Week 25 – Q&A

LG103

Sentence processing Quiz

When is a phrase or sentence structurally ambiguous?

a) when it is compatible with two (or more)

grammatical representations

b) when it contains one or more ambiguous words

c) when it contains a relative clause

Which of the following illustrates centre-embedding, a well-known source of processing

difficulty?

a) The pen the author the editor liked used was new.

b) The author bought a new pen, which the editor

wanted him to use because she liked it.

c) The editor liked the author who used a pen that

was new.

What is a garden path sentence?

a) a sentence that is compatible with two

different interpretations

b) a sentence that is structurally too complex for

us to comprehend

c) a temporarily ambiguous sentence which may

cause measurable processing difficulty

Which of the following is a garden path sentence?

a) The students will discuss some problems

with the teachers.

b) The man returned to his house was happy.

c) The antelope the lion ate ran like a snail.

SLI Quiz

What is that people with SLI have problems with?

a) Content words and sentence interpretation

b) Content words and inflectional morphology

c) Inflectional morphology

What is the similarity between SLI and the other types of aphasia?

a) They are all acquired types of language impairment

b) They all cover terms for the same type of impairment

c) They all refer to difficulties of language production and comprehension

SLI subjects....

a) Have serious hearing deficits and behavioural

disturbances

b) Produce fluent but unintelligible speech

c) Have normal non-verbal IQs

d) Are mostly girls

Why do we believe that SLI is genetically controlled?

a) Because it affects mostly function words and bound morphemes

b) Because it occurs in families all the time, especially in girls

c) Because it occurs in families and it affects twins

Essay Questions

Essay topic 1:

What are the benefits and potential drawbacks of the parser’s applying a ‘local attachment’ strategy during sentence comprehension?

References:• Textbook: p. 366-375, esp. 372-73• Harley, Trevor A Title The psychology of language : from data to theory /

Trevor A. Harley Published New York, NY : Psychology Press, 2001(ch. 9)• QP 399.I6 Author Ingram, John C. L Title Neurolinguistics : an introduction

to spoken language processing and its disorders / John C.L. Ingram Published Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2007 (ch. 12)• P 291.M4 Title The Mental representation of grammatical relations / edited

by Joan Bresnan Published Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, c1982• P 151.P7 Author Pritchett, Bradley L Title Grammatical competence and

parsing performance / Bradley L. Pritchett Published Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1992

Local attachment preference

“Mary said that John will write her a letter yesterday”We prefer to relate certain information to words that

are found close to each other and not quite far.

Mary said that John will write her a letter ... ... yesterday

Useful definitions• A grammar is a model of a native speaker’s linguistic knowledge, or competence.

• A parser is a mental device capable of assigning a grammatical structure to a string of words in real time.

• Parsing: Sentence comprehension that involves segmenting the sentence into relevant processing units and constructing a syntactic representation of the sentence.

INPUT PARSER OUTPUT

GRAMMAR

Topic 1• Give a definition of local attachment and explain what a

parser/parsing is• Give an example (do not copy the one on the slides!)

and explain where does local attachment help• Think about linguistic phenomena where local

attachment can be misleading.....• How can local attachment explain cases of centre-

embeddings (give definition)? Is it working there or not?• Garden path cases (give definition again)? Is it working

here again or not?• When is local attachment useful??

Essay topic 2Explain in linguistic terms the characteristics of Specific Language Impairment. Discuss different

attempts at describing difficulties with inflectional morphology in children with SLI.References:Textbook: 11-14, 219-221• P 125.F5 Author Field, John, 1945- Title Psycholinguistics : the key concepts / John Field Published London : Routledge, 2004• P 140.L4 Author Leonard, Laurence B Title Children with specific language impairment /

Laurence B. Leonard Published Cambridge, Mass. : The MIT Press, c1998 (ch. 2+3), also available online• QP 399.I6 Author Ingram, John C. L Title Neurolinguistics : an introduction to spoken

language processing and its disorders / John C.L. Ingram Published Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2007 (ch. 11)• QP 399.A5 Author Ahlsén, Elisabeth Title Introduction to neurolinguistics / Elisabeth

Ahlsén Published Amsterdam : John Benjamins, c2006 (ch. 5+6). • P 140.C5 Author Chiat, Shula Title Understanding children with language problems / Shula

Chiat Published Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2000

Topic 2-Indicative structure

• Give a definition of SLI, whom it affects, provide the profile of an SLI subject

• Define the theoretical context of SLI• Family studies, findings and problems?• Twin studies, findings and problems?• SLI language problems (related to inflectional

morphology) and possible explanations • What is still controversial?

Common essay mistakes

• Include an introduction and a conclusion!• Reference all the resources you have used and remember to

include page numbers. Create a reference list at the end of your essay......

• Create paragraphs according to topic..when you change topic, change paragraph.

• Pay attention to punctuation.• Avoid using long sentences.• When you write something use an example to illustrate what you

say, and if needed, reference the example.• Make sure that what you put in the essay is absolutely necessary –

this will reduce your word count• Use theory and references, your textbook etc. and do not simply

rely on class/lecture notes

• When you’ve written your essay leave it for 1-2 days and get back to it later..you’ll be surprised!

• When you can’t find a reference here are a few tips:• Search the reference list of our text book, usually

the reference will be there.• If not search the library catalogue or google the

reference (author’s name, date).• Follow this link for additional help with structure,

vocabulary and expressions, writing your references, abbreviations: http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~vanton/ScanImage004.pdf

Read the essay 3 times• 1st you read in order to check the content: Have I

answered the questions? Is what I write correct according to what I’ve read? Have I left anything important out? Do I have any examples?

• The 2nd time you read in order to check the structure: intro-conclusion, cohesion, do the ideas flow logically?, long sentences, do I have paragraphs, a reference list, have I used signposting?

• The 3rd time you read in order to check the punctuation, whether you’ve followed one way in referencing, line spacing, fonts and font size, page numbering, your details, etc.

Long assingment

• Deadline: Monday of week 30 – 23rd of April• Any questions???• Assignments should be submitted on-line by 12

noon on the due date followed by a watermarked paper copy of the assignment bearing an appropriate cover sheet by 4 p.m. on the same day.

• No extensions will be granted and any assignment submitted later than the time specified will receive a mark of zero.

• During the Easter vacation, the Language and Linguistics Departmental office (4.305) will remain open on reduced hours (Mon-Fri 11:00-12:30 & 14:00-15:00) with the exception of Good Friday (6th April) and Easter Monday (9th April).

• You can still upload your assignment(s) through the OCS (On-Line Coursework Submission) system during the vacation.

• If you are planning on returning home, can you please ensure that you obtain copies of the appropriate coversheet(s) before you leave.

• Submit a watermarked version to the Departmental office by 4pm on the day of the stated deadline

• BUT you are welcome to post in your (watermarked) assignment(s) to us at the below address

• obtain proof of postage and • your assignment(s) will be date stamped on the date of postage. • enclose a photocopy of your student registration card.

• Samantha Durling• Undergraduate Administrator• Department of Language and Linguistics,

Room 4.305, University of Essex,Wivenhoe Park, Colchester. CO4 3SQ

• Tel: (+44) 01206 872196E-Mail: sdurling (non-essex users should add @essex.ac.uk) Website: http://www.essex.ac.uk/linguistics