is immediately entered into the processing system at all levels of description, and is simultaneously analyzed at all these levels in the light of whatever information is available at each level at that point in the processing of the sentence.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Abrahams|first1=V. C.|last2=Rose|first2=P. K.|title=Sentence perception as an interactive parallel process|journal=Science|date=18 July 1975|volume=189|issue=4198|pages=226–228|doi=10.1126/science.189.4198.226|pmid=17733889|bibcode=1975Sci...189..226M|s2cid=30410322|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/William_Marslen-Wilson/publication/6106384_Sentence_perception_as_an_interactive_parallel_process/links/02e7e530c94879601e000000.pdf6106384}}</ref> Interactive models of language processing assume that information flows both bottom-up and top-down, so that the representations formed at each level may be influenced by higher as well as lower levels. A framework called the interactive activation framework that embeds this key assumption among others, including the assumption that influences from different sources are combined nonlinearly. The nonlinearity means that information that may be decisive under some circumstances may have little or no effect under other conditions. In the interactive activation framework, the knowledge that guides processing is stored in the connections between units on the same and adjacent levels. The processing units that they connect may receive input from a number of different sources, which allows the knowledge that guides processing to be completely local while, at the same time, allowing the results of processing at one level to influence processing at other levels, both above and below. A basic assumption of the framework is that processing interactions are always reciprocal; it is this bi-directional characteristic that makes the system interactive. Bi-directional excitatory interactions between levels allow mutual simultaneous constraint among adjacent levels, and bi-diectionaldirectional inhibitory interactions within a level allow for competition among mutually incompatible interpretations of a portion of an input. The between-level excitatory interactions are captured in the models in two-way excitatory connections between mutually compatible processing units.<ref>(McClelland)</ref> Syntactic ambiguities are in fact based at the lexical level. In addition, more recent studies with more sensitive eyetrackingeye tracking machines have shown early context effects. Frequency and contextual information will modulate the activation of alternatives even when they are resolved in favor of the simple interpretation. Structural simplicity is cofounded with frequency, which goes against the garden path theory<ref>MacDonald, Pearlmutter &and Seidenberg, 1994).</ref>

==== Serial vs. parallel ====

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==== Garden path model ====

The garden path model {{Harv|Frazier |1987}} is a serial modular parsing model. It proposes that a single parse is constructed by a syntactic module. Contextual and semantic factors influence processing at a later stage and can induce re-analysis of the syntactic parse. Re-analysis is costly and leads to an observable slowdown in reading. When the parser encounters an ambiguity, it is guided by two principles: late closure and minimal attachment. The model has been supported with research on the [[early left anterior negativity]], an [[event-related potential]] often elicited as a response to [[Phrase structure rules|phrase structure violations]].

'''Late closure''' causes new words or phrases to be attached to the current clause. For example, "John said he would leave yesterday" would be parsed as ''John said (he would leave yesterday)'', and not as ''John said (he would leave) yesterday'' (i.e., he spoke yesterday).

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==== Constraint-based model ====

[[Constraint-based grammar|Constraint-based]] theories of language comprehension<ref>{{cite journal|last=MacDonald|first=M. C.|author2=Pearlmutter, M. |author3=Seidenberg, M. |title=The Lexical Nature of Ambiguity Resolution|journal=Psychological Review|year=1994|volume=101|issue=4|pages=676–703|pmid=7984711|doi=10.1037/0033-295x.101.4.676|s2cid=15560738 }}</ref> emphasize how people make use of the vast amount of probabilistic information available in the linguistic signal. Through [[Statistical learning in language acquisition|statistical learning]],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Seidenberg |first=Mark S. |author2=J.L. McClelland |year=1989 |title=A distributed developmental model of word recognition and naming. |journal=Psychological Review |volume=96 |pages=523–568 |pmid=2798649|doi=10.1037/0033-295X.96.4.523 |issue=4 |citeseerx=10.1.1.127.3083 }}</ref> the frequencies and distribution of events in linguistic environments can be picked upon, which inform language comprehension. As such, language users are said to arrive at a particular interpretation over another during the comprehension of an ambiguous sentence by rapidly integrating these probabilistic constraints.

==== Good enough theory ====

The good enough approach to language comprehension, developed by [[Fernanda Ferreira (psychologist)|Fernanda Ferreira]] and others, assumes that listeners do not always engage in full detailed

processing of linguistic input. Rather, the system has a tendency to develop shallow and superficial representations

when confronted with some difficulty. The theory takes an approach that somewhat combines both the garden path model and the constraint based model. The theory focuses on two main issues. The first is that representations formed from complex or difficult material are often shallow and incomplete. The second is that limited information sources are often consulted in cases where the comprehension system encounters difficulty. The theory can be put to test using various experiments in psycholinguistics that involve garden path misinterpretation, etc.<ref>[http://csjarchive.cogsci.rpi.edu/proceedings/2009/papers/75/paper75.pdf "Good enough language processing: A satisficing approach] Fernanda Ferreira, Paulet Eal. Engelhardt, Manon W. Jones, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Cog Sc Proceedings, (2009)</ref><ref>[ftp://grey.colorado.edu/pub/oreilly/teach/prosem_lang/FerreiraBaileyFerraro02.pdf "Good enough representations in language comprehensions] Ferreira, Baileyet and Ferraro, Current Directions in Psychological Science,al. (2002)</ref><ref>

==Methods==

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In behavioral studies, subjects are often presented with linguistic stimuli and asked to perform an action. For example, they may be asked to make a judgment about a word ([[lexical decision task|lexical decision]]), reproduce the stimulus, or name a visually presented word aloud. Speed (often reaction time: time taken to respond to the stimulus) and accuracy (proportion of correct responses) are commonly employed measures of performance in behavioral tasks. Researchers infer that the nature of the underlying process(es) required by the task gives rise to differences; slower rates and lower accuracy on these tasks are taken as measures of increased difficulty. An important component of any behavioral task is that it stays relatively true to 'normal' language comprehension—the ability to generalize the results of any task is restricted when the task has little in common with how people actually encounter language.

A common behavioral paradigm involves [[priming (psychology)|priming effects]], wherein participants are presented first with a prime and then with a target word. The response time for the target word is affected by the relationship between the prime and the target. For example, Fischler (1977) investigated word encoding using the lexical decision task. She asked participants to make decisions about whether two strings of letters were English words. Sometimes the strings would be actual English words requiring a "yes" response, and other times they would be nonwords requiring a "no" response. A subset of the licit words were related semantically (e.g., cat-dog) while others were unrelated (e.g., bread-stem). Fischler found that related word pairs were responded to faster when compared to unrelated word pairs, which suggests that semantic relatedness can facilitate word encoding.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Semantic facilitation without association in a lexical decision task | author=Fischler I. | journal=Memory & Cognition |volume=5 | issue=3 | pages=335–339 | year=1977 | doi=10.3758/bf03197580| pmid=24202904 | doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Eye-movements===

[[Eye tracking]] has been used to study online language processing. This method has been influential in informing knowledge of reading.<ref>{{cite journal | author=Rayner K. | title=Eye movements in reading and information processing |journal=Psychological Bulletin | year=1978 | volume=85 |pages=618–660 | doi=10.1037/0033-2909.85.3.618 | pmid=353867 | issue=3| citeseerx=10.1.1.294.4262 }}</ref> Additionally, Tanenhaus et al. (1995)<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Tanenhaus M. K. |author2=Spivey-Knowlton M. J. |author3=Eberhard K. M. |author4=Sedivy J. E. | year=1995 | title=Integration of visual and linguistic information in spoken language comprehension|journal=Science |volume=268 |pages=1632–1634 | doi=10.1126/science.7777863 | pmid=7777863 | issue=5217|bibcode=1995Sci...268.1632T |s2cid=3073956 }}</ref> established the visual world paradigm, which takes advantage of eye movements to study online spoken language processing. This area of research capitalizes on the linking hypothesis that eye movements are closely linked to the current focus of attention.

===Neuroimaging and evoked potentials===

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===Computational modeling===

Computational modeling is another means by which to explore language comprehension. Models, such as those instantiated in [[neural networks]], are particularly useful because they requires theorists to be explicit in their hypotheses and because they can be used to generate accurate predictions for theoretical models that are so complex that they render [[discursive psychology|discursive analysis]] unreliable. A classic example of computational modeling in language research is [[James McClelland (psychologist)|McClelland]] and [[Jeff Elman|Elman's]] [[Trace (psycholinguistics)|TRACE]] model of speech perception.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = McClelland, | first1 = J.L., &| last2 = Elman, | first2 = J.L. (| year = 1986). | title = The TRACE model of speech perception. | journal = Cognitive Psychology, | volume = 18, | issue = 1| pages = 1–86 | doi = 10.1016/0010-0285(86)90015-0 | pmid = 3753912 | s2cid = 7428866 }}</ref> A model of sentence processing can be found in Hale (2011)'s 'rational' Generalized Left Corner parser.<ref>Hale,{{Cite J.journal T.| (2011)doi=10.1111/j.1551-6709.2010.01145.x| title=What a rationalRational parserParser wouldWould do.| journal=Cognitive Science,| volume=35(| issue=3),| 399-443pages=399–443| year=2011| last1=Hale| first1=John T.| doi-access=free}}</ref> This model derives garden path effects as well as local coherence phenomena. Computational modeling can also help to relate sentence processing to other functions of language. For example, one model of ERP effects in sentence processing (e.g., N400 and P600) argues that these phenomena arise out learning processes that support language acquisition and linguistic adaptation.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Fitz|first1=Hartmut|last2=Chang|first2=Franklin|date=2019-06-01|title=Language ERPs reflect learning through prediction error propagation|journal=Cognitive Psychology|volume=111|pages=15–52|doi=10.1016/j.cogpsych.2019.03.002|pmid=30921626|hdl=21.11116/0000-0003-474D-8|s2cid=85501792|issn=0010-0285|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[Language processing]]

* [[Neurolinguistics]]

* [[Parsing]]

* [[Prediction in language comprehension]]

* [[Psycholinguistics]]

* [[Reading]]

* [[Reading comprehension]]

* [[Speech perception]]

==ReferencesNotes==

{{reflist}}

==Further readingReferences==

* Ferreira, F., Bailey, K. G., & Ferraro, V. (2002). ''[http://www2.psychology.uiowa.edu/faculty/hollingworth/prosem/Ferreira-2002-Good-enough%20represen.pdf Good-enough representations in language comprehension]'' [ftp://grey.colorado.edu/pub/oreilly/teach/prosem_lang/FerreiraBaileyFerraro02.pdf]{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} in ''Current directions in psychological science'', 11(1), 11–15.

*Carroll, David, The Psychology of Language( Wadsworth Publishing, 2003))

* Fernanda Ferreira, Paul E. Engelhardt, Manon W. Jones (Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh) (2009) ''[https://ferreiralab.faculty.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/222/2015/05/Ferreira-et-al.-2009_GoodEnoughProcessing_Cog-Sci-Society.pdf Good enough language processing: A satisficing approach]'', in ''Proceedings of the 31st annual conference of the cognitive science society''. Austin: Cognitive Science Society.

*{{Citation

| last = Frazier

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| publisher = Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

| year = 1987

| url = https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1987-98557-025

}}

*{{cite book | title=Sentence Comprehension: The Integration of Habits and Rules | last=Townsend | first=David J |author2=Thomas G. Bever | year=2001 | publisher=[[MIT Press]] | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vs31TzBbqIIC&pg=PA382&lpg=PA382&dq=early+left+anterior+negativity&source=web&ots=k0jVegTTDb&sig=QYZL3lg_tyziAapiRzbQ-CUYWhk#PPA382,M1 | page=382 | isbn=0-262-70080-8}}

==Further reading==

*Carroll, David, The Psychology of Language( Wadsworth Publishing, 2003))

* Ferreira, F., & Patson, N. D. (2007). ''[http://www.lib.csu.ru/ER/ER_Philosophy/fulltexts/FerreiraF.pdf The ‘good enough’approach to language comprehension]'' in ''Language and Linguistics Compass'', 1(1‐2), 71–83.

*{{cite book | title=Sentence Comprehension: The Integration of Habits and Rules | last=Townsend | first=David J |author2=Thomas G. Bever | year=2001 | publisher=[[MIT Press]] | url=https://booksarchive.google.comorg/books?iddetails/sentencecomprehe0000town | url-access=Vs31TzBbqIIC&pg=PA382&lpg=PA382&dqregistration | quote=early+ left+ anterior+ negativity&source=web&ots=k0jVegTTDb&sig=QYZL3lg_tyziAapiRzbQ-CUYWhk#PPA382,M1. | page=[https://archive.org/details/sentencecomprehe0000town/page/382 382] | isbn=978-0-262-70080-81}}

*{{Citation

| last = Lewis

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| editor-first = M.

| year = 1999

| publisher = Cambridge University Press}}

| doi = 10.1017/CBO9780511527210.004

* [http://sites.google.com/site/sentenceprocessing Human Sentence Processing]: an introductory website on the computational psycholinguistic aspects of human sentence processing, developed for students in Linguistics, Psychology or Computer Science.

| s2cid = 16789862

| url = https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4861/9eba4550b341eb95eeb208f8d16487fdd2fa.pdf

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190824163624/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4861/9eba4550b341eb95eeb208f8d16487fdd2fa.pdf

| url-status = dead

| archive-date = 2019-08-24

}}

* [http://sites.google.com/site/sentenceprocessing Human Sentence Processing]: an introductory website on the computational psycholinguistic aspects of human sentence processing, developed for students in Linguisticslinguistics, Psychology or Computer Science.

[[Category:Psycholinguistics]]