A Memory-Based Explanation of Antecedent-Ellipsis Mismatches New Insights From Computational Modeling

An active question in psycholinguistics is whether or not the parser and grammar reflect distinct cognitive systems. Recent evidence for a distinct-systems view comes from cases of ungrammatical but acceptable antecedent-ellipsis mismatches (e.g., *Tom kicked Bill, and Matt was kicked by Tom too.). The finding that these mismatches show varying degrees of acceptability has been presented as evidence for the use of extra-grammatical parsing strategies that restructure a mismatched antecedent to satisfy the syntactic constraints on ellipsis (Arregui et al. 2006; Kim et al. 2011). In this paper, I argue that it is unnecessary to posit a special class of parser-specific rules to capture the observed profiles, and that acceptable mismatches do not reflect a parser-grammar misalignment. Rather, such effects are a natural consequence of a single structure-building system (i.e., the grammar) that relies on noisy, domain-general memory access mechanisms to retrieve an antecedent from memory. In Experiment 1, I confirm the acceptability profiles reported in previous work. Then in Experiment 2, as proof-of-concept, I show using an established computational model of memory retrieval that the observed acceptability profiles follow from independently motivated principles of working memory, without invoking multiple representational systems. These results contribute to a uniform memory-based account of acceptable ungrammaticalities for a wide range of dependencies

Modelling Users, Intentions, and Structure in Spoken Dialog

We outline how utterances in dialogs can be interpreted using a partial first order logic. We exploit the capability of this logic to talk about the truth status of formulae to define a notion of coherence between utterances and explain how this coherence relation can serve for the construction of AND/OR trees that represent the segmentation of the dialog. In a BDI model we formalize basic assumptions about dialog and cooperative behaviour of participants. These assumptions provide a basis for inferring speech acts from coherence relations between utterances and attitudes of dialog participants. Speech acts prove to be useful for determining dialog segments defined on the notion of completing expectations of dialog participants. Finally, we sketch how explicit segmentation signalled by cue phrases and performatives is covered by our dialog model.Comment: 17 page

Factors 2 and 3: Towards a principled approach

This paper seeks to make progress in our understanding of the non-UG components of Chomsky's (2005) Three Factors model. In relation to the input (Factor 2), I argue for the need to formulate a suitably precise hypothesis about which aspects of the input will qualify as 'intake' and, hence, serve as the basis for grammar construction. In relation to Factor 3, I highlight a specific cognitive bias that appears well motivated outside of language, while also having wide-ranging consequences for our understanding of how I-language grammars are constructed, and why they should have the crosslinguistically comparable form that generativists have always argued human languages have. This is Maximise Minimal Means (MMM). I demonstrate how its incorporation into our model of grammar acquisition facilitates understanding of diverse facts about natural language typology, acquisition, both in "stable" and "unstable" contexts, and also the ways in which linguistic systems may change over time.Aquest treball pretén fer progressos en la comprensió dels components que no són UG del model de tres factors de Chomsky (2005). En relació amb l'entrada (factor 2), argumento la necessitat de formular una hipòtesi adequada i precisa sobre quins aspectes de l'entrada es qualificaran com a "ingesta" i, per tant, seran la base de la construcció gramatical. En relació amb el factor 3, destaco un biaix cognitiu específic que apareix força motivat fora del llenguatge, alhora que té àmplies conseqüències per a la nostra comprensió de com es construeixen les gramàtiques del llenguatge I, i per què haurien de tenir la forma interlingüísticament comparable als generativistes. Es tracta de maximitzar els mitjans mínims (MMM). Demostro que la seva incorporació al nostre model d'adquisició gramatical facilita la comprensió de fets diversos sobre tipologia de llenguatge natural, adquisició, tant en contextos "estables" com "inestables", i també de les maneres de canviar els sistemes lingüístics amb el pas del temps

Stripping vs VP-Ellipsis in Catalan

In the tradition of Generative Grammar, several authors have explained the impossibility of vp-Ellipsis for Romance Languages following the hypothesis that vp-Ellipsis in these languages is not licensed by the head of infl as it is in English. It has been pointed out that in French, for instance, vp-Ellipsis is expressed by Stripping. The idea that Romance languages show tp-Ellipsis or tp-Deletion has emerged recently. In this paper we will demonstrate that concerning Catalan, three related constructions, namely Stripping, negative-contrasting constructions and tp-Ellipsis are independent and clearly specified. This evidence will come from the analysis of the so-called information packaging. We will argue that there are two different interpretative processes. On the one hand, Stripping and negative-contrasting constructions are under the control of focus by means of parallel foci in the former, and contrastive foci in the latter. On the other hand, tp-Ellipsis contructions are not constrained by the information packaging, although this notion might help to disambiguate the target in certain cases. Finally we propose a unified analysis of the so-called polarity particles as proforms, that is expressions whose function is to select the appropriate antecedent in the cases we are concerned here

Two is Not Always Better Than one Modeling Evidence for a Single Structure-Building System

A challenge for grammatical theories and models of language processing alike is to explain conflicting online and offline judgments about the acceptability of sentences. A prominent example of the online/offline mismatch involves “agreement attraction” in sentences like *The key to the cabinets were rusty, which are often erroneously treated as acceptable in time-restricted “online” measures, but judged as less acceptable in untimed “offline” tasks. The prevailing assumption is that online/offline mismatches are the product of two linguistic analyzers: one analyzer for rapid communication (the “parser”) and another, slower analyzer that classifies grammaticality (the “grammar”). A competing hypothesis states that online/offline mismatches reflect a single linguistic analyzer implemented in a noisy memory architecture that creates the opportunity for errors and conflicting judgments at different points in time. A challenge for the single-analyzer account is to explain why online and offline tasks sometimes yield conflicting responses if they are mediated by the same analyzer. The current study addresses this challenge by showing how agreement attraction effects might come and go over time in a single-analyzer architecture. Experiments 1 and 2 use an agreement attraction paradigm to directly compare online and offline judgments, and confirm that the online/offline contrast reflects the time restriction in online tasks. Experiment 3 then uses computational modeling to capture the mapping from online to offline responses as a process of sequential memory sampling in a single-analyzer framework. This demonstration provides some proof-of-concept for the single-analyzer account and offers an explicit process model for the mapping between online and offline responses

Typology of bizarre ellipsis varieties

This dissertation deals with the typology and analysis of several types of ellipsis that have received little or no attention so far in the literature. The theoretical goal of the dissertation is to propose analyses of sluicing and gapping that will be able to account for cross-linguistic variation in this domain. While the overall approach of the dissertation is typological, a particular focus is made upon data from Russian, Georgian (the South Caucasian language family), as well as Digor and Iron Ossetic (Iranian; Indo-European)

Syntax with oscillators and energy levels

This book presents a new approach to studying the syntax of human language, one which emphasizes how we think about time. Tilsen argues that many current theories are unsatisfactory because those theories conceptualize syntactic patterns with spatially arranged structures of objects. These object-structures are atemporal and do not lend well to reasoning about time. The book develops an alternative conceptual model in which oscillatory systems of various types interact with each other through coupling forces, and in which the relative energies of those systems are organized in particular ways. Tilsen emphasizes that the two primary mechanisms of the approach – oscillators and energy levels – require alternative ways of thinking about time. Furthermore, his theory leads to a new way of thinking about grammaticality and the recursive nature of language. The theory is applied to a variety of syntactic phenomena: word order, phrase structure, morphosyntax, constituency, case systems, ellipsis, anaphora, and islands. The book also presents a general program for the study of language in which the construction of linguistic theories is itself an object of theoretical analysis. Reviewed by John Goldsmith, Mark Gibson and an anonymous reviewer. Signed reports are openly available in the downloads session

Syntax with oscillators and energy levels

This book presents a new approach to studying the syntax of human language, one which emphasizes how we think about time. Tilsen argues that many current theories are unsatisfactory because those theories conceptualize syntactic patterns with spatially arranged structures of objects. These object-structures are atemporal and do not lend well to reasoning about time. The book develops an alternative conceptual model in which oscillatory systems of various types interact with each other through coupling forces, and in which the relative energies of those systems are organized in particular ways. Tilsen emphasizes that the two primary mechanisms of the approach – oscillators and energy levels – require alternative ways of thinking about time. Furthermore, his theory leads to a new way of thinking about grammaticality and the recursive nature of language. The theory is applied to a variety of syntactic phenomena: word order, phrase structure, morphosyntax, constituency, case systems, ellipsis, anaphora, and islands. The book also presents a general program for the study of language in which the construction of linguistic theories is itself an object of theoretical analysis. Reviewed by John Goldsmith, Mark Gibson and an anonymous reviewer. Signed reports are openly available in the downloads session