Ambiguous Phrase Research Articles

Referential context and executive functioning influence children's resolution of syntactic ambiguity.

Classic studies reveal two striking differences between preschoolers and adults in online sentence comprehension. Adults (a) recruit referential context cues to guide syntactic parsing, interpreting an ambiguous phrase as a modifier if a modifier is needed to single out the intended referent among multiple options, and (b) use late-arriving information to recover from misinterpretation. Five-year-olds fail on both counts, appearing insensitive to the referential context and often failing to recover from parsing errors (Trueswell, Sekerina, Hill, & Logrip, 1999). But other findings suggest that 5-year-olds show delayed rather than absent sensitivity to the referential context, and that individual differences in executive functioning predict children's ability to recover from garden-path errors. In 2 experiments, we built on these findings, focusing on whether children recruit referential-context cues if given time to do so. Children heard temporarily ambiguous instructions (e.g., Put the frog on the pond into the tent), while we monitored their eye-gaze and actions. We used a slow speech rate, and manipulated referential context between rather than within subjects, to give children time to bring referential context cues into play. Across experiments, eye-movement and action analyses revealed emerging sensitivity to the referential context. Moreover, error rates and eye-movement patterns indicating failures to revise were predicted by individual differences in executive function (scores in Simon Says and Flanker tasks). These data suggest that children, like adults, use referential context information in syntactic processing under some circumstances; the findings are also consistent with a role for domain-general executive function in resolution of syntactic ambiguity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Reanalysis and lingering misinterpretation of linguistic dependencies in native and non-native sentence comprehension

Research on temporarily ambiguous “garden-path” sentences (e.g., After Mary dressed the baby laughed) has shown that initially assigned misinterpretations linger after reanalysis of the temporarily ambiguous phrase in both native (L1) and non-native (L2) readers. L2 speakers have particular difficulty with reanalysis, but the source of this L1/L2 difference is debated. Furthermore, how lingering misinterpretation may influence other aspects of language processing has not been systematically examined. We report three offline and two online experiments investigating reanalysis and misinterpretation of filler-gap dependences (e.g., Elisa noticed the truck which the policeman watched the car from). Our results showed that L1 and L2 speakers are prone to lingering misinterpretation during dependency resolution. L1/L2 differences were observed such that L2 speakers had increased difficulty reanalysing some filler-gap dependencies, however this was dependent on how the dependency was disambiguated. These results are compatible with the “good-enough” approach to language processing, and suggest that L1/L2 differences are more likely when reanalysis is particularly difficult.

Syntactic Structure Influences Speech-Gesture Synchronization

It is known that a phrase may have multiple meanings. Phrases such as “green tea cup” may be interpreted with two different meanings—a “green-colored tea cup” or a “cup of green tea.” Then how people know the exact meanings of apparently syntactically ambiguous linguistic expressions? We propose that gesture that accompanies speech may help disambiguate syntactically ambiguous structures. The present study investigated whether the difference in phrase structures influences the production of gestures. Participants produced gestures as they produced a Japanese four-word phrases. We examined all possible synchronization patterns of speech and gestures. We found, for the first time, gestures tended to synchronize with the chunks of words that form a constituent in syntactic structures. Our study suggests that gestures may play an important role in disambiguating syntactically ambiguous phrases. This could be a reason why humans have continuously used gestures even after they acquired a powerful tool of language and why today, they still produce language-redundant gestures.

Will it really happen? Disambiguating of the hypothetical and real “Next Wednesday's meeting” question in Mandarin speakers

Previous research has consistently shown that Mandarin speakers tended to adopt the Moving Time perspective when addressing the “Next Wednesday's meeting” question. Using the revised paradigm, Experiment 1 found that Mandarin speakers showed no preference for either the ego-moving perspective or the time-moving perspective when reading the single verb “移动(move)” which lacks a precise spatial meaning, suggesting that the temporal ambiguity of the probe is rooted in the directional neutrality of the verb. Experiment 2 proceeded to use this ambiguous phrase to investigate whether Mandarin speakers’ responses to the hypothetical probe are predicative of the rescheduling decisions they would make in real life. The results indicate that people's temporal reasoning in real life contexts can dramatically diverge from their thinking in hypothetical scenarios because people tend to put off the meeting until a later time to ease the inconvenience in real rescheduling management practice. Furthermore, the correlations between temporal perspective preference and individual-differences measures were only found for the hypothetical-condition samples. However, by providing real contextual information available to participants when responding to a hypothetical question—thereby reducing the need for mental simulation—we brought people's responses into concordance with their answers in real situations (Experiment 3). This is the first experimental demonstration that hypothetical disambiguation studies, while a valuable contribution to our understanding of time cognition, fail to capture the most salient motivational force shaping actual temporal thinking because of the decontextualized nature.

“The Name of YHWH Comes from Afar” (Isa 30:27) in the Light of Rhetorical Analysis of Isa 30:27–33: an Attempt at Identification

The aim of the article is to clarify the meaning of the opening phrase of the prophecy of Isa 30:27–33: הנה שם־יהוה בא ממרחק. Interpretative difficulties arise primarily from the noun שם and the adverb ממרחק appearing here. The article presents previous attempts to understand the entire expression, and then proposes a new reading of it, which unambiguously links “the name of YHWH” with the Assyrian empire. Such identification results both from the exegesis and the analysis of the context of the prophecy, and is also supported by the latest achievements of Hebrew biblical rhetoric. The message of the prophecy reveals the person of Isaiah as an attentive observer of political events, and at the same time as a high-class theologian sensitive to the subtlety of God’s message. The prophecy of Isa 30:27–33, which is part of the most mature statements of the prophet from the last stage of his activity (705–701 BC), is thus inscribed in the idea of those oracles in which understatements and ambiguous phrases play a fundamental role.

PROCESSAMENTO DE FRASES E CONTEXTO DISCURSIVO

RESUMO Investiga-se o curso temporal dos subprocessos da compreensão de frases, procurando-se determinar se o processador é estritamente sintático em sua análise inicial ou se já acessa informações de natureza semântica e discursiva a tempo de influenciar a análise sintática. São reportados dois estudos com falantes de português brasileiro, para aferir efeitos de contexto discursivo no processamento. O primeiro revisita o processamento de Sintagmas Preposicionais ambíguos e encontra efeito do discurso prévio apenas nas medidas finais, que monitoram a interpretação. O segundo usa a técnica de rastreamento ocular (eye-tracking) para aferir a busca de antecedente para o sujeito de oração com verbo no infinitivo flexionado, encontrando efeito do discurso prévio tanto na medida final ou off-line, quanto na medida on-line. Discutem-se possíveis razões para as diferenças entre os efeitos de informações discursivas nos dois experimentos.

Effects of Implicit Prosody and Semantic Bias on the Resolution of Ambiguous Chinese Phrases.

By manipulating the location of prosodic boundary and the semantic bias of the ambiguous “V+N1+de+N2” phrase, which is composed of one verb (V), one noun (N1), one functional word (de), and another noun (N2), this study investigated how prosodic boundary and the semantic bias affect the processing of temporary ambiguous sentences formed by the ambiguous phrase “V+N1+de+N2” through an eye movement experiment. We found the effect of prosodic boundary in the late processing stage and observed an interaction between prosodic boundary and the semantic bias of ambiguous phrases as well. The participants required more time for fixation and more regressions occurred when the meaning of the ambiguous phrase guided by prosodic boundary was inconsistent with context, especially when the ambiguous phrase was biased to the narrative-object phrase. This result suggests that prosodic boundary affects the processing of temporal ambiguous sentences and is influenced by the semantic bias of the ambiguous phrase. These findings provide further evidence from Chinese that indicate that implicit prosody plays a general role in language comprehension.

Prosodic phrase priming during listening to Chinese ambiguous phrases in different experimental tasks

Abstract Using the structural priming paradigm, the present study investigates prosodic phrase priming with ERPs (event-related potentials). Participants listened to 2 consecutive Chinese ambiguous phrases that can be analyzed as a modifier-noun construction or as a narrative-object structure in both lexical judgment and structural judgment tasks. The results indicated that prosodic boundaries embedded in ambiguous phrases stably elicited the Closure Positive Shift (CPS). More importantly, the prosodic priming effect occurs, as evidenced by the fact that the amplitude of the CPS elicited by the target phrases was lower than that of the CPS elicited by the prime phrases. In addition, the priming effect was stronger in the structural judgment task than in the lexical judgment task. This result may suggest that prosodic priming was facilitated when the listener's attention was directed to the prosodic aspect and that under such circumstances listeners process the prosodic boundary deeply. In conclusion, prosodic phrase structures are formulated in the brain and modulate the processing of the immediately subsequent item during speech comprehension, and this process is influenced by the type of task being performed.

Is Poetry Mean or does Poetry Mean? Teaching Poetry through Memes

Poetry is a distinct form in which meaning is expressed with special intensity as words grow and mature with every reading of the text. Poetry is at times mean when words cannot be deciphered and students get easily bogged down in ambiguous phrases; but poetry does mean when the same vague expressions are explored and explained creatively depending on the cognitive capacities of individuals. The aim of this paper is pedagogical as the study delves into the best way of introducing poetry to students. The need is to make sense of the poem without reliance on ready- made interpretation and the challenge is to make the poetry class a memorable experience. In the age of edutainment, memes can prove an important source of enabling linguistic competence through literary content. By introducing fun and pun amongst student populace, teaching poetry through memes can tap the trend into the classroom and doing a poem can become a unique experience with the help of an interactive pedagogy. To illustrate this methodology, the study will involve delineation of three poems at the levels of pre-reading, during-reading and post- reading of the texts. As an outcome, one of the major tasks will be to observe the way in which memes centrifuge poems and aid in improving spatial intelligence of the target group. This study will conclude with some suggestions on how students can become material producers in the domain of ELT. Thus, the present research is a humble attempt to showcase memes as a means to enjoy reality and celebrate differences.

Abnormal processing of prosodic boundary in adults who stutter: An ERP study

Characterized by involuntary disruptions in fluency speech, adults who stutter (AWS) are different from normally fluent speakers (NFS) in speech-language processing indices of phonological, semantic, and syntactic information coding. However, the neural base of the prosodic information (i.e. prosodic boundary) processing in AWS is still elusive at this point. To investigate this question, Chinese temporarily ambiguous phrases (narrative-object/modifier-noun construction) were presented in pairs to AWS and NFS in both lexical judgment and structural judgment task by using structural priming paradigm. Results showed that both AWS and NFS produced prosodic priming in the two tasks, however, AWS were more sensitive to the priming than NFS in the midline. Besides, unlike the greater right hemisphere involvement of priming effect for NFS, AWS exhibited a left hemisphere asymmetry in the lateral areas. In addition, structural judgment task elicited stronger prosodic priming effect than lexical judgment task for both groups. These results indicate that the mode of prosodic priming for AWS is different from NFS, and the priming effect is influenced by the experimental task that participants completed.

口吃者加工汉语歧义短语的神经过程

口吃者加工汉语歧义短语的神经过程

THE CORRUPTION OF THE RULE OF LAW

Abstract:The corruption of the rule of law is an ambiguous phrase. It can refer either to the corruption of the value of the rule of law or to the corrupting effect that the commitment to the rule of law produces. This essay explains how both can be the case. The rule of law is one of a cluster of values that liberal political theory requires a morally legitimate government to exemplify. Thus, the rule of law is a component part of a just political structure. However, the phrase "the rule of law" is often used colloquially to refer to most or all of the cluster of liberal values. When used in this way, a duty to obey the law often attaches itself to the concept of the rule of law. It is the association of this duty with the concept of the rule of law when used in its narrow, literal sense to refer to only one of the liberal values that corrupts both those who are committed to the rule of law and the respect for the value itself.

Influence of hand gestures on prosodic disambiguation of syntactically ambiguous phrases

Influence of hand gestures on prosodic disambiguation of syntactically ambiguous phrases

Ambiguity

Ambiguity Anne Foerst Ambiguity is imbedded in the texture of our life. Most complex phenomena, most of our urgent questions and ultimate concerns, and most of our sensory perceptions are inherently ambiguous. And like all terms that describe complex phenomena, the term “ambiguous” is ambiguous (pun intended…). On the one hand, ambiguity implies uncertainty and the lack of clarity. On the other hand, we use the term “ambiguity” to describe phenomena with multiple meanings or interpretations. Both meanings of the term are closely related. When we are confronted with uncertainty, we seek certainty. This means, any ambiguous phenomenon in the first sense of the word is asking for a more in‐depth understanding that overcomes uncertainty. However, we are using the same strategy for ambiguity in the second sense of the word. We are deeply uncomfortable with multiple meanings and are, therefore, often inclined to declare one meaning correct and the other irrelevant or even incorrect. It is intrinsically human to avoid ambiguity and to reduce complex phenomena into simpler theories that can be easily understood. Ambiguity has often been analyzed in the context of language. Early attempts at machine language led to a slew of analyses on the ambiguity of language in order to enable machine to understand and re‐create natural language. In today's technical environments where Siri, Alexa, and other language‐based avatars are ubiquitous, such analyses seem to be obsolete. However, everyone who ever worked with such avatars or even simple language‐based search engines knows how often these systems misunderstand. It is naïve to assume that every word means always the same and, yet, this is an assumption that many of us subconsciously hold. However, “Ambiguity is not a rare freak; it permeates language as much as water permeates an organism.” According to Robinson, there are several levels of ambiguity in language. The first and most simple is the ambiguity found in words such as “this” and “she” which have different meanings nearly every time they are used; however, their meaning can be easily determined based on context. Proper nouns are also inherently ambiguous but can easily be clarified and understood. A more complex form of ambiguity can be found in terms that describe a large complex of conceptions that are somehow felt to belong together. Robinson brings up the example of virtue that can have meanings on a whole scale of conceptions. Making money can be seen as virtue as well as giving all money away to the poor. Here, the ambiguity of the term lies in the scale on which the specific meaning, depending on the context, can slide up or down. Then there are numerous examples of words having completely unconnected meanings. “Time flies like and arrow and fruit flies like a banana” is among the better‐known examples. Again, context can help to clarify; but such double meanings are also a wonderful source for puns and humor. Context is the way to solve most language ambiguities. Not only can the context make the meaning of an ambiguous phrase clear, we also create context when the ambiguity is too strong, and even construct meaning out of gibberish. For instance, when talking to a friend in a noisy bar, we will believe we understand her perfectly even though we might miss most of her words, because we will fill the gaps of her speech based on our knowledge of her and the topics discussed. A beautiful example of creating language patterns out of gibberish can be found in Edgar Allen Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue where all witnesses who have heard the “conversation” between the sailor and his Orangutan are sure that the dialogue partner of the sailor spoke a foreign language. They all clearly recognize a specific language even though they all recognize a language they themselves do not speak… This means there are two strategies coping with language ambiguity. We either detect patterns of meaning out of contextual cues, or we create patterns of meaning. The most complex form of ambiguity in language can be found when a word can have different, somewhat connected meanings. In dialogue, people using the same word might attach very different...

The hanging of Derek Bentley, a 19-year-old boy with epilepsy

Derek Bentley (1933–1953) was sentenced to death by hanging at the age of 19. He was convicted as a party to murder, and he died in Wandsworth Prison in London. After the police had reached the crime scene, he ostensibly shouted to his 16-year-old friend Christopher (Chris) Craig the ambiguous phrase, “Let him have it, Chris!” Chris fired shots at two policemen, wounding one and killing another.Derek Bentley had epilepsy and a mental age of about 11, and he could neither read nor write. In 1993, 40years after his death, he received a posthumous pardon from the British government. Five years later, his case was finally quashed.

Definite descriptions and the alleged east–west variation in judgments about reference

Machery et al. (2004) presented data suggesting the existence of cross-cultural variation in judgments about the reference of proper names. In this paper, we examine a previously overlooked confound in the subsequent studies that attempt to replicate the results of Machery et al. (2004) using East Asian languages. Machery et al. (2010, 2015) and Sytsma et al. (2015) claim that they have successfully replicated the original finding with probes written in Chinese and Japanese, respectively. These studies, however, crucially rely on uses of articleless, ‘bare noun phrases’ in Chinese and Japanese, which according to the linguistic literature are known to be multiply ambiguous. We argue that it becomes questionable whether the extant studies using East Asian languages revealed genuine cross-cultural variation when the probes are reevaluated based on a proper linguistic understanding of Chinese and Japanese bare noun phrases and English definite descriptions. We also present two experiments on native Japanese speakers that controlled the use of ambiguous bare noun phrases, the results of which suggest that the judgments of Japanese speakers concerning the reference of proper names may not diverge from those of English speakers.

Do People Hear a Sarcastic Tone of Voice When Silently Reading Sarcastic Text?

ABSTRACTThe received wisdom is that people can mentally invoke a sarcastic tone of voice during silent reading although there is no direct evidence for this claim. We provide an empirical demonstration. In Study 1, participants silently read a set of ambiguous phrases as either being sarcastic or sincere, and chose from a set of adjectives those that best describe the tone of voice that was invoked. Sarcasm-discriminating and sincere-discriminating adjectives were identified. In Study 2, a different sample read a set of phrases in a minimal discourse context. The critical phrase (e.g., “isn’t she friendly”) was preceded by one of three contexts: positive (to invite a sincere reading), negative (to invite a sarcastic reading), and an ambiguous context that could invoke either a sincere or sarcastic reading. Following each scenario participants were asked to rate a set of adjectives as to the extent the adjective was mentally heard during silent reading: the adjectives were a subset of those that were sarcasm-discriminating, sincere-discriminating (as determined in Study 1) or a set of adjectives irrelevant to tone of voice. As predicted, even when not instructed to think sarcastically, participants rated most highly those adjectives chosen as associated with a sarcastic tone of voice in the negative context and least in the positive context. Analogously, the opposite effect was observed for sincere-discriminating items: rated as most applicable to what is being heard internally for positive contexts and rated lowest in negative contexts. These basic findings were replicated when demand characteristics were minimized (Study 3).

Ezekiel's "Living Beings" in Pseudo-Ezekiel 4Q385, Frg. 6: A Comparison with Key Angelological Verses in Ezekiel 1 and 10

Earlier research has demonstrated that certain ambiguous angelological phrases which hint at divinatory associations present in MT Ezekiel 1 and 10 (the so-called ‘Merkebah Chapters) have been suppressed in the LXX version. As a translation, the LXX reflects the religious needs and exegetical perceptions of the Alexandrian Jews in the third and second centuries BCE. This paper compares these key angelological verses in Ezekiel 1 and 10 with linguistically or semantically similar words or phrases in 4Q385 Pseudo-Ezekiel. The result of the comparison indicates that these tell-tale verses are contradicted in Pseudo-Ezekiel 4Q385 Frg. 6. The Dead Sea Scrolls share aspects and problems of beliefs in angels with the Judaism of their period, but the texts found at Qumran increase the difficulty of defining Jewish angelology, partly because of lack of knowledge concerning their provenance, and partly because the different works show quite disparate beliefs and motives concerning angels. The conclusion of this paper is that Pseudo-Ezekiel was written by a conservative author who did not want to reveal the divinatory aspects of the angelological content.

Dytiscidae (Coleoptera) of Gabon (10th part): addenda and corrigenda

The paper deals with some additions and corrections of preceding works on Coleoptera Hydradephaga from Gabon, and a rectification of «A revision and synopsis of the African species of the genus <em>Copelatus</em> Erichson, 1832. The group <em>erichsonii</em>, subgroup <em>atrosulcatus</em> (Coleoptera Dytiscidae)» (Bilardo & Rocchi, 2015). Three new species of diving beetles are described, namely: <em>Hydrovatus</em> <em>batekensis</em> n. sp. of the <em>villiersi</em> group, close to <em>H. niger</em> Gschwendtner, 1938 and <em>Hydrovatus bistroem</em>i n. sp. of the oblongipennis group, close to <em>H. lintrarius</em> Guignot, 1958 and <em>H. omentatus</em> Guignot, 1950; both new species are principally distinguishable by the shape of aedeagus. The third new species is <em>Copelatus</em> <em>terzanii</em> n. sp. of the <em>irinus</em> group (subgroup <em>assimilis</em>) close to <em>C. efoutensis</em> Bilardo & Rocchi, 1995 and <em>C. curtistriatus</em> Bilardo & Rocchi, 1995; also that new species is distinguishable above all by the shape of aedeagus. The male of Yola marginata Biström, 1983, unknown up to now, is described. The second record from Gabon of Copelatus mvoungensis Bilardo & Rocchi, 2004 is reported. The following synonymies are proposed: <em>Copelatus</em> <em>apuzzoi</em> Bilardo & Rocchi, 1999 = <em>C. pederzanii</em> Bilardo & Rocchi, 1995 and <em>Copelatus assimilis</em> <em>incristatus</em> Bilardo & Rocchi, 2002 = <em>Copelatus assimilis </em>Régimbart, 1895. The paper Bilardo & Rocchi (2015) contains a misleading phrase concerning the subdivision of the subgroups <em>atrosulcatus/vigintistriatus</em>; it was therefore necessary to replace the ambiguous phrase with a correct one. The rectified phrase is reported herewith in French and in English.

Tvíræða orðasambandið að ósekju

This paper discusses the origin and history of the Icelandic phrase að ósekju (OIcel. ‘with impunity’, ModIcel. ‘without guilt, without cause’). Most handbooks have interpreted the form ósekju in this prepositional phrase as the dative singular of the noun ósekja f. ‘innocence’. Following a discussion of the evidence for the nouns ósekja and sekja and phrases with the preposition að, it is argued that it would be more appropriate to consider ósekju an Old Icelandic dative singular neuter of the adjective ósekr ‘not convicted, not guilty’. A comparable example, the ambiguous phrase með heilbrigðu, is just as likely to contain dat.sg.n. heilbrigðu of the adjective heilbrigðr(‘with (everything) safe and sound’) as the dative of a feminine substantive.