Ambiguity and entropy in the process of translation and post-editing

This thesis analyses the way in which ambiguity is cognitively processed, in translation in general and post-editing in particular, drawing inferences from psycholinguistics, bilingualism, and entropy-based models of translation cognition. Conceptually, it assumes non-selective activation of both languages (source and target) in the translation process, and explores how entropy and entropy reduction can theoretically describe assumed mental states during disambiguation. Empirically, it uses a product-based metric of word translation entropy (HTra), and eye-movement and keystroke data from the CRITT Translation Process Research Database, to shed light on how the conceptual understanding of lexical and structural ambiguity may be manifested by observable behaviour. At the lexical level, examination of behavioural data pertaining to a high-HTra item from 217 participants translating/post-editing from English into multiple languages shows that the item tends to result in pauses in production and regression of eye movements, and that the translators’/post-editors’ corresponding scrutinization of the source text (ST) tends to involve a visual search for lower-HTra words in the co-text and, accordingly, a decrease in the average entropy of the activity unit. Regarding syntax, a Chinese relative clause in the machine translation output, which can involve a garden-path effect, is examined in terms of eye movements from 18 participants. Results show that, contrary to monolingual reading, disruptions of processing tend to occur not in the later part of the sentence where the wrong parse is disconfirmed, but in the earlier regions where the most quickly-built analysis is semantically inconsistent with the ST. Structural disambiguation and re-analysis seem to be bypassed. This suggests that, on the one hand, reading for post-editing receives a strong biasing effect from the ST, and on the other, argument integration is more appropriately explained from an incremental processing perspective rather than a head-driven approach, as thematic roles seem to be assigned immediately in reading for post-editing. While the lexical analysis supports a parallel disambiguation model, the structural analysis seems to support a serial one. In terms of translation models, both emphasize the impact of cross-linguistic priming and the presence of considerable horizontality in the translation process

One Model to Rule them all: Multitask and Multilingual Modelling for Lexical Analysis

When learning a new skill, you take advantage of your preexisting skills and knowledge. For instance, if you are a skilled violinist, you will likely have an easier time learning to play cello. Similarly, when learning a new language you take advantage of the languages you already speak. For instance, if your native language is Norwegian and you decide to learn Dutch, the lexical overlap between these two languages will likely benefit your rate of language acquisition. This thesis deals with the intersection of learning multiple tasks and learning multiple languages in the context of Natural Language Processing (NLP), which can be defined as the study of computational processing of human language. Although these two types of learning may seem different on the surface, we will see that they share many similarities. The traditional approach in NLP is to consider a single task for a single language at a time. However, recent advances allow for broadening this approach, by considering data for multiple tasks and languages simultaneously. This is an important approach to explore further as the key to improving the reliability of NLP, especially for low-resource languages, is to take advantage of all relevant data whenever possible. In doing so, the hope is that in the long term, low-resource languages can benefit from the advances made in NLP which are currently to a large extent reserved for high-resource languages. This, in turn, may then have positive consequences for, e.g., language preservation, as speakers of minority languages will have a lower degree of pressure to using high-resource languages. In the short term, answering the specific research questions posed should be of use to NLP researchers working towards the same goal.Comment: PhD thesis, University of Groninge

Subject-Oriented Business Process Management

Information Systems Applications (incl.Internet); Business Information Systems; Computer Appl. in Administrative Data Processing; Management of Computing and Information System

Role of language in conceptual coordination

Although concepts are located within individual minds, while word forms are shared across entire language communities, words and concepts are normally deemed to be tightly bound. But in fact, at least to the extent that concepts vary, the relationship between words and concepts may not be as uniform or stable as is often assumed. Nevertheless, language may itself mediate that relationship, through its entrenchment and use. Psychologists have already investigated language use in referential communication, but they have yet to focus in detail on the role of language in conceptual coordination. One of the obstacles has been the theoretical and methodological challenges that arise from seriously abandoning conceptual universals. To that end, an experimental framework was developed based on sorting tasks in which participants freely partition a set of stimuli into categories and an objective measure for comparing two outputs. Four experiments were then conducted to investigate whether people were conceptually coordinated before, during and after linguistic interaction. Experiment 1 consisted of a cross-linguistic study looking at default coordination between native speakers. Participants both sorted items into groups and named them individually. There was a relatively high degree of categorisation agreement among speakers of the same language, but not nearly as high as for naming agreement. Experiments 2-4 inquired into conceptual coordination during or immediately after linguistic interaction. Experimental manipulations involved the form of language use (full dialogue or only category labels), as well as the type of feedback (category groupings, labels, both, or neither). In particular, Experiment 2 investigated the effects of categorising a set of objects together, with or without dialogue, on subsequent individual categorisation. The results were inconclusive and revealed specific methodological issues, but yielded interesting data and were encouraging for the general framework. Experiment 3 modified the designwhile testing and extending the same general hypotheses. Participants carried out a sequence of categorisation tasks in which they tried to coordinate their categories, followed by individual categorisation and similarity tasks. The availability of dialogue and feedback was manipulated in the interactive tasks. During interaction, they also received both kinds of feedback, except in the control condition. Pairs that could talk coordinated much better than the others, but feedback didn’t help. Experiment 4 looked into the effects of the four possibilities for feedback during a longer sequence of interactive tasks. In general, conceptual coordination was found to depend on grouping feedback only. However, by the end of the task, pairs who received both kinds of feedback did best. All three interactive experiments also measured lexical convergence between pairs. The results generally revealed a dissociation, with lexical alignment showingmore convergence and occurring under a wider variety of conditions. Togetherwith previous research, these findings showthat language can bring about conceptual coordination. However, it appears that the richer the form of language use, the more conceptual convergence occurs, and the closer it gets coupled with lexical convergence. The long-term effects, if any, are much weaker. These studies have implications for the general role of language in cognition and other important issues

Attention Restraint, Working Memory Capacity, and Mind Wandering: Do Emotional Valence or Intentionality Matter?

Attention restraint appears to mediate the relationship between working memory capacity (WMC) and mind wandering (Kane et al., 2016). Prior work has identifed two dimensions of mind wandering—emotional valence and intentionality. However, less is known about how WMC and attention restraint correlate with these dimensions. Te current study examined the relationship between WMC, attention restraint, and mind wandering by emotional valence and intentionality. A confrmatory factor analysis demonstrated that WMC and attention restraint were strongly correlated, but only attention restraint was related to overall mind wandering, consistent with prior fndings. However, when examining the emotional valence of mind wandering, attention restraint and WMC were related to negatively and positively valenced, but not neutral, mind wandering. Attention restraint was also related to intentional but not unintentional mind wandering. Tese results suggest that WMC and attention restraint predict some, but not all, types of mind wandering

Instructional strategies in explicating the discovery function of proof for lower secondary school students

In this paper, we report on the analysis of teaching episodes selected from our pedagogical and cognitive research on geometry teaching that illustrate how carefully-chosen instructional strategies can guide Grade 8 students to see and appreciate the discovery function of proof in geometr