Linguistics

Temporal dependencies: anaphora vs. movement

by Lucas Champollion

Champollion, Lucas (2012). Temporal dependencies: anaphora vs. movement. Poster presentation at the 35th GLOW colloquium. Potsdam, March 28-30, 2012

Temporal dependencies provide a useful testbed for syntactic and semantic theories of meaning/context interaction. In... more Temporal dependencies provide a useful testbed for syntactic and semantic theories of meaning/context interaction. In this poster, I consider two kinds of temporal dependencies: those that hold between temporal adjuncts as in (1a) and (1b), and those that hold between before and its complement, as in (2a).

(1) a. Last year, it rained in the afternoon.
b. Last year, it rained every day.
(2) a. John left before Mary claimed she would arrive.
b. John left before Mary made the claim that she would arrive.

I show that the former are anaphora-like and the latter are movement-like and I provide a variable-free implementation of the former.

Review of Language, ed. Anne E. Baker and Kees Hengeveld. (Introducing linguistics 5)

by Adam McCollum

Social Onomastics

by Parvaneh Khosravizadeh

"Social Onomastics", Parvaneh Khosravizadeh, Pazand Quarterly, Summer2004

The present paper reviews the role of different factors in selecting people names of a community. The main motivation... more The present paper reviews the role of different factors in selecting people names of a community. The main motivation of writing such a paper on the part of the writer is the presence of different criteria which independent of psychological investigations do have great values in the social and particularly linguistic researches and investigations.

CDA:a Comparison of Contemporary Iranian and American Poetry

by Parvaneh Khosravizadeh

Co-authored with Sara Mahabadi, Published in the proceedings of International Conference on Languages, Literature and Linguistics, IPEDR vol.26 (2011)

This paper contains a comparison of a famous female poet from Iran and a well-known poet
from the USA. In this... more This paper contains a comparison of a famous female poet from Iran and a well-known poet
from the USA. In this paper issues such as the contexts they produced their work, the type of poems they wrote, and the type of audience they offered their work to, are examined. There is also an analysis of the acceptance as well as the critics of their poems and how they were viewed in the eyes of the readers who
responded to their poems. Some of the views of the contemporary scholars are given in order to give a clear view of the similarities and the differences that exist between the styles of these two poets.

Some Instances of Violation and Flouting of the Maxim of Quantity by the Main Characters (Barry & Tim) in Dinner for Schmucks

by Parvaneh Khosravizadeh

Co-authored with Nikan Sadehvandi

The focus of this study is to analyze the extent to which the maxim of quantity is either violated or flouted by the... more The focus of this study is to analyze the extent to which the maxim of quantity is either violated or flouted by the two main characters, in a movie entitled “Dinner for Schmucks”. In addition, it seeks to find if there is any occasion in which one party opts out of the conversation. Dinner for Schmucks is an American movie which is the second version of A French film Le Diner de Cons; (dinner game). The reason for selecting this movie is that it has a comedy genre and as it is common in most comedies, one of the characters favorably and expectedly has the most loquacious trait, and there is a great chance that he/she repeatedly either violates or flouts the conversational maxims. The findings of this study indicate that in five occasions the characters violated the maxim of quantity. Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that although cooperative principle describes the best practices in communication in order to facilitate the process of conversation to be smoother for both the listener and speaker, people frequently disobey these maxims in order to achieve certain purposes.

Generative Oscillation - A Cognitive Model for the Emergence of Language

by Thorold (Thor) May

Research Material for a discontinued PhD

DRAFT COPY ONLY

NOT READY FOR PRINT PUBLICATION

The GO model proposes a co-generative view of the emergence of language. Most conventional linguistics models conceive... more The GO model proposes a co-generative view of the emergence of language. Most conventional linguistics models conceive of language as a representational system of symbols which refer to events, either mental or external to the organism. This representational function is said to motivate the linguistic system and (depending upon the linguistic model) largely control its form. The GO (Generative Oscillation) model proposed here recognizes the representational role of language. However it notes that as the mental linguistic system itself becomes efficiently organized, it creates an internal logic and drive of its own. To some extent this internally motivated linguistic system is conceived to override the external motivation to represent another reality. Since the internal linguistic system is dynamic and generative, it may give rise to linguistic output which seems strange in an inter-human communicative context (or even within the reflective mind of the creator). Thus while the external communicative context can become a constraint on unmotivated non-representational "internal language", it might not eliminate it. The Generative Oscillation model proposes that actual language production is an oscillating compromise between the representational function of language and the mental "language bot" itself (i.e. an internal self-organizing system) which is generating language strings just because that is what language language bots do. As far as I know, the Generative Oscillation Model, or anything like it, had not been suggested before in linguistics at the time of writing. Some conventional linguists may find it a bit "off the wall".

Work Notes on the Phrygian texts

by Mel Copeland

This is a PDF file from our website covering Etruscan and Phrygian texts, with images compiled from the Etruscan Phrases websitehttp://www.maravot.com/Etruscan_Phrases_a.html and http://www.maravot.com/Phrygian.html. We found that both the Etruscan and Phrygian texts are in a language close to Latin. Differences between the Etruscan and Phrygian writings are small. For instance Etruscan “o” omega is rendered as “V.” The Phrygian texts render the character as an “o,” usually much smaller than the other letters. The Phrygian words blend well into the Etruscan GlossaryA, and thus we found no need to create a separate glossary for the Phrygian language seen in the texts primarily from a site called Midas City. Midas City is built on quite plateau with its principal monument facing east. The mountain has many rock-cut altars, most of which are step altars like those found in Armenia, which appear to be dedicated to the rising of the sun on special days. The Phrygian texts are not only similar to the Etruscan’s they give us more understanding on the Etruscan texts as well. For instance, an inscription on the base of a hawk helped confirm the name of THALNA, the mother of Helen of Troy who was the Greek goddess Nemesis. THALNA relates to the Latin word for retaliation (talio-onis), which is what Nemesis represents. The Etruscan word for retaliation is THALIO (THALIV).
In contrast to offerings from the British Museum and University of Bologna, where their analyses, following Pallottino, are generally speculation based on guesswork relating to short funerary inscriptions, the Etruscan Phrases work is supported by a strong grammar and vocabulary based on all texts, small and large. Thus, to clear the mystery of the Etruscan language alleged by such esteemed institutions, it is imperative that the Etruscan Phrases GlossaryA.xls be audited. We mention this since the only prospect of clearing up the Etruscan Mystery is through a verifiable audit of the Etruscan Grammar recorded in Etruscan Phrases. The British Museum, University of Bologna and other "Pallottino School" works have not produced a vocabulary or grammar that can be audited, since their theory is that the Etruscan language is unlike any other known to man, not Indo-European. Etruscan Phrases claims that the Etruscan Language is similar to Latin, French, Italian and Romanian, an Indo-European language. It offers a grammar, declension patterns and regular, measurable shifts between Etruscan and these languages; ergo the work can be easily audited. The audit of the Etruscan GlossaryA will, of course, be also an audit of the Phrygian texts.
Much of the confirmation of our work comes through Etruscan mirrors that record stories of Greek heroes, such as that of the Trojan War. Because the story is familiar and linking the genesis of Greek heroes and gods, containing their names and actions, we have comparative texts to use in analyzing the Etruscan language, its shifts from Greek and Latin to Etruscan. For instance the heroes of the story follow a regular shift, of dropping vowels and final consonants, etc. Heracles (L. Hercules) is Hercle (almost like the French, Hercule). Helen’s name declines: Helenai and Helenei, leading us to the declension of other nouns. Her father was Zeus who transformed into a swan and raped the goddess Nemesis THALNA (retribution) who had transformed into a goose. She laid an egg or two eggs, one of which was Helen which was found by shepherds near Sparta and taken to Tyndareüs and Leda to bring up. From the egg came Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world.
Etruscan mirrors and murals carry amazing details never before known to modern man. The images, names and texts associated with the mirrors and murals set the baseline for understanding Etruscan Grammar and the words recorded in Etruscan Phrases GlossaryA.pdf. (The most current version available at http://www.maravot.com/Etruscan_Phrases_a.html.

We should hope, therefore, that there will be many linguists / scholars who will jump at the chance to clear up the Etruscan Mystery and rewrite the histories so clearly overshadowed by the Pallottino School theories, to help even the museums containing Etruscan artifacts explain a bit more about the items in their displays.
Etruscan GlossaryA.pdf an index to about 2,500 Etruscan words which are similar to Latin, French, Italian and Romanian. Declension patterns follow those in Latin. The 2,500 words equal the repeated words in 6,000 words of the major extant texts. The texts have been frozen in time, covering ~700-400 B.C., representing a lens to understanding the early formation of Indo-European languages, particularly the early Italic-Latin-Celtic languages, such as Italian, French & Romanian / Dacian. (By 45 BC. the language was a dead language - no one understood or could write Etruscan)
This GlossaryA works together with Indo-European Table 1 which refutes theories by the Pallottino school of thought that the Etruscan language is not Indo-European and an isolate, unlike any other language. It is very close to Latin and, curiously, Romanian, Italian and French. The Latin suffix, "us" shifts to "o" as in Italian (Titus vs Tito); first person conjugation patterns are similar to French and Romanian. This GlossaryA provides a quick look at the grammatical structure of the Etruscan language, how closely it coincides with Latin. A more detailed Declension Table can be seen on the Etruscan Phrases website. These PDF documents facilitate independent confirmation of the words in GlossaryA.xls , the Grammar and Declension Table. All words can be examined from actual images of texts on the Etruscan Phrases website. Over 150 texts, with about 6,000 words can be examined at Etruscan Phrases.
The Etruscans surfaced in Italy about 1,000 B.C., reputed to have arrived from Lydia / Phrygia. The Phrygians originated near Macedonia in Thrace, according to Herodotus. One may therefore inquire whether the ancient Thracians (Dacians, Gettae, modern Romanians), spoke a language common to the Phrygians, at the time of the Trojan War and after (~1180 B.C.). The Thracians, Phrygians and Lydians (also dead languages) were allies of the Trojans, according to the Iliad. Etruscan Phrases finds a common vocabulary among Latin, Italian, French, Romanian, Etruscan and Phrygian. While French, Spanish, Italian and Romanian are considered Romance languages, showing a similar Latin heritage, Etruscan is not, of course, a Romance language, as it preceded Latin, at least in the written form (giving Rome its alphabet).
Resolution of the Etruscan Mystery may be likened to Michael Ventris' decipherment of Linear B and Jean-François Champollion's decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics using the Rosetta stone - written in Egyptian hieroglyphics, Demotic and Greek. The decipherment of Etruscan is a bit more challenging; since we have no multilingual Rosetta Stone, but we do have enough vocabulary and grammar to establish that Etruscan is similar to Latin, French, Italian and Romanian. (Certainly far more vocabulary and a more extensive grammar is provided in Etruscan Phrases than that used by Ventris to claim translation of Linear B as an old form of Greek)
The mirrors with the Devotional Plates may be an easy entry into an audit, for those who are hesitant to examine the larger texts, such as the Zagreb Mummy (Script Z).

Lusoga Essay Series: Okwanghanga enimi dh'obuzaale n'engeri y'okukikolamu

by Cornelius Gulere

To be published in Lusoga journal "Amakobo" soon.

This essay is the first in the series to be written in Lusoga. It is intended as a sample for those studying Lusoga... more This essay is the first in the series to be written in Lusoga. It is intended as a sample for those studying Lusoga language and literature in high school. It raises the fundamental question of language policy in Uganda and give 25 reasons why Lusoga should be promoted and this should be done. This paper has deliberately left out the references which will appear in the journal.

Ways of Reading. Visual Music Course Development at OCADU

by Robert Appleton

Ways of Reading. A course at OCAD University conceived and taught by Robert Appleton using sound, text and image.

Gestualita e teoria dei prototipi: per una nuova interpretazione della comunicazione non verbale

by Nicla Rossini

The analysis of gesture: Establishing a set of parameters

by Nicla Rossini

In Camurri, A.-Volpe, G. (Eds) Gesture-Based Communication in Human-Computer Interaction. 5th International Gesture Workshop, GW 2003, Genova, Italy, April 2003. Selected Revised Papers. Pp. 124-131. Springer-Verlag: Berlin Heidelberg New York.

Studying gesture has always implied the application of different methods concerning the selection of suitable... more Studying gesture has always implied the application of different methods concerning the selection of suitable parameters for gesture. Several solutions to this problem have been proposed by scholars over the years. These contributions will be briefly reviewed and discussed with the aim of retrieving a common method for the analysis and definition of gesture.

"Unseen Gestures" and the Speaker's Mind: An Analysis of Co-Verbal Gestures in Map-Task Activities

by Nicla Rossini

In A. Esposito, M. Bratanic, E. Keller, and M. Marinaro (Eds) Fundamentals of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication and the Biometric Issue. Pp. 58-64. IOS Press, NATO Security through Science Series E: Human and Societal Dynamics – Vol. 18.

Gestural Abstraction and Restatement: From Iconicity to Metaphor

by Nicla Rossini

in Esposito, A., Vich, R. (Eds) Cross-Modal Analysis of Speech, Gestures, Gaze and Facial Expressions COST Action 2102 International Conference Prague, Czech Republic, October 15-18, 2008 Revised Selected and Invited Papers. Pp. 214-226. Springer: Berlin. 2009.

The question of abstraction and metaphor in gesture is particularly controversial. Some scholars such as David... more The question of abstraction and metaphor in gesture is particularly controversial. Some scholars such as David McNeill, who first introduced this concept for gestures in a systematic way, think that gesture can convey abstract meaning and metaphoric thought, while others believe that gestures can only be considered to be iconic representations. This question will be addressed here by means of an analysis of cases of “on-line” abstraction in the gestural production concurrent with restatements of path descriptions.

Differential Use of Dominant and Nondominant Hands: A Window on Referential and Non-Referential Functions

by Nicla Rossini

To appear in Hudson, J. Magnusson, U. and Paradis, C. (Eds) The construal of spatial meaning: windows into conceptual space.  Oxford University Press: Oxford.

Kurumada, C. and Jaeger, T.F. 2012. Communicatively efficient language production and case-marker omission in Japanese. The 34th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci12). Sapporo, Japan. July, 2012.

by T. Florian Jaeger

Feel free to cite. For page numbers, pls see the CogSci Proceedings webpage.

Recent proposals hold that language production reflects speakers bias to achieve efficient information transmission.... more Recent proposals hold that language production reflects speakers bias to achieve efficient information transmission. Speakers tend to provide more linguistic signal for information that is difficult to recover while omitting or reducing contextually inferable elements. However, previous findings in support of this hypothesis have been claimed to be compatible with alternative explanations in terms of production difficulty, therefore not requiring reference to communicative efficiency. We present two recall-production experiments on Japanese speakers’ preference in optional object case-marking that test the predictions of communicative efficiency accounts, while ruling out alternative explanations in terms of production difficulty. We find that speakers of Japanese are more likely to mark objects with case, if the referential properties of the object (Experiment 1) or the combination of subject, object, and verb (Experiment 2) bias against the intended assignment of grammatical functions. Together the experiments provide evidence that speakers prefer to provide case-marking if the intended interpretation of the sentence is unexpected or implausible.

Kleinschmidt, D.F., Fine, A.B., and Jaeger, T.F. 2012. A belief-updating model of adaptation and cue combination in syntactic comprehension. The 34th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci12). Sapporo, Japan. July, 2012.

by T. Florian Jaeger

Feel free to cite. For page numbers, pls see the CogSci Proceedings webpage.

We develop and evaluate a preliminary belief-updating model which links intermediate-term (i.e., over several days)... more We develop and evaluate a preliminary belief-updating model which links intermediate-term (i.e., over several days) syntactic adaptation to the joint statistics of syntactic structures and lexical cues to those structures. This model shows how subjects differentially depend on different cues to syntactic structure following changes in the reliability of those cues, as shown by Fine and Jaeger (2011). By relating syntactic adaptation and cue combination to rational inference under uncertainty, this work links learning and adaptation in sentence processing with adaptation in speech perception and non-linguistic domains.

Keywords: sentence processing, adaptation, Bayesian modeling

Work Notes on Etruscan Mirrors and Murals III

by Mel Copeland

This is a PDF file from our website covering Etruscan Mirrors and Murals, with images compiled from the Etruscan Phrases website http://www.maravot.com/Etruscan_Phrases_a.html.

In contrast to offerings from the British Museum and University of Bologna, where their analyses, following Pallottino, are generally speculation based on guesswork relating to short funerary inscriptions, the Etruscan Phrases work is supported by a strong grammar and vocabulary based on all texts, small and large. Thus, to clear the mystery of the Etruscan language alleged by such esteemed institutions, it is imperative that the Etruscan Phrases GlossaryA.xls be audited. We mention this since the only prospect of clearing up the Etruscan Mystery is through a verifiable audit of the Etruscan Grammar recorded in Etruscan Phrases. The British Museum, University of Bologna and other "Pallottino School" works have not produced a vocabulary or grammar that can be audited, since their theory is that the Etruscan language is unlike any other known to man, not Indo-European. Etruscan Phrases claims that the Etruscan Language is similar to Latin, French, Italian and Romanian, an Indo-European language. It offers a grammar, declension patterns and regular, measurable shifts between Etruscan and these languages; ergo the work can be easily audited.

Most important to the work are the Etruscan mirrors and murals that contain known Classical stories and the names of the principle characters in the stories. The star of the mirrors is Helen of Troy who was the young daughter of King Tyndareüs of Sparta and abducted by the equally beautiful son of King Priam of Troy, thereby causing the Trojan War. While the entire story has captured the hearts and imaginations of generations since that event (Troy was destroyed ~1180 B.C.) we can presume through Etruscan mirrors that the event was part of their history – and they had a somewhat different recollection of it than the Greek version passed down to us. Here, in Part II of our work notes on Etruscan mirrors, we address two other curious gods that seem to be planted in stories not heretofore known to include them. Heracles is part of the Etruscan Helen of Troy story. Here in Part III he is shown suckling Hera's breast as an adult. Another hero/god Adonis is related to an Asiatic theme, appearing to be consulting Sinar, a goddess of Lebanon/Mt. Hermon.

Because the story is familiar and linking the genesis of Greek heroes and gods, containing their names and actions, we have comparative texts to use in analyzing the Etruscan language, its shifts from Greek and Latin to Etruscan. For instance the heroes of the story follow a regular shift, of dropping vowels and final consonants, etc. Heracles (L. Hercules) is Hercle (almost like the French, Hercule). Helen’s name declines: Helenai and Helenei, leading us to the declension of other nouns. Her father was Zeus who transformed into a swan and raped the goddess Nemesis THALNA (retribution) who had transformed into a goose. She laid an egg or two eggs, one of which was Helen which was found by shepherds near Sparta and taken to Tyndareüs and Leda to bring up. From the egg came Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world.

The most beautiful man at the time was Alexander, spelled ELCHSENTRE and he abducted Helen from her husband Menelaus, MENLE, the brother of King Agamemnon: ACHMEMNVN. His wife Clytemnestra is CLVTHVMVSTHA who murdered her husband in the bath upon returning from the Trojan War, and their son, Orestes (VRSTE) killed her and her lover in revenge. Athena (L. Minerva) is MENRFA; Hera (L. Juno) is VNI, her consort is Zeus (L. Jupiter) Etr. TINIA. Thetis is THETIS and THETHIS, she was a dangerous shape-changer and compelled by the gods to wed her husband Peleus, PELE; they produced the Greek hero of the Trojan War, Achilles who the Etruscans call ACHLE. The mother of Helen, Leda, is LATFA and her brothers, Castor and Polydeukes (Pollux) are CASTVR and PVLTVCEI. Their father Tyndareüs is TVNTLE. Aphrodite (Etr. TVRAN) was a cause of the Trojan War when she was judged by Alexander as “The Fairest” as written on an apple thrown into the wedding of Thetis and Peleus by Eris (Etr. ERIS). Aphrodite’s son was Eros (Etr. ERVS) – appearing in many texts. Another popular figure in Etruscan mirrors is Hermes (L. Mercury) TVRMS.

Apollo (APLV) and Artemis are represented frequently in the texts. Ajax Telemonos EIFAS TELMVNVS committed suicide after Achilles was killed, because he did not deserve Achilles’ armor. Apollo (APLV) and his sister the virgin huntress Artemis (ARTVMES) were highly active in the Trojan War. The Etruscans introduce a new character like Artemis called MEAN who crowns Alexander, awarding him the hand of Helen, though we understand from the Greek version that it was Aphrodite (Etr. TVRAN) that awarded Alexander the hand of Helen in the Judgment of Paris. MEAN appears to be a goddess of the hunt like Artemis from Lydia, recalling the old name of Lydia, Maionia (Μαιονία). This is just a tease, for the mirrors and murals carry amazing details never before known to modern man. The images, names and texts associated with the mirrors and murals set the baseline for understanding Etruscan Grammar and the words recorded in Etruscan Phrases GlossaryA.pdf. (The most current version available at http://www.maravot.com/Etruscan_Phrases_a.html.

We should hope, therefore, that there will be many linguists / scholars who will jump at the chance to clear up the Etruscan Mystery and rewrite the histories so clearly overshadowed by the Pallottino School theories, to help even the museums containing Etruscan artifacts explain a bit more about the items in their displays.

Etruscan GlossaryA.pdf an index to about 2,500 Etruscan words that are similar to Latin, French, Italian and Romanian. Declension patterns follow those in Latin. The 2,500 words equal the repeated words in 6,000 words of the major extant texts. The texts have been frozen in time, covering ~700-400 B.C., representing a lens to understanding the early formation of Indo-European languages, particularly the early Italic-Latin-Celtic languages, such as Italian, French & Romanian / Dacian. (By 45 BC. the language was a dead language - no one understood or could write Etruscan)

This GlossaryA works together with Indo-European Table 1 which refutes theories by the Pallottino school of thought that the Etruscan language is not Indo-European and an isolate, unlike any other language. It is very close to Latin and, curiously, Romanian, Italian and French. The Latin suffix, "us" shifts to "o" as in Italian (Titus vs Tito); first person conjugation patterns are similar to French and Romanian. This GlossaryA provides a quick look at the grammatical structure of the Etruscan language, how closely it coincides with Latin. A more detailed Declension Table can be seen on the Etruscan Phrases website. These PDF documents facilitate independent confirmation of the words in GlossaryA.xls , the Grammar and Declension Table. All words can be examined from actual images of texts on the Etruscan Phrases website. Over 150 texts, with about 6,000 words can be examined at Etruscan Phrases.

The Etruscans surfaced in Italy about 1,000 B.C., reputed to have arrived from Lydia / Phrygia. The Phrygians originated near Macedonia in Thrace, according to Herodotus. One may therefore inquire whether the ancient Thracians (Dacians, Gettae, modern Romanians), spoke a language common to the Phrygians, at the time of the Trojan War and after (~1180 B.C.). The Thracians, Phrygians and Lydians (also dead languages) were allies of the Trojans, according to the Iliad. Etruscan Phrases finds a common vocabulary among Latin, Italian, French, Romanian, Etruscan and Phrygian. While French, Spanish, Italian and Romanian are considered Romance languages, showing a similar Latin heritage, Etruscan is not, of course, a Romance language, as it preceded Latin, at least in the written form (giving Rome its alphabet).

Resolution of the Etruscan Mystery may be likened to Michael Ventris' decipherment of Linear B and Jean-François Champollion's decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics using the Rosetta Stone - written in Egyptian hieroglypics, Demotic and Greek. The decipherment of Etruscan is a bit more challenging, since we have no multilingual Rosetta Stone, but we do have enough vocabulary and grammar to establish that Etruscan is similar to Latin, French, Italian and Romanian. (Certainly far more vocabulary and a more extensive grammar is provided in Etruscan Phrases than that used by Ventris to claim translation of Linear B as an old form of Greek)

The mirrors with the Devotional Plates may be an easy entry into an audit, for those who are hesitant to examine the larger texts, such as the Zagreb Mummy (Script Z).

Enemies and Friends in the Neighborhood: Orthographic Similarity Effects in Semantic Categorization

by Diane Pecher

Pecher, D., Zeelenberg, R., & Wagenmakers, E. M. (2005). Enemies and Friends in the Neighborhood: Orthographic Similarity Effects in Semantic Categorization. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 31, 121-128.

Studies investigating orthographic similarity effects in semantic tasks have produced inconsistent results. The... more Studies investigating orthographic similarity effects in semantic tasks have produced inconsistent results. The authors investigated orthographic similarity effects in animacy decision and in contrast with previous studies, they took semantic congruency into account. In Experiments 1 and 2, performance to a target (cat) was better if a previously studied neighbor (rat) was congruent (i.e., belonged to the same animate-inanimate category) than it was if it was incongruent (e.g., mat). In Experiments 3 and 4, performance was better for targets with more preexisting congruent neighbors than for targets with more preexisting incongruent neighbors. These results demonstrate that orthographic similarity effects in semantic categorization are conditional on semantic congruency. This strongly suggests that semantic information becomes available before orthographic processing has been completed.

Word recognition is affected by the meaning of orthographic neighbours: Evidence from semantic decision tasks

by Diane Pecher

Boot, I. & Pecher, D. (2008). Word recognition is affected by the meaning of orthographic neighbors: Evidence from semantic decision tasks. Language and Cognitive Processes, 23, 375-393.

Many models of word recognition predict that neighbours of target words will be activated during word processing.... more Many models of word recognition predict that neighbours of target words will be activated during word processing. Cascaded models can make the additional prediction that semantic features of those neighbours get activated before the target has been uniquely identified. In two semantic decision tasks neighbours that were congruent (i.e., from the same category) or incongruent (i.e., from the opposite category) were presented in a long-term priming paradigm. Performance to targets was better if they were primed by congruent neighbours than if they were primed by incongruent neighbours. The same effect was found for rhyming and nonrhyming primes. The results support cascaded models that allow semantic information to become activated before lexical selection has finished.

Incomplete Input As a Poverty of the Stimulus Argument

by Margaret Gullick