scholarly journals The relationship between sentence comprehension and lexical-semantic retuning

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Anne Gilbert ◽  
Matthew H. Davis ◽  
M. Gareth Gaskell ◽  
Jennifer M Rodd
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Subordinate Meaning ◽  
Final Interpretation ◽  
The Relationship

A single encounter with an ambiguous word (e.g. bark, ball) in the context of a less-frequent meaning (e.g. “Sally worried about how crowded the ball would be.”) can shift the later interpretation of the word toward the same subordinate meaning. This lexical-semantic retuning functions to improve future comprehension of ambiguous words. The present paper investigates the relationship between this form of learning and the specific processes that occur during sentence comprehension. One possibility is that lexical-semantic retuning occurs immediately upon hearing the ambiguous word, during initial meaning activation and selection, so priming should be strongest when the disambiguating context is provided before the ambiguous word (prior disambiguation). Alternatively, priming may relate to the degree of reinterpretation needed, which would predict maximal learning when the word is initially misunderstood because the critical context is given after the word (subsequent disambiguation, e.g. “Sally worried that the ball would be too crowded.”). In four experiments, adults listened to prior and subsequent disambiguation sentences, and were later tested on their interpretations of primed and unprimed ambiguous words. The results showed that lexical-semantic retuning can occur for both sentence types. Importantly, however, the emergence of priming for subsequent disambiguation sentences was sensitive to the prime conditions: when the task could potentially be performed without needing to re-analyse the ambiguity, then no significant priming was observed. This is consistent with the ‘good enough’ view of language processing which states that representations can remain as (im)precise as mandated by the situation, and that lexical-semantic retuning operates on the output of good-enough interpretation. More generally, our findings suggest that lexical-semantic retuning is driven by participants’ final interpretation of the word meanings during the prime encounter, regardless of initial meaning activation or misinterpretation.

Semantic ambiguity norms for 530 Spanish words

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 457-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUAN HARO ◽  
PILAR FERRÉ ◽  
ROGER BOADA ◽  
JOSEP DEMESTRE
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Objective Measures ◽  
Semantic Ambiguity ◽  
Subjective Ratings ◽  
Subjective Measures ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Ambiguous Words

ABSTRACTThis study presents semantic ambiguity norms for 530 Spanish words. Two subjective measures of semantic ambiguity and two subjective measures of relatedness of ambiguous word meanings were collected. In addition, two objective measures of semantic ambiguity were included. Furthermore, subjective ratings were obtained for some relevant lexicosemantic variables, such as concreteness, familiarity, emotional valence, arousal, and age of acquisition. In sum, the database overcomes some of the limitations of the published databases of Spanish ambiguous words; in particular, the scarcity of measures of ambiguity, the lack of relatedness of ambiguous word meanings measures, and the absence of a set of unambiguous words. Thus, it will be very helpful for researchers interested in exploring semantic ambiguity as well as for those using semantic ambiguous words to study language processing in clinical populations.

scholarly journals Retuning of lexical-semantic representations: Repetition and spacing effects in word-meaning priming.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Betts ◽  
Rebecca Anne Gilbert ◽  
Zhenguang Garry Cai ◽  
Zainab B. Okedara ◽  
Jennifer M Rodd
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Network ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Stable State ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
Semantic Representations ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Spacing Effects ◽  
Ambiguous Words

Current models of word-meaning access typically assume that lexical-semantic representations of ambiguous words (e.g. ‘bark of the dog/tree’) reach a relatively stable state in adulthood, with only the relative frequencies of the meanings in the language and immediate sentence context determining meaning preference. However, recent experience also affects interpretation: recently-encountered word-meanings become more readily available (Rodd et al., 2016; 2013). Here, three experiments investigated how multiple encounters with word-meanings influence the subsequent interpretation of these words. Participants heard ambiguous words contextually-disambiguated towards a particular meaning and, after a 20-30 minute delay, interpretations of the words were tested in isolation. We replicate the finding that one encounter with an ambiguous word biased later interpretation of this word towards the primed meaning for both subordinate (Experiments 1, 2, 3) and dominant meanings (Experiment 1). In addition, for the first time, we show cumulative effects of multiple repetitions of both the same and different meanings. The effect of a single subordinate exposure persisted after a subsequent encounter with the dominant meaning, compared to a dominant exposure alone (Experiment 1). Furthermore, three subordinate word-meaning repetitions provided an additional boost to priming compared to one, although only when their presentation was spaced (Experiments 2, 3); massed repetitions provided no such boost (Experiments 1, 3). These findings indicate that comprehension is guided by the collective effect of multiple recently activated meanings and that the spacing of these activations is key to producing lasting updates to the lexical-semantic network.

scholarly journals The Neural Time Course of Semantic Ambiguity Resolution in Speech Comprehension

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy J. MacGregor ◽  
Jennifer M. Rodd ◽  
Rebecca A. Gilbert ◽  
Olaf Hauk ◽  
Ediz Sohoglu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ambiguity Resolution ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Neural Response ◽  
Semantic Integration ◽  
Speech Comprehension ◽  
Semantic Ambiguity ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Subordinate Meaning

Semantically ambiguous words challenge speech comprehension, particularly when listeners must select a less frequent (subordinate) meaning at disambiguation. Using combined magnetoencephalography (MEG) and EEG, we measured neural responses associated with distinct cognitive operations during semantic ambiguity resolution in spoken sentences: (i) initial activation and selection of meanings in response to an ambiguous word and (ii) sentence reinterpretation in response to subsequent disambiguation to a subordinate meaning. Ambiguous words elicited an increased neural response approximately 400–800 msec after their acoustic offset compared with unambiguous control words in left frontotemporal MEG sensors, corresponding to sources in bilateral frontotemporal brain regions. This response may reflect increased demands on processes by which multiple alternative meanings are activated and maintained until later selection. Disambiguating words heard after an ambiguous word were associated with marginally increased neural activity over bilateral temporal MEG sensors and a central cluster of EEG electrodes, which localized to similar bilateral frontal and left temporal regions. This later neural response may reflect effortful semantic integration or elicitation of prediction errors that guide reinterpretation of previously selected word meanings. Across participants, the amplitude of the ambiguity response showed a marginal positive correlation with comprehension scores, suggesting that sentence comprehension benefits from additional processing around the time of an ambiguous word. Better comprehenders may have increased availability of subordinate meanings, perhaps due to higher quality lexical representations and reflected in a positive correlation between vocabulary size and comprehension success.

scholarly journals Listeners and Readers Generalise Their Experience With Word Meanings Across Modalities

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Anne Gilbert ◽  
Matthew H. Davis ◽  
M. Gareth Gaskell ◽  
Jennifer M Rodd
Keyword(s):  
Priming Effect ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Semantic Relatedness ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Subordinate Meaning ◽  
Target Words

Research has shown that adults’ lexical-semantic representations are surprisingly malleable. For instance, the interpretation of ambiguous words (e.g. bark) is influenced by experience such that recently encountered meanings become more readily available (Rodd et al., 2016, 2013). However the mechanism underlying this word-meaning priming effect remains unclear, and competing accounts make different predictions about the extent to which information about word meanings that is gained within one modality (e.g. speech) is transferred to the other modality (e.g. reading) to aid comprehension. In two web-based experiments, ambiguous target words were primed with either written or spoken sentences that biased their interpretation toward a subordinate meaning, or were unprimed. About 20 minutes after the prime exposure, interpretation of these target words was tested by presenting them in either written or spoken form, using word association (Experiment 1, N=78) and speeded semantic relatedness decisions (Experiment 2, N=181). Both experiments replicated the auditory unimodal priming effect shown previously (Rodd et al., 2016, 2013) and revealed significant cross-modal priming: primed meanings were retrieved more frequently and swiftly across all primed conditions compared to the unprimed baseline. Furthermore, there were no reliable differences in priming levels between unimodal and cross-modal prime-test conditions. These results indicate that recent experience with ambiguous word meanings can bias the reader’s or listener’s later interpretation of these words in a modality-general way. We identify possible loci of this effect within the context of models of long-term priming and ambiguity resolution.

scholarly journals The relationship between sentence comprehension and lexical-semantic retuning

2021 ◽  
Vol 116 ◽  
pp. 104188
Author(s):  
Rebecca A. Gilbert ◽  
Matthew H. Davis ◽  
M. Gareth Gaskell ◽  
Jennifer M. Rodd
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
The Relationship

The Effect of Meaning Frequency on Processing Lexically Ambiguous Words: Evidence from Eye Fixations

1992 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 296-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara C Sereno ◽  
Jeremy M Pacht ◽  
Keith Rayner
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Frequency Control ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Prior Context ◽  
Eye Fixations ◽  
Lexical Ambiguity Resolution ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Subordinate Meaning ◽  
Meaning Frequency

Subjects read sentences containing lexically ambiguous words while their eye movements were monitored Biased ambiguous words (those that have one highly dominant sense) were used in sentences containing a prior context that instantiated their subordinate sense Control words were matched in frequency both to the dominant and to the subordinate meaning of the ambiguous word (high- and low-frequency controls) Subjects fixated longer on both the ambiguous word and the low-frequency control than on the high-frequency control When the target was ambiguous, however, the duration of posttarget fixations was longer and the likelihood of making a regression to the target was greater than when the target was an unambiguous control The results are discussed in relation to current models of lexical ambiguity resolution

Influence of Context on the Activation and Selection of Ambiguous Word Senses

1983 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregg C. Oden ◽  
James L. Spira
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Accurate Determination ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Word Sense ◽  
Semantic Constraints ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Word Senses ◽  
Selection Of

The activation of ambiguous word senses was investigated by measuring the amount of interference in naming the ink color of a word that was either related or unrelated to one of the meanings of a preceding ambiguous word. In agreement with previous results obtained using this procedure (Conrad, 1974), evidence was obtained that both meanings of the ambiguous words are activated even in the presence of biasing context. However, contrary to previous findings, the degree of activation of each word sense depended on its degree of compatibility with the context. These results are consistent with a language processing system in which all interpretations of an ambiguity are accessed and then processed until an accurate determination has been made of which interpretation best satisfies the syntactic and semantic constraints that govern it.

scholarly journals Neural Correlates of Semantic Competition during Processing of Ambiguous Words

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 960-975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Y. Bilenko ◽  
Christopher M. Grindrod ◽  
Emily B. Myers ◽  
Sheila E. Blumstein
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Semantic Content ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Semantic Competition ◽  
Subordinate Meaning ◽  
Prime Target ◽  
Selection Of

The current study investigated the neural correlates that underlie the processing of ambiguous words and the potential effects of semantic competition on that processing. Participants performed speeded lexical decisions on semantically related and unrelated prime–target pairs presented in the auditory modality. The primes were either ambiguous words (e.g., ball) or unambiguous words (e.g., athlete), and targets were either semantically related to the dominant (i.e., most frequent) meaning of the ambiguous prime word (e.g., soccer) or to the subordinate (i.e., less frequent) meaning (e.g., dance). Results showed increased activation in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) for ambiguous-related compared to unambiguous-related stimulus pairs, demonstrating that prefrontal areas are activated even in an implicit task where participants are not required to explicitly analyze the semantic content of the stimuli and to make an overt selection of a particular meaning based on this analysis. Additionally, increased activation was found in the left IFG and the left cingulate gyrus for subordinate meaning compared to dominant meaning conditions, suggesting that additional resources are recruited in order to resolve increased competition demands in accessing the subordinate meaning of an ambiguous word.

scholarly journals The Relationship Between Non-Orthographic Language Abilities and Reading Performance in Chronic Aphasia: An Exploration of the Primary Systems Hypothesis

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (12) ◽  
pp. 3038-3054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Brookshire Madden ◽  
Tim Conway ◽  
Maya L. Henry ◽  
Kristie A. Spencer ◽  
Kathryn M. Yorkston ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Oral Reading ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
Reading Groups ◽  
Normal Limits ◽  
Reading Abilities ◽  
Written Word ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This study investigated the relationship between non-orthographic language abilities and reading in order to examine assumptions of the primary systems hypothesis and further our understanding of language processing poststroke. Method Performance on non-orthographic semantic, phonologic, and syntactic tasks, as well as oral reading and reading comprehension tasks, was assessed in 43 individuals with aphasia. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between these measures. In addition, analyses of variance examined differences within and between reading groups (within normal limits, phonological, deep, or global alexia). Results Results showed that non-orthographic language abilities were significantly related to reading abilities. Semantics was most predictive of regular and irregular word reading, whereas phonology was most predictive of pseudohomophone and nonword reading. Written word and paragraph comprehension were primarily supported by semantics, whereas written sentence comprehension was related to semantic, phonologic, and syntactic performance. Finally, severity of alexia was found to reflect severity of semantic and phonologic impairment. Conclusions Findings support the primary systems view of language by showing that non-orthographic language abilities and reading abilities are closely linked. This preliminary work requires replication and extension; however, current results highlight the importance of routine, integrated assessment and treatment of spoken and written language in aphasia. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.7403963

Word Sense Disambiguation for Improving the Quality of Machine Translation

2014 ◽  
Vol 981 ◽  
pp. 153-156
Author(s):  
Chun Xiang Zhang ◽  
Long Deng ◽  
Xue Yao Gao ◽  
Li Li Guo
Keyword(s):  
Machine Translation ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Word Sense Disambiguation ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Translation System ◽  
Word Sense ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Sense Disambiguation ◽  
Machine Translation System

Word sense disambiguation is key to many application problems in natural language processing. In this paper, a specific classifier of word sense disambiguation is introduced into machine translation system in order to improve the quality of the output translation. Firstly, translation of ambiguous word is deleted from machine translation of Chinese sentence. Secondly, ambiguous word is disambiguated and the classification labels are translations of ambiguous word. Thirdly, these two translations are combined. 50 Chinese sentences including ambiguous words are collected for test experiments. Experimental results show that the translation quality is improved after the proposed method is applied.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document