MULTI-FACTORIAL CHOICES IN SPEAKING - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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MULTI-FACTORIAL CHOICES IN SPEAKING

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Title: MULTI-FACTORIAL CHOICES IN SPEAKING


1
MULTI-FACTORIAL CHOICES IN SPEAKING
  • Andrej A. Kibrik
  • (Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of
    Sciences)
  • kibrik_at_comtv.ru

2
CHOICE
  • As people speak, they constantly make choices
  • There are several (partially overlapping) types
    of choices involved

3
Unique choice
  • Choosing a lexical item to describe ones own
    emotion
  • I am glad (OKhappy, ??joyful, amused) you are
    willing to attend our workshop

4
Prompted choice
  • Language prompts its speakers to focus on certain
    aspects of meaning that must be expressed in this
    or that way
  • Example if a language has the category of
    number, each noun in discourse must be specified
    for number, even if that is not particularly
    relevant

5
Prompted choice
  • Language prompts its speakers to focus on certain
    aspects of meaning that must be expressed in this
    or that way
  • Example if a language has the category of
    number, each noun in discourse must be specified
    for number, even if that is not particularly
    relevant
  • Cf. Jakobsons notion of grammatical category and
    Slobins Thinking for speaking framework

6
Forced choice
  • Some linguistic elements require other linguistic
    elements
  • Example
  • verb V in language L requires a direct object
  • even there is no semantic need to use an overt
    object NP the speaker inserts a dummy element
    there
  • If you dont have a ticket, you should get one
  • cf. Russian Esli u vas net bileta, vam nuzhno
    kupit __

7
Probabilistic choice
  • differs from any of the listed types
  • is very little acknowledged in linguistics
  • there always exist some borderline situations in
    which more than one option can be used

8
Features of probabilistic choice
  • the speaker chooses between two or more options
    from a fixed repertoire
  • the choice cannot be reduced to one factor
    governing it but depends on multiple factors
  • various factors interact in a certain way and
    give rise to a cumulative resultant decision
  • the choice is cognitively motivated it can be
    linked to a higher-order cognitive function

9
Example 1. Referential choice full noun phrase
vs. pronoun
  • In Cheney's narrative, Russia was a blooming
    democracy during the 1990s, but in recent years
    it has turned into a sinister dictatorship where
    people live in fear. In castigating Vladimir
    Putin, Cheney believes that he is speaking for
    the Russian masses. He fancies himself as Reagan
    at the Berlin wall. Except he isn't. Had Cheney
    done his homework and consulted a few opinion
    polls, which are extensive and reliable in
    Russia, he would have discovered that Putin has a
    75 percent approval rating, about twice that of
    President Bush.
  • Newsweek, May 29, 2006

10
Example 1. Referential choice full noun phrase
vs. pronoun
  • In Cheney's narrative, Russia was a blooming
    democracy during the 1990s, but in recent years
    it has turned into a sinister dictatorship where
    people live in fear. In castigating Vladimir
    Putin, Cheney believes that he is speaking for
    the Russian masses. He fancies himself as Reagan
    at the Berlin wall. Except he isn't. Had Cheney
    done his homework and consulted a few opinion
    polls, which are extensive and reliable in
    Russia, he would have discovered that Putin has a
    75 percent approval rating, about twice that of
    President Bush.
  • Newsweek, May 29, 2006

11
Referential choice
  • overwhelming character (40 out of 89 words)
  • multiple factors
  • distance to prior mention
  • role of prior mention
  • animacy
  • .
  • cumulative effect leading to a resultant choice
  • overarching cognitive domain activation in the
    speakers working memory
  • probabilistic

12
Referential choice is probabilistic
  • In Cheney's narrative, Russia was a blooming
    democracy during the 1990s, but in recent years
    it has turned into a sinister dictatorship where
    people live in fear. In castigating Vladimir
    Putin, Cheney believes that he is speaking for
    the Russian masses. He fancies himself as Reagan
    at the Berlin wall. Except he isn't. Had Cheney
    done his homework and consulted a few opinion
    polls, which are extensive and reliable in
    Russia, he would have discovered that Putin has a
    75 percent approval rating, about twice that of
    President Bush.
  • Newsweek, May 29, 2006

13
Example 2. Finite vs. non-finite predicate form
in Karachay-Balkar
  • men bar-a-ma,
  • I go-Pres-1Sg
  • birinci kUn bar-a-ma da qaSXataw-Ra,
  • first day go-Pres-1Sg and Qashxataw-Dat
  • qal-a-ma kece zuwuq-lar-ybyz-da.
  • stay-Pres-1Sg night relative-Pl-1Pl-Loc
  • I start off, on the first day go to Qashxataw,
    stay overnight with our relatives

FINITE VERB FORMS
14
Example 2. Finite vs. non-finite predicate form
in Karachay-Balkar
  • eSek any eSt-xen-lej,
  • donkey him hear-Pf-Compar
  • qulaq-lar-y-n da turRuz-up,
  • ear-Pl-3-Acc and erect-Conv
  • ijgi ajaq al-yp,
  • well legs gather-Conv
  • terk qaty caf-Xal-laj tebre-gen-di.
  • fast strong run-Pf-Compar begin-Pf-3
  • As soon as the donkey heard it, he erected his
    ears, speeded up, and started running very fast

NON-FINITE VERB FORMS
15
Finite vs. non-finite clause form
  • overwhelming character in narrative
  • multiple factors
  • purely temporal vs. causal-temporal connection to
    the next event
  • position in the chain of events
  • .
  • cumulative effect leading to a resultant decision
  • overarching cognitive domain cognitive
    connectedness, affiliation with a higher order
    event
  • probabilistic

16
Clause form choice is probabilistic
Original Prognosis FC LX ZB MX
they added more people to him, Fin Fin Non-Fin Fin Fin Fin
found him a wife, Fin Fin Non-Fin Fin Fin Fin
and a village formed there Fin Fin Fin Fin Fin
17
Example 3. Direction of pitch in accent
(Russian) rising vs. falling
  • ..(0.3) ?????????? ?? ???? /???????,
  • We watched that /concert,
  • ..(0.1) ????-?? \???-???.
  • (and) went \somewhere.
  • ...(0.6) ??? ..(0.3) ??(0.3) ..(0.4) ?? ?????????
    ??? /???? ? ??????,
  • Then we meet my /mom with my dad,
  • ...(0.6) \??????-??,
  • from \somewhere,
  • ...(0.9) ? ' ..(0.3) ?? ' ..(0.4) ????-??
    \???????.
  • and we started for some \place.

18
Direction of pitch in accent
  • overwhelming character
  • multiple factors
  • whether the discourse unit in question is the
    terminal one in an illocutionary act or
    sentence
  • if yes, which illocutionary meaning it bears
  • if not, what pitch direction is projected for the
    nuclear accent of the following EDU
  • whether the current EDU is in the mainline of
    discourse or is a postpositional addendum
    (elaboration) to the previous EDU
  • .
  • cumulative effect leading to a resultant choice
  • overarching cognitive domain the hypercategory
    of phase, or transitional continuity the
    role of the current discourse unit in the on-line
    communicative flow of discourse
  • probabilistic

19
Direction of pitch in accent is probabilistic
  • ...(0.6) ??? ..(0.3) ??(0.3) ..(0.4) ?? ?????????
    ??? /???? ? ??????,
  • Then we meet my /mom with my dad,

20
Direction of pitch in accent is probabilistic
  • ...(0.6) ??? ..(0.3) ??(0.3) ..(0.4) ?? ?????????
    ??? \?? ?? ? ??????,
  • Then we meet my /mom with my dad,
  • If this kind of online correction is possible,
    this demonstrates that there is a zone in which a
    decision on the choice is fairly hard to arrive
    at.

21
Further features of multi-factorial,
probabilistic choices
  • Can be very quick
  • Routinized
  • Hardly consciously made
  • But very efficient and very important
  • lack of the ability to perform aforementioned
    choices would mean a real aphasia
  • Dont have to be discrete, can be continuous

22
Role of choice in language
  • Grammar can be viewed as a system guiding various
    linguistic choices
  • I find it surprising that the notion of choice is
    not salient in discussions of language production

23
Questions for interdisciplinary discussion
  • Is the notion of choice important to other
    cognitive domains besides language?
  • Is the notion of choice useful for the general
    enterprise of cognitive science?
  • Cf. behavioral analogs of linguistic
    mini-choices
  • braking or accelerating in driving
  • using right or left hand when reaching for an
    object
  • order of biting and supping during a meal
  • In psychology, choice and decision making are
    mostly discussed in the context of complex
    cognitive processes that involve reasoning

24
Occasional usage in psychology
  • For example, a boxer facing an opponent who can
    attack with the left or right fist must make a
    fast decision about what to do. In situations
    like this, the choice reaction time is
    substantially longer, mainly reflecting the
    increased processing demands associated with
    selecting and programming the appropriate
    action.
  • (Jos J. Adam and Martinus J. Bueckers. Action.
    In Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science. London
    Nature Publishing Group. 2003. Vol. 1, pp.
    14-20).

25
Concluding suggestions
  • Speech, and behavior in general, are full of
    making choices
  • It is important to explore the types of choices
    and their characteristic properties
  • Particularly interesting are multi-factorial
    choices as they present a big challenge to our
    explanatory models
  • A theory is necessary of how the relevant factors
    interact and how their differential weights give
    rise to a resultant net effect

26
Making the right choice is important
27
Sometimes it is really probabilistic
28
But not making a choice can even be lethal
Buridans ass
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