Fernanda Ferreira

The independence of syntactic processing

Abstract Three experiments addressed the question whether semantic content or pragmatic context can direct the initial syntactic analysis assigned to sentences. Each experiment determined whether syntactic processing biases that have been observed in sentences presented in isolation can be overcome. In two experiments that measured eye movements, we found that the syntactic processing biases remained even when they resulted in thematically based anomaly or when they conflicted with discourse biases. In a third experiment, we used a self-paced reading task to replicate some of the results obtained using eye movement measures. We argue that the data support the existence of a syntactic processing module.

Good-Enough Representations in Language Comprehension

People comprehend utterances rapidly and without conscious effort. Traditional theories assume that sentence processing is algorithmic and that meaning is derived compositionally. The language processor is believed to generate representations of the linguistic input that are complete, detailed, and accurate. However, recent findings challenge these assumptions. Investigations of the misinterpretation of both garden-path and passive sentences have yielded support for the idea that the meaning people obtain for a sentence is often not a reflection of its true content. Moreover, incorrect interpretations may persist even after syntactic reanalysis has taken place. Our good-enough approach to language comprehension holds that language processing is sometimes only partial and that semantic representations are often incomplete. Future work will elucidate the conditions under which sentence processing is simply good enough.

Effects of foveal processing difficulty on the perceptual span in reading: implications for attention and eye movement control.

Two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of foveal processing difficulty on the perceptual span in reading. Subjects read sentences while their eye movements were recorded. By changing the text contingent on the readers current point of fixation, foveal processing difficulty and the availability of parafoveal word information were independently manipulated. In Experiment 1, foveal processing difficulty was manipulated by lexical frequency, and in Experiment 2 foveal difficulty was manipulated by syntactic complexity. In both experiments, less parafoveal information was acquired when processing in the fovea was difficult. We conclude that the perceptual span is variable and attentionally constrained. We also discuss the implications of the results for current models of the relation between covert visual-spatial attention and eye movement control in reading.

The ‘Good Enough’ Approach to Language Comprehension

Ferreira and colleagues argued that the language comprehension system creates syntactic and semantic representations that are merely ‘good enough’ (GE) given the task that the comprehender needs to perform. GE representations contrast with ones that are detailed, complete, and accurate with respect to the input. In this article, we review the original argument for GE processing, and we present new evidence that supports the concept: first, local interpretations are computed, which can interfere with global ones; second, new findings based on the recording of event-related potentials show the use of simple heuristics rather than compositional algorithms for constructing sentence meaning; and recent studies show that the comprehension system has mechanisms for handling disfluencies, but they work imperfectly. We argue that the GE approach to language comprehension is similar to the use of fast and frugal heuristics for decision-making, and that future research should explore this connection more thoroughly.

Reanalysis in sentence processing

Preface. 1. Prosodic Influences on Reading Syntactically Ambiguous Sentences M. Bader. 2. Reanalysis Aspects of Movements M. de Vincenzi. 3. Syntactic Reanalysis, Thematic Processing, and Sentence Comprehension F. Ferreira, J.M. Henderson. 4. Attach Anyway J.D. Fodor, A. Inoue. 5. Sentence Reanalysis, and Visibility L. Frazier, C. Clifton, Jr. 6. Diagnosis and Reanalysis: Two Processing Aspects the Brain May Differentiate A.D. Friederici. 7. Syntactic Analysis and Reanalysis in Sentence Processing P. Gorrell. 8. Reanalysis and Limited Repair Parsing: Leaping off the Garden Path R.L. Lewis. 9. A Computational Model of Recovery V. Lombardo. 10. Parsing as Incremental Restructuring S. Stevenson. 11. Generalized Monotonicity for Reanalysis Models P. Sturt, M.W. Crocker.

Effects of length and syntactic complexity on initiation times for prepared utterances

Abstract In three experiments, I examined initiation times for memorized utterances. Sentences varied in phonological word length, syntactic complexity, or semantic plausibility. The experiments demonstrated that number of phonological words and syntactic complexity (as measured by the number of nodes in a phrase structure tree) affected the time it took subjects to initiate the utterance. If a sentence had a syntactically complex subject and a syntactically complex object, speakers tended to pause at the subject-verb phrase boundary, and pause duration increased with upcoming complexity, just like initiation times. Semantic plausibility had no measurable effect. I argue that these results reflect the process of translating a semantic/syntactic representation of a sentence into a sound-based structure ultimately useable by the speech apparatus. For long and complex sentences, these resource-intensive processes cannot occur over the domain of the entire sentence, and so the production system must divide the sentence into two performance units, with the boundary between them occuring at a syntactically prominent location.

Recovery from misanalyses of garden-path sentences ☆

Abstract In five experiments we examined the way in which readers reanalyze garden-path sentences, using grammaticality judgments as the dependent measure. The stimuli were twoclause sentences containing an ambiguous noun phrase which could function as either the object of the first clause or the subject of the second. Prior research has shown that the former analysis is generally preferred. In the first two experiments, we varied the number of words in the ambiguous phrase and found that reanalysis of garden-path sentences was more difficult with a longer ambiguous phrase. The third experiment established that this effect of phrase length is not attributable to the greater syntactic complexity of longer phrases. The fourth and fifth experiments demonstrated that the effect of phrase length is attributable to increasing the distance from the head of the ambiguous phrase to the disambiguating word of the graden-path sentence: Ambiguous phrases made long by the addition of prenominal adjectives were easy for the parser to reanalyze, but phrases made long by the addition of postnominal modifying prepositional phrases (Experiment 3) or relative clauses (Experiments 4 and 5) were hard for the parser to reanalyze. From these results, we argue that sentence comprehension requires the creation of phrase structure and the assignment of thematic roles to phrases, with the assignment taking place at the phrasal head. Reanalysis is affected by the ease with which thematic roles can be reassigned to misanalyzed phrases.

Inferring consequences in story comprehension

The study asked whether readers infer the consequences of events described in stories. Forward and backward inferences were distinguished: only backward inferences contribute to the coherence of a message. The subjects read stories of 9 to 11 sentences and then answered eight questions. The time needed to answer forward inference questions was about the same as for questions paraphrasing the story, but over 0.2 seconds longer than for questions repeating part of the story and for backward inference questions. It was concluded that backward consequence inferences are more reliably drawn during the course of reading than are forward consequence inferences.

The Role of Working Memory in Syntactic Ambiguity Resolution: A Psychometric Approach.

In 2 studies, the authors used a combination of psychometric and experimental techniques to investigate the effects of domain-general and domain-specific working memory factors on offline decisions concerning attachment of an ambiguous relative clause. Both studies used English and Dutch stimuli presented to English- and Dutch-speaking participants, respectively. In Study 1, readers with low working memory spans were less likely to use recency strategies for disambiguation than were readers with high spans. This finding is inconsistent with predictions of locality- and resource-based accounts of attachment. Psychometric analyses showed that both domain-specific (verbal) and domain-general working memory accounted for the effect. Study 2 found support for the hypothesis that segmentation strategies imposed during silent reading can account for the counterintuitive relationship. Results suggest that readers with low spans have a greater tendency to break up large segments of text because of their limited working memory, leading to high attachment of the ambiguous relative clause.

Misinterpretations of Garden-Path Sentences: Implications for Models of Sentence Processing and Reanalysis

Theories of sentence comprehension have addressed both initial parsing processes and mechanisms responsible for reanalysis. Three experiments are summarized that were designed to investigate the reanalysis and interpretation of relatively difficult garden-path sentences (e.g., While Anna dressed the baby spit up on the bed). After reading such sentences, participants correctly believed that the baby spit up on the bed; however, they often confidently, yet incorrectly, believed that Anna dressed the baby. These results demonstrate that garden-path reanalysis is not an all-or-nothing process and that thematic roles initially assigned for the subordinate clause verb are not consistently revised. The implications of the partial reanalysis phenomenon for Fodor and Inoues (1998) model of reanalysis and sentence processing are discussed. In addition, we discuss the possibility that language processing often creates “good enough” structures rather than ideal structures.