Semantic Constraints on Sentence Processing Time and Complexity

1975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheldon Rosenberg ◽  
Richard Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Processing Time ◽  
Semantic Constraints

scholarly journals Lexical selection, cross-language interaction, and switch costs in habitually codeswitching bilinguals

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 569-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
SOUAD KHEDER ◽  
EDITH KAAN
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Lexical Selection ◽  
Semantic Constraints ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Language Context ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Ecological Methodology

Bilinguals dynamically activate lexical items in one or both languages depending on a number of factors. We explored the interaction effects of semantic constraints, language context, and L2-proficiency on cross-language interaction and switch costs in bilinguals who habitually codeswitch between Algerian Arabic (AA) and French. We recorded response times to French cognates and non-cognates embedded in auditory AA or French sentences. High proficiency bilinguals could restrict selection to the target language regardless of the language context. In lower proficiency bilinguals, however, selection was specific to the target language in non-switching contexts but was nonspecific in switching contexts where cross-language interaction yielded inhibitory and facilitatory cognate effects. Results of this study therefore suggest that lexical selection in codeswitching bilinguals is dynamic and is dependent on proficiency, semantic constraints and language context. This within-subject study using auditory stimuli contributes towards a more ecological methodology in investigating sentence processing in codeswitching bilinguals.

scholarly journals Adult age differences in the benefit of syntactic and semantic constraints for sentence processing.

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Beese ◽  
Markus Werkle-Bergner ◽  
Ulman Lindenberger ◽  
Angela D. Friederici ◽  
Lars Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Age Differences ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Adult Age ◽  
Semantic Constraints ◽  
Adult Age Differences

Impairments of sentence comprehension

1994 ◽  
Vol 346 (1315) ◽  
pp. 47-53 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Semantic Dementia ◽  
Thematic Roles ◽  
Semantic Constraints ◽  
Syntactic Information

We examine two different forms of comprehension impairment, ‘semantic dementia’ and ‘asyntactic comprehension’, focusing on the assignment of thematic roles: the determination of who did it to whom . We show, first, that the loss of word meaning does not impede thematic assignment in semantic dementia, demonstrating that syntactic information, along with some knowledge of the verb, is sufficient for the assignment of thematic roles. Studies of normal subjects indicate, however, that this process is normally subject to semantic influences; asked to judge the plausibility of sentences, subjects respond faster when thematic assignment is semantically constrained. The sentence plausibility judgments of ‘asyntactic’ comprehenders (aphasics with diminished syntactic control over thematic assignment) show increased effects of these semantic constraints. We discuss these results in relation to current issues in sentence processing.

The maze task: Measuring forced incremental sentence processing time

2009 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth I. Forster ◽  
Christine Guerrera ◽  
Lisa Elliot
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Processing Time ◽  
Maze Task

scholarly journals Sentence processing of taboo words: Evidence from eyetracking

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Nye ◽  
Fernanda Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Processing Time ◽  
Online Processing ◽  
Additional Processing ◽  
Statistical Regularities ◽  
Taboo Words ◽  
Reading Measures ◽  
Critical Words ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
Neutral Conditions

The reported studies investigate online processing of taboo words (e.g. shit) and their censored equivalents (e.g. s**t), relative to semantically matched non-taboo words (e.g. junk). Participants’ eyes were tracked as they read sentences which contained one of the critical words. In Experiment 1, participants also encountered censored-neutral words, known as masked (e.g. j**k), but in Experiment 2, participants only encountered the taboo, censored, and neutral conditions, thus manipulating the perceptual certainty of censored words. Taboo and neutral words required similar processing time across all reading measures; liberal post-hoc analyses replicated the null effect. With regards to the censored words, Experiment 1 revealed that early word-recognition requirements were similar between censored, taboo, and neutral words, with censored words requiring additional processing time in later sentence integration measures. However, the results from Experiment 2 revealed no differences in reading time between conditions, suggesting that the masked words in Experiment 1 motivated participants to double-check the censored words due to their orthographic similarity. After reading all of the sentences in Experiment 2, participants’ memory of the sentences was tested. Participants were able to differentiate between whether they encountered a neutral or profane word (i.e. either taboo or censor), but participants were unable to identify the specific profane word that they encountered in the reading task. We argue that the results relating to the taboo words further clarifies language’s role within the functional architecture of cognition while the results relating to censorship informs how statistical regularities of language are used to process lexical-semantic information.

A new tool for rapid development of electron microscopy negatives and micrographs: Initial impressions of the MOHR/PRO-8 processor

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 972-973
Author(s):  
James C. Long
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Processing Time ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Processing Times ◽  
Initial Impressions ◽  
Transport Method

Over the years, many techniques and products have been developed to reduce the amount of time spent in a darkroom processing electron microscopy negatives and micrographs. One of the latest tools, effective in this effort, is the Mohr/Pro-8 film and rc paper processor.At the time of writing, a unit has been recently installed in the photographic facilities of the Electron Microscopy Center at Texas A&M University. It is being evaluated for use with TEM sheet film, SEM sheet film, 35mm roll film (B&W), and rc paper.Originally designed for use in the phototypesetting industry, this processor has only recently been introduced to the field of electron microscopy.The unit is a tabletop model, approximately 1.5 × 1.5 × 2.0 ft, and uses a roller transport method of processing. It has an adjustable processing time of 2 to 6.5 minutes, dry-to-dry. The installed unit has an extended processing switch, enabling processing times of 8 to 14 minutes to be selected.

When Hearing Does Not Mean Understanding: On the Neural Processing of Syntactically Complex Sentences by Listeners With Hearing Loss

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Margreet Vogelzang ◽  
Christiane M. Thiel ◽  
Stephanie Rosemann ◽  
Jochem W. Rieger ◽  
Esther Ruigendijk
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Cognitive Demands ◽  
Sentence Complexity ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
And Task

Purpose Adults with mild-to-moderate age-related hearing loss typically exhibit issues with speech understanding, but their processing of syntactically complex sentences is not well understood. We test the hypothesis that listeners with hearing loss' difficulties with comprehension and processing of syntactically complex sentences are due to the processing of degraded input interfering with the successful processing of complex sentences. Method We performed a neuroimaging study with a sentence comprehension task, varying sentence complexity (through subject–object order and verb–arguments order) and cognitive demands (presence or absence of a secondary task) within subjects. Groups of older subjects with hearing loss ( n = 20) and age-matched normal-hearing controls ( n = 20) were tested. Results The comprehension data show effects of syntactic complexity and hearing ability, with normal-hearing controls outperforming listeners with hearing loss, seemingly more so on syntactically complex sentences. The secondary task did not influence off-line comprehension. The imaging data show effects of group, sentence complexity, and task, with listeners with hearing loss showing decreased activation in typical speech processing areas, such as the inferior frontal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus. No interactions between group, sentence complexity, and task were found in the neuroimaging data. Conclusions The results suggest that listeners with hearing loss process speech differently from their normal-hearing peers, possibly due to the increased demands of processing degraded auditory input. Increased cognitive demands by means of a secondary visual shape processing task influence neural sentence processing, but no evidence was found that it does so in a different way for listeners with hearing loss and normal-hearing listeners.

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