Language

What is language?
A shared symbolic system for communication

Hockett’s linguistic/language universals – features or characteristics common to all known languages
[note: these universals will be covered in conjunction with class discussion]

1. semanticity –

2. arbitrariness –  

3. flexibility of symbols –  

4. naming –
   
5. displacement –

6. productivity/generativity –


Language Comprehension and Inference in Reading
 
Reading: Inference and Findings from Reading Research
 
How do we study reading?
1. Text comprehension studies –
2. Eye movement studies –
 
Findings from reading research
1. Not every word is fixated

2. We fixate for a long time on unfamiliar words the first time they are presented, but
     speed up on subsequent presentations
 

Comprehension
1. We make references and inferences while reading and while listening to speech, etc..
            reference –
            example:
           
inference –
            example:
 
2. We integrate what we are reading into a coherent whole by using several processes,
     including Kintsch’s (van Dijk & Kintsch, 1983) construction-integration model.
            -Kintsch suggested that there are 3 levels to interpreting a text:
                1. surface level
                2. proposition level
                3. situation model
 
-The situation model is comparable to a schema. 


-The situation model can also help us to make inferences during comprehension.

Creativity in the Production and Comprehension of Language: Conceptual Combination
and Discussion of Roberts & Kreuz (1994)

Hockett suggests that language is creative:

Conceptual combination is mainly a study of how people interpret unfamiliar word pairs, usually
noun-noun pairs like ostrich steak.  The first noun in the pair is usually called the modifier, and the
second noun is usually called the head noun.

Some theories of conceptual combination:
1. Schema modification model (Murphy, 1988, 1990): concepts are represented as schemas

-Role of semantic knowledge


2. Dual process model (Wisniewski, 1996, 1997, 1998): Conceptual combinations can be interpreted
in two ways: relational interpretations or property interpretations.  

Some combinations have multiple interpretations, like robin snake.

3. Constraint theory (Costello & Keane, 2000): Interpretations are formed through a generative mechanism. 

Interpretations must satisfy 3 constraints:
diagnosticity
plausibility
informativeness

-Role of context


Conceptual combination theories suggest how we interpret figurative language, but why do we
produce figurative language?  What goals does figurative language accomplish?
Discussion of Roberts & Kreuz, 1994