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languagekyle e. chambers

2007.11.01

grout graffiti

• grout damn spot• groutius maximus• basal groutlia• i hunted grouts in the woods• grout scott!

imagine there are no languages everyone learns a language

language processing is easy video example

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SENTENCE

PHRASE

WORD

MORPHEME

PHONEME

The umpires talked to the players

The umpires talked to the players

The talked to the playersumpires

The talk to the playumpire s ed ser

p l e

• words, sentences• phonemes, morphemes, phrases

speech errors

• Rev. William A. Spooner– “You have wasted the whole term”

• “You have tasted the whole worm”

– “The dear old Queen”• “The queer old dean”

evidence for phonemes

• It was an articulate grunt– It was an articulate glunt (Dan)

• They would play the coin toss game– They would play the toin coss game (Dan)

• Even though you get better at oneparticular task– Even though you get bitter at one particular

task (Kyle)

evidence for morphemes

• How's the function changing– How's the change functioning (Dan)

• the wife of one of my professors– the professor of one of my wives (student)

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evidence for words & phrases

• That’s just not right– That’s not just right (Dan)

• They put coffee in various cups– they put cups in various coffee (Student)

• There’s a rock in my shoe– there’s my shoe in a rock (Student)

SENTENCE

PHRASE

WORD

MORPHEME

PHONEME

The umpires talked to the players

The umpires talked to the players

The talked to the playersumpires

The talk to the playumpire s ed ser

p l e

baby names

• we’re going to have a baby– tlikab or trikab– pleta or bleta

• let’s consult public records

words

• which name is more frequent?– “blaine” or “bertha”

• is “peyton/payton” more comonly a maleor female name?

• once again, let’s consult public records

sentence structure

• twas brillig and the slithy toves did gyreand gimble in the wabe

sentence structure

• twas brillig and the slithy toves did gyreand gimble in the wabe

brillig

gimble

wabe

jump

cloudy

forest

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SENTENCE

PHRASE

WORD

MORPHEME

PHONEME

The umpires talked to the players

The umpires talked to the players

The talked to the playersumpires

The talk to the playumpire s ed ser

p l e

beyond basic units

• Q: Would you like to go to the moviestonight– “No, I’m sorry; I have a really important test

to study for.”– “No, I’m sorry; I really need to go home and

buy some water.”

beyond basic units

• At the library, Sandy sings “run like anantelope out of control” at the top of herlungs

• Someone yells, “shut up!”• Was it

– the librarian– her sister– another patron of the library

Knowledge at different levels

• Phonemes• Morphemes• Words• Phrases• Sentences• And beyond

• Units, levels hierarchically arranged• Stored knowledge about these levels• Stored knowledge about how language

interacts with social situations• Language processing is easy and

accurate– Why?

Picture identification example

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Picture identification example Picture identification example

Picture identification example Picture identification example

Picture identification example Picture identification example

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Language waits for no one! Why doesn’t language wait?

The downside of guessing

--- ------- ------ --- ------ -- --- ----.-- --- ---

The barista --- ------ -- --- ----.-- --- --------- --- ------- --- ------ -- --- ----.-- --- ---poured

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--- ------- the coffee -- --- ----.-- --- --------- --- ------- --- ------ -- --- ----.in the mug------

--- ------- --- ------ in the sink.-- --- --------- --- ------- --- ------ -- --- ----.-- --- ---------

The barista poured the coffee in the sink.in the mug The barista poured the coffee in the sink.in the mug

The barista poured the coffee for the customer.in the mug

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But guesses are usually correct Knowledge at different levels

• Phonemes• Morphemes• Words• Phrases• Sentences• And beyond

Subject plausibility

• The solution proposed by the groupwould work perfectly.

• The speaker proposed by the groupwould work perfectly.

Subject plausibility

• The solution proposed by the groupwould work perfectly.

• The speaker proposed by the groupwould work perfectly.

Verb-bias

• The ticket agent admitted the airplanehad been late taking off.

• The talented photographer accepted themoney could not be spent yet.

Verb-bias

• The ticket agent admitted the airplanehad been late taking off.

• The talented photographer accepted themoney could not be spent yet.

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Object plausibility

The boy will move the….

Object plausibility

The boy will move the….

The boy will eat the….

Word combination

The man will….

The girl will….

“beer”

“candy”“motorcycle”

“carousel”

Word combination

The man will….

The girl will….

“beer”

“candy”“motorcycle”

“carousel”

Word combination

The man will ride….

The girl will ride….

“beer”

“candy”“motorcycle”

“carousel”

Word combination

The man will taste….

The girl will taste….

“beer”

“candy”“motorcycle”

“carousel”

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Referential context matters

• The barista poured the coffee in the mugin the sink.

Put the frog on the napkin in the box.

Put the frog on the napkin in the box.

Two frogs

Put the frog on the napkin in the box.

Two frogs

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Put the frog on the napkin in the box.

Look

s to

nap

kin

And beyond…

Pour the egg in the bowl over the flour.

Pour the egg in the bowl over the flour.

egg in shell egg out of shell

Pour the egg in the bowl over the flour.

egg in shell egg out of shell

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Put the whistle on the folder in the box.

You have a hook….

Put the whistle on the folder in the box.

You have a hook….

Put the whistle on the folder in the box.

Some take home messages…

• Language is structured.– units, hierarchy, rules for combination

• Sentences are interpreted incrementally.– we don’t wait

• We use stored knowledge to guide us.– linguistic and nonlinguistic