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syntax 7 On-line processing DAY 36 – nov 20, 2013

syntax 7 On-line processing DAY 36 – nov 20, 2013. Brain & Language LING 4110-4890-5110-7960 NSCI 4110-4891-6110 Harry Howard Tulane University. Course organization. The syllabus, these slides and my recordings are available at http://www.tulane.edu/~howard/LING4110/ .

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syntax 7 On-line processing DAY 36 – nov 20, 2013

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  1. syntax 7On-line processingDAY 36 – nov 20, 2013 Brain & Language LING 4110-4890-5110-7960 NSCI 4110-4891-6110 Harry Howard Tulane University

  2. Brain & Language - Harry Howard - Tulane University Course organization • The syllabus, these slides and my recordings are available at http://www.tulane.edu/~howard/LING4110/. • If you want to learn more about EEG and neurolinguistics, you are welcome to participate in my lab. This is also a good way to get started on an honor's thesis. • The grades are posted to Blackboard.

  3. Brain & Language - Harry Howard - Tulane University Review

  4. Brain & Language - Harry Howard - Tulane University Center embedding • 8a) The dog chased the cat. • 8b) The cat hunted the rat. • 8c) The rat nibbled the cheese. • 9) The rat the cat hunted nibbled the cheese. • 10) The rat the cat the dog chased hunted nibbled the cheese.

  5. Brain & Language - Harry Howard - Tulane University How might this be processed? The parser encounters … the rat > look for a predicate to supply a thematic role … the cat > wait, put the previous search on hold & look for another predicate to supply a thematic role … the dog > wait, put the previous search on hold & look for yet another predicate to supply a thematic role … thematic role for ‘the dog’ Ok, now I am lost. thematic role for ‘the cat’ thematic role for ‘the rat’ push-down stack

  6. Brain & Language - Harry Howard - Tulane University Is the following a good way to describe the grammar of English? • Mary bought a book for John. • The direct object THEME follows the verb in English. • Which book did Mary buy for John? • The direct object THEME follows the verb in English or precedes the clause when it is introduced by which. • John asked Mary about a student. • TOPIC tends to be the object of the preposition about. • Which student did John ask Mary about? • TOPIC tends to be the object of the preposition about, or it precedes the clause when it is introduced by which. • Is there a principle of science that can help us out here?

  7. Brain & Language - Harry Howard - Tulane University Sentence comprehension and syntactic parsing Ingram I, §13 On-line processing, working memory and modularity

  8. Brain & Language - Harry Howard - Tulane University Leprechauns! • Think of an explanation for something: • The Earth spinning on its axis makes day and night. • The Earth spinning on its axis or leprechauns pushing it, makes day and night. • Rain falls when water condenses in the atmosphere. • Rain falls when water condenses in the atmosphere or leprechauns piss from clouds. • Does adding leprechauns to all our explanations make them better?

  9. Brain & Language - Harry Howard - Tulane University Ockham’s razor, simplicity, economylexparsimoniae • Ockham’s razor is a principle that generally recommends selecting from among competing hypotheses the one that makes the fewest new assumptions. • Einstein-ish: “Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

  10. Brain & Language - Harry Howard - Tulane University Back to our sentences • The sentences and their leprechauns • Mary bought a book for John. • Which book did Mary buy for John? • John asked Mary about a student. • Which student did John ask Mary about? • How to get rid of the leprechauns • Mary bought a book for John. • Which bookidid John buy ____ifor Mary? • John asked Mary about a student. • Which studentidid John ask Mary about ____i? • (b, d) are called filler-gap constructions, though the gap is also called a trace.

  11. Brain & Language - Harry Howard - Tulane University Cross-modal priming & trace reactivationsentence presented auditorily; prime & probe visually prime 16) Which bookidid the harassed parent almost purchase ti for her child? faster for related same for both faster for related probe: library/ vehicle

  12. Brain & Language - Harry Howard - Tulane University Gaps/traces in relative clauses • The dog chased the cat. • Subject relative clause • The dog that chased the cat … = • Thedogithat tichased the cat … • Object relative clause • The cat that the dog chased … = • The catithat the dog chased ti… • Which one should be harder to process? • The object relative clause, because the relationship between the real filler (the cat) and the gap has to ignore the potential filler (the dog). • I am ignoring Ingram’s discussion of Gibson’s load/capacity theory of parsing, which is very interesting, but we don’t have time.

  13. Brain & Language - Harry Howard - Tulane University Self-paced reading & subject-object • The data: reading time for us 20a) My brother wanted to know if Ruth will bring ushome to Mom at Xmas. 20b) My brother wanted to know who will bring ushome to Mom at Xmas. = 20b) My brother wanted to know whoitiwill bring ushome to Mom at Xmas. 20c) My brother wanted to know who Ruth will bring ushome to at Xmas. = 20c) My brother wanted to know whoiRuth will bring ushome to tiat Xmas. • Which one should be slowest? • (20c) because us is a possible site for the gap/trace of who.

  14. Brain & Language - Harry Howard - Tulane University NEXT TIME Ingram §14, Agrammatism revisited

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