The effect of semantic ambiguity on reading aloud: A twist in the tale

Despite numerous studies investigating whether semantic representations are involved in the process of reading aloud, the issue remains controversial. While some studies report significant effects of semantic variables on this task (e.g., Fera, Joordens, Balota, Ferraro, & Besner, 1992; Strain, Patterson, & Seidenberg, 1995), other studies have highlighted possible problems with these studies (e.g., Borowsky & Masson, 1996; Monaghan & Ellis, 2002). The experiments reported here use semantic ambiguity as a marker for semantic involvement and confirm that semantic representations can indeed affect reading aloud, but that the size of semantic effects is influenced by the consistency of the words and the speed with which participants respond.     

Processing temporary syntactic ambiguity: the effect of contextual bias

This paper reports two experiments using sentences with a temporary ambiguity between a direct object and a sentence complement analysis that is resolved toward the normally preferred direct object analysis. Postverbal noun phrases in these sentences could be ambiguously attached as either a direct object or the subject of a sentence complement, whereas in unambiguous versions of the sentences the subcategorization of the verb forced the direct object interpretation. Participants read these sentences in relatively long paragraph contexts, where the context supported the direct object analysis ("preferred"), supported the sentence complement analysis ("unpreferred"), or provided conflicting evidence about both analyses ("conflicting"). Self-paced reading times for ambiguous postverbal noun phrases were almost equivalent to the reading times of their unambiguous counterparts, even in unpreferred and conflicted context conditions. However, time to read a following region, which forced the direct object interpretation, was affected by the interaction of verb subcategorization ambiguity and contextual support. The full pattern of results do not fit well with either an unelaborated single-analysis ("garden path") model or a competitive constraint-satisfaction model, but are consistent with a race model in which multiple factors affect the speed of constructing a single initial analysis.     

Semantic ambiguity effects on traditional Chinese character naming: A corpus-based approach

Words are considered semantically ambiguous if they have more than one meaning and can be used in multiple contexts. A number of recent studies have provided objective ambiguity measures by using a corpus-based approach and have demonstrated ambiguity advantages in both naming and lexical decision tasks. Although the predictive power of objective ambiguity measures has been examined in several alphabetic language systems, the effects in logographic languages remain unclear. Moreover, most ambiguity measures do not explicitly address how the various contexts associated with a given word relate to each other. To explore these issues, we computed the contextual diversity (Adelman, Brown, & Quesada, Psychological Science, 17; 814–823, 2006) and semantic ambiguity (Hoffman, Lambon Ralph, & Rogers, Behavior Research Methods, 45; 718–730, 2013) of traditional Chinese single-character words based on the Academia Sinica Balanced Corpus, where contextual diversity was used to evaluate the present semantic space. We then derived a novel ambiguity measure, namely semantic variability, by computing the distance properties of the distinct clusters grouped by the contexts that contained a given word. We demonstrated that semantic variability was superior to semantic diversity in accounting for the variance in naming response times, suggesting that considering the substructure of the various contexts associated with a given word can provide a relatively fine scale of ambiguity information for a word. All of the context and ambiguity measures for 2,418 Chinese single-character words are provided as supplementary materials.     

Processing temporary syntactic ambiguity: The effect of contextual bias

This paper reports two experiments using sentences with a temporary ambiguity between a direct object and a sentence complement analysis that is resolved toward the normally preferred direct object analysis. Postverbal noun phrases in these sentences could be ambiguously attached as either a direct object or the subject of a sentence complement, whereas in unambiguous versions of the sentences the subcategorization of the verb forced the direct object interpretation. Participants read these sentences in relatively long paragraph contexts, where the context supported the direct object analysis (“preferred”), supported the sentence complement analysis (“unpreferred”), or provided conflicting evidence about both analyses (“conflicting”). Self-paced reading times for ambiguous postverbal noun phrases were almost equivalent to the reading times of their unambiguous counterparts, even in unpreferred and conflicted context conditions. However, time to read a following region, which forced the direct object interpretation, was affected by the interaction of verb subcategorization ambiguity and contextual support. The full pattern of results do not fit well with either an unelaborated single-analysis (“garden path”) model or a competitive constraint-satisfaction model, but are consistent with a race model in which multiple factors affect the speed of constructing a single initial analysis.     

Modelling the effects of semantic ambiguity in word recognition

Most words in English are ambiguous between different interpretations; words can mean different things in different contexts. We investigate the implications of different types of semantic ambiguity for connectionist models of word recognition. We present a model in which there is competition to activate distributed semantic representations. The model performs well on the task of retrieving the different meanings of ambiguous words, and is able to simulate data reported by Rodd, Gaskell, and Marslen-Wilson [J. Mem. Lang. 46 (2002) 245] on how semantic ambiguity affects lexical decision performance. In particular, the network shows a disadvantage for words with multiple unrelated meanings (e.g., bark) that coexists with a benefit for words with multiple related word senses (e.g., twist). The ambiguity disadvantage arises because of interference between the different meanings, while the sense benefit arises because of differences in the structure of the attractor basins formed during learning. Words with few senses develop deep, narrow attractor basins, while words with many senses develop shallow, broad basins. We conclude that the mental representations of word meanings can be modelled as stable states within a high-dimensional semantic space, and that variations in the meanings of words shape the landscape of this space.     

Understanding words in sentence contexts: the time course of ambiguity resolution

Spoken language comprehension requires rapid integration of information from multiple linguistic sources. In the present study we addressed the temporal aspects of this integration process by focusing on the time course of the selection of the appropriate meaning of lexical ambiguities ("bank") in sentence contexts. Successful selection of the contextually appropriate meaning of the ambiguous word is dependent upon the rapid binding of the contextual information in the sentence to the appropriate meaning of the ambiguity. We used the N400 to identify the time course of this binding process. The N400 was measured to target words that followed three types of context sentences. In the concordant context, the sentence biased the meaning of the sentence-final ambiguous word so that it was related to the target. In the discordant context, the sentence context biased the meaning so that it was not related to the target. In the unrelated control condition, the sentences ended in an unambiguous noun that was unrelated to the target. Half of the concordant sentences biased the dominant meaning, and the other half biased the subordinate meaning of the sentence-final ambiguous words. The ISI between onset of the target word and offset of the sentence-final word of the context sentence was 100 ms in one version of the experiment, and 1250 ms in the second version. We found that (i) the lexically dominant meaning is always partly activated, independent of context, (ii) initially both dominant and subordinate meaning are (partly) activated, which suggests that contextual and lexical factors both contribute to sentence interpretation without context completely overriding lexical information, and (iii) strong lexical influences remain present for a relatively long period of time.     

Lexical ambiguity of words used in english text

Lexical ambiguity is generally assumed to be widespread in natural languages but quantitative estimates have not been available. At least 32% of the words used in English text were found to be ambiguous in studies reported here. This figure is probably very conservative. Temporary word definitions established for special purposes occurred in 30% of a sample of texts.     

Contextual constraints on usage of cognitive words

The conversations of 36 41/2 to 5-year-olds differing in race (black and white) and social class (professional and working class) and the adults with whom they spoke were tape-recorded during play and teaching time at preschool and dinnertime at home. Usage of cognitive words was analyzed for six levels of meaning that differed in depth of processing from reference to (1) perception and attention, (2) recognition, (3) fact recall, (4) understanding, (5) metacognition, and (6) evaluation of presuppositions. Although the rank order of usage was the same, children devoted less of their lexicon to the three higher levels of meaning than adults. Even in adults, perceptual references predominated. Use of higher-level meaning was less prominent in school and in the black working-class population. There were significant correlations between exposure to adult conversations with high-level meaning and child use of those meanings, and between the diversity of cognitive vocabulary in children and adults, but those correlations were smallest in the black working-class population.Funds to the project on which this paper is based were given by The Carnegie Corporation of New York to William S. Hall. The authors wish to thank the Computer Science Center of the University of Maryland for funds for data analysis.     

创造性思维中语义搜索过程：基于答案累积时间函数和语义相似性的量化分析

通过描绘发散性思维测验(物品多用途, AUT)中答案生成在累积函数和语义相似性等一系列参数上的量化特征, 揭示创造性思维的语义搜索过程。结果发现：(1)新颖AUT条件中, 语义搜索呈现与自由联想类似的负加速特点, 但搜索速度较寻常AUT条件更慢。(2)新颖AUT条件中所生成的答案与题目(即物品)均具有较低的语义相似性, 且显著小于寻常AUT条件。(3)新颖AUT条件中生成的答案比寻常AUT条件表现出显著更低的聚类程度, 其中可聚类答案和未聚类答案与题目的语义相似度均较低, 且不存在显著差异, 二者在新颖性上也不存在显著差异。以上结果说明了创造性思维的语义信息搜索过程具有与自由联想类似的激活扩散特征, 但总体搜索速度较慢。新颖性要求使得个体在最初搜索时便开始摆脱题目的语义限制而进行远距离搜索(避免就近搜索), 并倾向于在每个语义场中只生成一个答案(避免局部搜索), 但也可能会在远离题目的语义场中生成多个同类别答案。     

Grasping the invisible: Semantic processing of abstract words

The problem of how abstract word meanings are represented has been a challenging one. In the present study, we extended the semantic richness approach (e.g., Yap, Tan, Pexman, & Hargreaves in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 18:742–750, 2011) to abstract words, examining the effects of six semantic richness variables on lexical–semantic processing for 207 abstract nouns. The candidate richness dimensions were context availability (CA), sensory experience rating (SER), valence, arousal, semantic neighborhood (SN), and number of associates (NoA). The behavioral tasks were lexical decision (LDT) and semantic categorization (SCT). Our results showed that the semantic richness variables were significantly related to both LDT and SCT latencies, even after lexical and orthographic factors were controlled. The patterns of richness effects varied across tasks, with CA effects in the LDT, and SER and valence effects in the SCT. These results provide new insight into how abstract meanings may be grounded, and are consistent with a dynamic, multidimensional framework for semantic processing.     

A measure of semantic complexity among predications

A scale for assessing the complexity or density of utterances was developed using 10 categories ofsemantic relations (e.g., temporal ordering, causality). The categories are inferable from the particular meanings of the words (e.g., connectives, particular tense variations) used in an utterance. The scale was applied to three samples of subjects to assess its interjudge reliability and to compare the utterances of fourth-, sixth-, and eighth-grade children from middle- and working-class neighborhoods. It was also used to compare the complexity of utterances for different types of visual stimuli (used to elicit language samples). Interjudge reliabilities were more than acceptable for each of the samples, and significant differences in semantic density were found across grade, between children from working-class and middle-class neighborhoods, and for the stimuli used to elicit the utterances. When two of the three types of eliciting visual stimuli were equated for content and exposure conditions, the differences in verbal density between eliciting conditions were not replicated. The usefulness of the scale for assessing utterance density and by implication, comprehension difficulty of utterances and of texts, is discussed.This study was supported in part by a Grant from the National Institute of Education, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Complexity in Auditory and Graphics Communication, Project No. 4-470. Points of view or opinions stated here do not necessarily represent National Institute of Education position or policy.     

Clauses and the semantic representation of words

When a sentence with more than one clause is processed, words of the first clause become less available for recall or recognition once the clause boundary has been passed. One common interpretation of this observation is that the representation of a given word shifts from a predominantly surface form (e.g., phonological or lexical) to a semantic form, after the clause boundary. Two experiments that test that interpretation are reported. In the first experiment, two-clause spoken sentences were followed by spoken word or picture probes. Pictures were intended to provide a fast semantic match to probed words, but a slow surface match. Although response times exhibited a robust main effect of the clause position of the probe, no interaction with probe type was found. Similar results were obtained in a second experiment that compared pictures with written word probes. The faster response to picture than to word probes in the second experiment indicates that subjects did not covertly name the picture, but made a semantic match (as intended). These observations suggest the following reinterpretation of earlier sentence memory experiments: Words in the most recent clause of a sentence are more available than words in an earlier clause because their semantic representations are more active, not because their surface representations are more active.     

Semantic neighborhood effects on the recognition of ambiguous words

The effect of semantic neighborhood on the processing of ambiguous words was examined in two lexical decision experiments. Semantic neighborhood was defined in terms of semantic set size and network connectivity. In Experiment 1, the variables of semantic set size, network connectivity, and ambiguity were crossed. An ambiguity advantage was observed only within small-set low-connectivity words. In Experiment 2, the effect of network connectivity on the processing of words of high and low meaning relatedness was examined. Participants responded more rapidly to words of high meaning relatedness, relative to words of low meaning relatedness, but only within high-connectivity words. These results are interpreted within a framework in which both semantic feedback processes and meaning-level competition can affect the recognition of semantically ambiguous words.     

Temporary ambiguity in whispered word recognition: a semantic priming study

We examined whether listeners use acoustic correlates of voicing to resolve lexical ambiguities created by whispered speech in which a key feature, the voicing, is missing. Three associative priming experiments were conducted. The results showed a priming effect with whispered primes that included an intervocalic voiceless consonant (/petal/ “petal”) when the visual targets (FLEUR “flower”) were presented at the offset of the primes. A priming effect emerged with whispered primes that included a voiced intervocalic consonant (/pedal/ “pedal”) when the delay between the offset of the primes and the visual targets (VELO “bike”) was increased by 50 ms. In none of the experiments, the voiced primes (/pedal/) facilitated the processing of the targets (FLEUR) associated with the voiceless primes (/petal/). Our results suggest that the acoustic correlates of voicing are used by listeners to recover the intended words. Nonetheless, the retrieval of the voiced feature is not immediate during whispered word recognition.     

Retrieval of concrete words involves more contextual information than abstract words: multiple components for the concreteness effect

The current study used the directed forgetting paradigm in implicit and explicit memory to investigate the concreteness effect. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to explore the neural basis of this phenomenon. The behavioral results showed a clear concreteness effect in both implicit and explicit memory tests; participants responded significantly faster to concrete words than to abstract words. The ERP results revealed a concreteness effect (N400) in both the encoding and retrieval phases. In addition, behavioral and ERP results showed an interaction between word concreteness and memory instruction (to-be-forgotten vs. to-be-remembered) in the late epoch of the explicit retrieval phase, revealing a significant concreteness effect only under the to-be-remembered instruction condition. This concreteness effect was realized as an increased P600-like component in response to concrete words relative to abstract words, likely reflecting retrieval of contextual details. The time course of the concreteness effect suggests advantages of concrete words over abstract words due to greater contextual information.     

Recognition failure of recallable words in semantic memory

In an experiment in which there was no study phase, 54 subjects were tested for recognition of famous surnames and then were tested for cued recall of the same surnames. Subjects failed to recognize 53.4% of names that they subsequently recalled. Recall was significantly higher than recognition. The relationship between overall recognition rate and recognition rate of recallable words closely resembled that reported by Tulving and Wiseman (1975) for episodic memory experiments. The present data therefore extend the generality of this relationship, and of the principle that the probability of retrieval from memory depends critically on the cues provided. It is argued that the similarity between results for episodic memory experiments and the present semantic memory experiment can be more parsimoniously accommodated by tagging theory than by episodic theory.