Chapter 10Language: Speech Processing

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Chapter 10--Language Speech Processing

• Psychology 313 Cognition

The course will not cover chapters 7, 9, 11 or 13
(reduced from course outline). Complete Exam Two
results now available at http//web.uvic.ca/psyc/c
oursematerial/psyc313.m01/313/ExamMarks/Table2
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Grammar - Continued

• Phrase Structure Grammars
• Definition and example A grammar that represents
  sentences hierarchically, with each node of the
  hierarchy corresponding to a phrase structure.
• Specifies a limited number of sentence parts and
  how they can combined.
• Can allow for recursion A process can be
  recursive if it calls on itself to get its job
  done. A definition of something is recursive if
  the definition contains the thing defined. For
  example, one definition of a sentence is two
  sentences joined by the word and . The man
  who said S has now arrived
• Chomsky (1957) feels they cannot give a complete
  account of how we interpret language. E.g, they
  have difficulty with the ambiguous sentences
  Visiting relatives can be a nuisance. They
  are cooking apples The lamb is too hot to eat
  The shooting of the hunters was terrible
• Transformational Grammar Chomskys system that
  can handle ambiguity based on two levels of
  representation
• Surface Structure A level of representation in
  text processing. The surface code refers to the
  exact wording and syntax of sentences.
• Deep Structure In language, the deep structure
  is the representation of a sentence constructed
  according to a basic set of phrase structure
  rules, without any transformations applied to the
  resulting representation.
• If transformations are applied, the sentence
  might be turned into a question or be phrased in
  the passive voice, for example

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1. Surface Structure and Deep Structure

• sentences exist at two levels
• the deep structure carries its meaning
• the surface structure is the particular phrase
  ordering used to convey that meaning
• sentences can have nearly identical surface
  structures but have different deep structures
• John is easy to please vs. John is eager to
  please
• sentences can have different surface structures,
  but identical deep structures
• Sara threw the ball vs. The ball was thrown
  by Sara
• according to the theory of transformational
  grammar we use rules of phrase structure to
  generate the underlying idea, or deep structure
  of the sentence
• then, transformational rules are applied to deep
  structure to generate a surface structure
  conveying intended meaning

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Psychological Reality of Transformational Grammar

• derivational theory of complexity
• the longer the distance from surface structure
  to deep structure (i.e., the more transformations
  that are required), the more psychologically
  complex the sentence should seem, and it should
  be more difficult to comprehend
• early returns on this theory were promising but
  not all of the results supported it
• sometimes the more transformations required
  reduced comprehension and sometimes it had no
  effect
• so the psychological reality of transformational
  grammar can be doubted
• one answer was to argue that he theory was one of
  linguistic competence rather than performance it
  describes our knowledge of language, not
  necessarily how this knowledge is executed on a
  moment-to-moment basis
• 3. Evaluation
• the idea that a system of rules was at the heart
  of language use was extremely important, and
  served as the starting point for just about every
  other theoretical approach to language
• it is a modular approach language is an innate
  and specialized ability
• given that the learning environment provides no
  help (i.e., is an impoverished stimulus) it can
  not be learned it must be innate

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B. The Constraint-Based Approach

• language is learnable, based on the incoming data
  and associations
• challenge comes not from a return to a
  behavioristic approach, but from the neural
  network approach to cognition
• the associations are not between stimulus and
  response, but are associations within neural
  networks distributed throughout the human brain
• the same neural networks that carry out other
  cognitive processes are also responsible for
  learning and implementing linguistic knowledge
• special modular system neednt be proposed to
  explain language learning, use
• a non-modular approach
• gradual development and fine-tuning of neural
  networks during early linguistic experience play
  an important role in rapid learning of language
• language is full of the probabilistic constraints
  that can be discovered by neural networks and
  exploited during the process of language learning
• makes use of probabilistic constraints for word
  boundaries (discussed earlier) and within
  sentences
• constraints like these can be easily and rapidly
  learned by a neural network through repeated
  experience with linguistic strings
• given these constraints inherent in the speech
  stimulus, it seems possible that language is
  learned without use of any special
  grammar-learning module

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V. Sentence Planning and Production

• not much research done on processes underlying
  speech production
• it is difficult experimentally control what
  someone talks about or says
• A. Stages in Language Production
• sequential steps in the production of
  language--conceptualizing, planning, articulating
  and self-monitoring
• 1. Conceptualizing - deciding what one
  wants to say
• not much research done on the conceptualization,
  as there is no objective way to find out how
  ideas come together in speech anticipation
• existence of mentalese has been hypothesized a
  representational system distinct from language,
  from which linguistic expression proceeds
• but there is little agreement on its form
• Perhaps a first stage of speaking exists, but
  its hard to say much about it
• 2 and 3. Planning and Articulating
• formulating linguistic plans organizing our
  thoughts in terms of language
• then execute plan with articulatory organs
• articulation can be studied through errors
• slips of the tongue reveal speech process

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Self-Monitoring

• self-monitoring processes whereby we keep track
  of what were saying, and change it on-line if
  necessary
• unclear whether we edit what we say before we say
  it
• but clearly we edit what we have already said
• often we engage in self-repair
• we stop ourselves and correct what weve just
  said
• self-repairs have a consistent structure
• first, we interrupt ourselves when we detect an
  error
• second, we issue what might be termed an editing
  expression, like um, wait a minute, or
  sorry
• finally we repair what weve just said by
  saying such things as er...I mean
• Self-monitoring is arguably not just a final
  stage in a serial process, but a real-time
  simultaneous corrective

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Slips of the Tongue Their Nature

• slips can occur at any linguistic level phoneme,
  morpheme (e.g., suffixes or prefixes), or word
• but if an utterance contains a slip, it tends to
  be at only one linguistic level
• elements within an utterance that interact
• tend to come from similar positions within a word
  (e.g., both first parts of words)
• tend to be similar to one another (e.g., both
  consonants)
• tend to receive the same sort of stress they
  would have, had they not interacted
• tend to be based on phonological, rather than
  semantic similarity
• Slips obey the rules of phonology
• even when sounds are switched, the resulting
  errant word will sound like a word in the language

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Slips of the Tongue Types

• Slips of the Tongue slips of the tongue are a
  type of action slip that we did not discuss in
  Chapter 4
• Eight Types of Slips
• Shift one speech segment disappears from its
  appropriate location and appears somewhere else
• Exchange two segments change places (both
  segments disappear from their appropriate
  location)
• Anticipation a later segment replaces an earlier
  segment but does not disappear from its
  appropriate location
• Perseveration an earlier segment replaces a
  later segment but does not disappear from its
  appropriate location
• Deletion leaving something out
• Addition inserting something
• Substitution an intruder replaces an intended
  segment
• Blend two words combine into one, apparently
  because they are both being considered for
  selection

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Theoretical Accounts of Slips of the Tongue

• serial account of slips invokes 5 stages
• stage 1 conceptualization determination of
  stress patterns determination of syntactical
  structure
• stage 2 content words and free morphemes are
  added
• stage 3 bound morphemes are added
• stage 4 function words are added
• stage 5 overt articulation
• stages are independent of one another
• consistent with this assumption, slips seem to
  occur only at one level of planning
• e.g. a weekend for maniacs (intended a
  maniac for weekends)
• stress pattern remained the same, as if that was
  determined separately
• content words switched places but not the bound
  morpheme, suggesting the bound morphemes was
  added separately from the content word
• Note how the sound generated for the stranded
  morpheme fits the new context (termed
  accommodation) (plural goes from /z/ to
  unvoiced /s/)
• this suggests that sounds are assembled after
  (and independently of) assembly of the words in
  the sentence

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More Theories of Tongue Slippage

• parallel processing accounts
• the production of speech exist at a number of
  distinct levels (as in serial theory), but these
  processors are capable of operating
  simultaneously
• proposes that words in the lexicon are
  represented at four different levels, in terms of
  their
• phonology, morphology, syntactic roles, and
  meaning
• processing units at each of these levels work in
  parallel,
• may excite or inhibit processing at the same
  level or at other levels
• lexical bias effect
• slips resulting in words more likely than those
  resulting in nonwords
• true words have morphological representations,
  but nonwords do not
• activation of these representations would excite
  the corresponding processors at the phoneme
  level, making errors more likely
• this error-inducing feedback would only be
  present for words, however, making it less likely
  that errors would result in nonwords

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Slips of the Tongue Unconscious Motivation?

• Freudian slip
• Freud thought slips of the tongue (paralepsis)
  were windows on a persons fears, anxieties, or
  wishes
• slips of the tongue mean something they reflect
  unconscious motivation
• Motley and Baars (1979) -tried to test this
  assumption
• used a laboratory procedure that induced
  participants to make slips, more specifically
  spoonerisms, or simple switches between the
  initial sounds of nearby words
• participants read two-word phrases silently
• every so often, a buzzer sounded and they were to
  read the presented pair out loud
• to make errors a little more likely, these spoken
  trials were preceded by a series of phrases that
  made a slip more likely (as in the lexical bias
  effect)
• to engage participants in a given motivational
  frame, the context was manipulated

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Slips of the Tongue Unconscious Motivation?

• one group was preoccupied with shock-related
  anxiety
• hooked up to (bogus) electrodes and told that
  they would be receiving an occasional electric
  shock during the procedure
• another group was pre-occupied with what might be
  termed sexual anxieties
• tested by an attractive and provocatively
  dressed woman
• a control condition also used
• tested with an identical procedure, but with
  neither environmental manipulation
• the word pairs, when rearranged, referred to
  either shock-related or woman-related issues
• e.g.--worst cottagecursed wattage share
  bouldersbare shoulders
• results
• those anxious about shocks were more likely to
  make shock-related errors
• participants (all male) who were anxious about
  sex were more likely to make sex-related errors
• slips of the tongue can be made more likely by
  contextual variables but most result from a
  mis-assemblage of linguistic units

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Conversations and Conversational Structure

• conversations have a fairly stable structure
• usually start with a standard greetings which
  usually elicit stock answers
• turn-taking speakers alternate overlap is rare
• individual styles of turn-taking vary widely
  length of a turn is a fairly stable
  characteristic within a given individuals
  conversational interactions
• standard signals indicate a change in turn a
  head nod, a glance, a questioning tone
• three principles that (implicitly) guide
  turn-taking in conversations
• current speaker may choose the next speaker by
  directing a comment or question to a particular
  person
• if this doesnt happen, then it is acceptable for
  any person to step into the conversational gap
• or, the original speaker may simply continue
  talking
• these principles are ordered in terms of
  priority the first is the most important, and
  the last is the least important
• Just try violating them in an actual conversation
  (but debrief later!)

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Pragmatics

• Pragmatics the practical knowledge we need to
  use language effectively
• the contribution to meaning of the context of
  conversation
• relies upon unstated, shared (or unshared!)
  knowledge/projection of the situation
• meaning that relies on social convention rather
  than internal representation depends upon
  inferences or implicature
• coffee would keep me awake --a request for
  coffee or a refusal?
• Speakers intend to communicate stuff, listeners
  infer what is intended
• Grice (1975) identified several maxims that
  describe shared assumptions about communication
  in context
• all support one overriding principle
  cooperation
• Quantity Say as much as you need to, but not
  more
• Quality Dont say things that you believe to be
  false or for which you lack evidence
• Relation Be relevant to the topic at hand
• Manner Be clear avoid obscurity and ambiguity
• Violating these can result in social awkwardness

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Gender and Conversation

• Lakoff (1975) See also
  Tannen (1993)
• women tend to be more polite as indicated by
  using indirect requests -do you
  know what time it is?
• women tend to employ more tag questions and
  hedges in conversation
• tag questions are placed at the end of a
  statement, as in Its hot out today, isnt it?
• hedges are qualifiers, like kind of, or could
  be
• male conversations tend to feature more
  interruption than female conversation
• most would agree that there are significant
  differences in the ways that women and men
  converse, not everyone would agree about what the
  differences indicate
• may reflect relative differences in power across
  women men
• May reflect differences in ways of interacting,
  rather than powerlessness of women
• conversation may be as much a function of the
  situation as it is of speaker gender

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Gender Styles In Communication

• Communication is not just about the message (or
  content) but also about the way the message is
  communicated (manner or style).
• Everyones style is unique, but some aspects of
  style are widely shared.
• One perspective states that there are typical
  communication style differences between men and
  women.
• Typical differences are often confused with
  individual differences, and mistaken for absolute
  or essential differences (fixed natural kinds or
  universal categories).
• In fact, typical differences between ways men and
  women communicate are not shared by all
  individual men and women, and new styles can be
  learned while old styles are adapted.
• Types are like styles they are not imposed.
• They suggest a pattern, but include an element of
  choice.

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Understanding Typical Differences

• Typical differences are not stereotypes.
• They have vague boundaries, and tolerate plenty
  of exceptions.
• Members of the same type resemble each other but
  are not mere duplicates.
• Their sameness is more like family resemblances
  than the sharing of essence or particular
  qualities.
• Gender style differences are typical differences
  in this sense.
• You dont have to worry about being out of style
  if you dont fit the type.
• The point is not about fitting, but about
  increasing understanding of each other.
• Just as gender types are not absolute, so human
  nature is not about Nature, about fixed givens
  and uniformities.
• In fact, the same words, gestures, actions can
  communicate different or opposing meanings
• Examples (see table below)

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Typical Gender Differences

• MEN
• Interpret conversations in terms of hierarchical
  social order
• Negotiations for status
• Diminish the significance of problems or offer
  solutions
• Report talk
• Public speech
• Concern for independence
• were separate and different

• WOMEN
• Interpret conversations in terms of connection
  and closeness
• Negotiate for closeness
• Identify with expression of problems and show
  empathy.
• Rapport Talk
• Private speech
• Concern for intimacy
• were are close and the same

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Thomson, Murachver, and Green (2001)

• speakers will change language style so that it
  converges with the style of the person(s) they
  are speaking with
• investigated this notion with electronic mail
  (e-mail)
• each participant communicated via e-mail with two
  different netpals, one of whom was ostensibly
  female, the other male
• in reality, each netpal was the researcher,
  writing from a script using either female-style
  or male-style language
• results
• the nature of what was said (and how it was said)
  did not differ with the gender of the
  participant
• it differed with the (supposed) gender of the
  netpal
• male and female styles of conversing are not
  static characteristics of individuals