| Presentation | 2017-07-22 A model of semantic linguistic composition under conditions of morphosyntactic underspecification: the case of eventive iteration construal Maria Mercedes Pinango, Yao-Ying Lai, |
|---|---|
| PDF Download Page |  PDF download Page Link |
| Abstract(in Japanese) | (See Japanese page) |
| Abstract(in English) | It is observed that in English the composition of a semelfactive predicate, jump, and a for-adverbial, such as 1_"Frances jumped for an hour," engenders an iterative reading (Frances jumped repeatedly for an hour). Previous studies report that this iteration generation engenders processing cost (vs. 2_"Frances ran for an hour"). The cost is captured by the Partition Measure (PM) hypothesis, which argues that for-adverbials contain a universal quantifier that quantifies over the subintervals of the interval that they denote (e.g., hour). A non-infinitesimal partition measure interpretation of the subintervals yields an iterative reading, construed out of the local lexical meaning of the verbal denotation (e.g. jump). An infinitesimal partition measure yielding a continuous reading (one jumping event), implausible in (1), is nonetheless always available and cost-less. Crucially, this account predicts that an iterative reading emerging from the composition of a for-adverbial with a "durative" predicate, as in 3_"Frances ran for 10 years", also engenders cost from the necessary PM construal, this time from the entire sentential context. For-adverbial composition thus demands a partition measure obtained from structured individuals--entities with structured subparts. The relation between the sub-parts, i.e., non-infinitesimal vs. infinitesimal, yields the iterative vs. continuous readings observed. A Self-Paced Reading_Study.1 and an fMRI_Study.2 from our lab show that, as predicted, both iterative conditions--punctual_1 & durative_3--are costly vis-a-vis no-iteration_2. fMRI results also show brain activation consistent with the source of partition measure: lexical vs. sentential, and convergent deactivation, consistent with the partition-measure search. The observed PM retrieval process evidences a model of real-time sentential semantic composition that demands (a) rich lexical meanings whose full realization depends on key contextual information; (b) a search process that uses lexical vs. sentential locality as a processing complexity metric, and (c) a conceptual structure system that ultimately resolves the underspecified lexical variables. |
| Keyword(in Japanese) | (See Japanese page) |
| Keyword(in English) | Semantic composition / Underspecification / for-adverbials / event construal / partition measure / self-paced reading / fMRI / lexical meaning and context |
| Paper # | TL2017-21 |
| Date of Issue | 2017-07-15 (TL) |
| Conference Information | |
| Committee | TL |
|---|---|
| Conference Date | 2017/7/22(2days) |
| Place (in Japanese) | (See Japanese page) |
| Place (in English) | NINJAL |
| Topics (in Japanese) | (See Japanese page) |
| Topics (in English) | Human Language Processing and Learning |
| Chair | Masami Suzuki(KDDI Research) |
| Vice Chair | Tadahisa Kondo(Kogakuin Univ.) / Chiaki Kubomura(Yamano College of Aesthetics) |
| Secretary | Tadahisa Kondo(Kobe Gakuin Univ.) / Chiaki Kubomura(Kyoto Univ.) |
| Assistant | Nobuyuki Jincho(Waseda Univ.) / Noriaki Takada(Ferris Univ.) |
| Paper Information | |
| Registration To | Technical Committee on Thought and Language |
|---|---|
| Language | ENG |
| Title (in Japanese) | (See Japanese page) |
| Sub Title (in Japanese) | (See Japanese page) |
| Title (in English) | A model of semantic linguistic composition under conditions of morphosyntactic underspecification: the case of eventive iteration construal |
| Sub Title (in English) | |
| Keyword(1) | Semantic composition |
| Keyword(2) | Underspecification |
| Keyword(3) | for-adverbials |
| Keyword(4) | event construal |
| Keyword(5) | partition measure |
| Keyword(6) | self-paced reading |
| Keyword(7) | fMRI |
| Keyword(8) | lexical meaning and context |
| 1st Author's Name | Maria Mercedes Pinango |
| 1st Author's Affiliation | Yale University(Yale Univ.) |
| 2nd Author's Name | Yao-Ying Lai |
| 2nd Author's Affiliation | Yale University(Yale Univ.) |
| Date | 2017-07-22 |
| Paper # | TL2017-21 |
| Volume (vol) | vol.117 |
| Number (no) | TL-149 |
| Page | pp.pp.43-43(TL), |
| #Pages | 1 |
| Date of Issue | 2017-07-15 (TL) |