1,721,018 research outputs found
On the Utility of Conjoint and Compositional Frames and Utterance
No full textThis paper reports the results of a series of connectionist simulations aimed at establishing the value of different types of contexts as predictors of the grammatical categories of words. A comparison is made between ‘compositional’ frames (Monaghan & Christiansen, 2004), and non-compositional or ‘conjoint’ frames (Mintz, 2003). Attention is given to the role of utterance boundaries both as a category to be predicted and as a predictor. The role of developmental constraints is investigated by examining the effect of restricting the analysis to utterance-final frames. In line with results reported by Monaghan and Christiansen compositional frames are better predictors than conjoint frames, though the latter provide a small performance improvement when combined with compositional frames. Utterance boundaries are shown to be detrimental to performance when included as an item to be predicted while improving performance when included as a predictor. The utility of utterance boundaries is further supported by the finding that when the analysis is restricted to utterance-final frames (which are likely to be a particularly important source of information early in development) frames including utterance boundaries are far better predictors than lexical frames
Resolving ambiguities in the extraction of syntactic categories through chunking.
No full textIn recent years, several authors have investigated how co-occurrence statistics in natural language can act as a cue that children may use to extract syntactic categories for the language they are learning. While some authors have reported encouraging results, it is difficult to evaluate the quality of the syntactic categories derived. It is argued in this paper that traditional measures of accuracy are inherently flawed. A valid evaluation metric needs to consider the well-formedness of utterances generated through a production end. This paper attempts to evaluate the quality of the categories derived from cooccurrence statistics through the use of MOSAIC, a computational model of syntax acquisition that has already been used to simulate several phenomena in child language. It will be shown that derived syntactic categories which may appear to be of high quality will quickly give rise to errors which are not typical of child speech. A solution to this problem is suggested in the form of a chunking mechanism which serves to differentiate between alternative grammatical functions of identical word forms. Results are evaluated in terms of the error rates in utterances produced by the system as well as the quantitative fit to the phenomenon of subject omission
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Understanding the Developmental Dynamics of Subject Omission: The Role of Processing Limitations in Learning
No full textP. Bloom’s (1990) data on subject omission are often taken as strong support for the view that child language can be explained in terms of full competence coupled with processing limitations in production. This paper examines whether processing limitations in learning may provide a more parsimonious explanation of the data without the need to assume full competence. We extended P. Bloom’s study by using a larger sample (12 children) and measuring subject-omission phenomena in three developmental phases. The results revealed a Verb Phrase-length effect consistent with that reported by P. Bloom. However, contrary to the predictions of the processing limitations account, the proportion of overt subjects that were pronominal increased with developmental phase. The data were simulated with MOSAIC, a computational model that learns to produce progressively longer utterances as a function of training. MOSAIC was able to capture all of the effects reported by P. Bloom through a resource-limited distributional analysis of child-directed speech. Since MOSAIC does not have any built-in linguistic knowledge, these results show that the phenomena identified by P. Bloom do not constitute evidence for underlying competence on the part of the child. They also underline the need to develop more empirically grounded models of the way that processing limitations in learning might influence the language acquisition process
Meter based omission of function words in MOSAIC
No full textMOSAIC (Model of Syntax Acquisition in Children) is augmented with a new mechanism that allows for the omission of unstressed function words based on the prosodic structure of the utterance in which they occur. The mechanism allows MOSAIC to omit elements from multiple locations in a target utterance, which it was previously unable to do. It is shown that, although the new mechanism results in Optional Infinitive errors when run on children’s input, it is insufficient to simulate the high rate OI errors in children’s speech unless combined with MOSAIC’s edge-first learning mechanism. It is also shown that the addition of the new mechanism does not adversely affect MOSAIC’s fit to the Optional Infinitive phenomenon. The mechanism does, however, make MOSAIC’s output more child-like, both in terms of the range of utterances it can simulate, and the level and type of determiner omission that the model displays
Modelling syntactic development in a cross-linguistic context
No full textMainstream linguistic theory has traditionally assumed that children come into the world with rich innate knowledge about language and grammar. More recently, computational work using distributional algorithms has shown that the information contained in the input is much richer than proposed by the nativist approach. However, neither of these approaches has been developed to the point of providing detailed and quantitative predictions about the developmental data. In this paper, we champion a third approach, in which computational models learn from naturalistic input and produce utterances that can be directly compared with the utterances of language-learning children. We demonstrate the feasibility of this approach by showing how MOSAIC, a simple distributional analyser, simulates the optional-infinitive phenomenon in English, Dutch, and Spanish. The model accounts for young children's tendency to use both correct finites and incorrect (optional) infinitives in finite contexts, for the generality of this phenomenon across languages, and for the sparseness of other types of errors (e.g., word order errors). It thus shows how these phenomena, which have traditionally been taken as evidence for innate knowledge of Universal Grammar, can be explained in terms of a simple distributional analysis of the language to which children are exposed
Simulating the Noun-Verb Asymmetry in the Productivity of Children’s Speech
No full textSeveral authors propose that children may acquire syntactic categories on the basis of co-occurrence statistics of words in the input. This paper assesses the relative merits of two such accounts by assessing the type and amount of productive language that results from computing co-occurrence statistics over conjoint and independent preceding and following contexts. This is achieved through the implementation of these methods in MOSAIC, a computational model of syntax acquisition that produces utterances that can be directly compared to child speech, and has a developmental component (i.e. produces increasingly long utterances). It is shown that the computation of co-occurrence statistics over conjoint contexts or frames results in a pattern of productive speech that more closely resembles that displayed by language learning children. The simulation of the developmental patterning of children’s productive speech furthermore suggests two refinements to this basic mechanism: inclusion of utterance boundaries, and the weighting of frames for their lexical content
The role of input size and generativity in simulating language acquisition.
No full textThis paper presents an analysis of the role of input size and generativity (ability to produce novel utterances) in simulating developmental data on a phenomenon in first language acquisition. An existing model that has already simulated the basic phenomenon is trained on input sets of varying sizes (13,000 to 40,000 utterances). The ability of the model to produce novel utterances is also manipulated. Both input size and generativity affect the fits for later stages of development. Higher generativity improves fits for later stages, but worsens them for early stages, suggesting generativity is best increased as a function of mean length of utterance (MLU). The effect of training set is variable. Results are discussed in terms of optimal training sets for simulations, and children’s developing ability to produce utterances beyond the input they have heard
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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