Linguistics in Cognitive Science

1
Linguistics in Cognitive Science

• Why are Cognitive Scientists Interested in
  Linguistics?
• Language seems to be uniquely human trait
• All normal humans use language
• Animals dont seem to
• Sometimes have some signals, but no complex
  grammar, relationships
• Not sure about dolphins
• Language is how we express our thoughts
• It must give us some hints about those thoughts
  themselves
• Language is easy to study
• Compare with brain scans, or anthropology

2
Linguistics in Cognitive Science

• Example Grammar
• Grammar is the study of the rules governing the
  use of a given natural language
• Why is that interesting?
• Trying to get some scientific hypothesis about
  the language knowledge native speakers have
• How to describe that knowledge?
• The dog irritated Mary.
• Mary irritated the dog .
• Dog the Mary irritated.
• Irritated the Mary dog.
• Describe grammar as a list of options?
• It seems we would have to describe too many
  options
• These rules seem to be best described by
  algorithms
• Quite advanced - recursion
• Quite complicated
• Note these are used by ALL speakers, not just
  some advanced experts

3
Knowledge of Grammar is Implicit

• We all know the rules
• but are usually unaware of this knowledge
• The rules of a natural language are very
  complicated
• Hard to find because they are implicit
• More complicated than grammar you might learn in
  school
• John believed that pigs can fly.
• That sugar is sweet is obvious to everyone.
  (optional that)
• The pain that I feel is unpleasant.
• The dog that bit me is missing now. (seems to
  depend on head-subject)
• Everybody knows the rules, but few can write them
  down
• These rules are complicated
• but most kids have learnt most by 5 yrs how?
• Language acquisition address later

4
Overview of Linguistics Areas

• Phonology - sounds
• Lexical - words
• Morphology - words built up of bits
• Syntax order of words
• Semantics - meaning
• Words
• Sentences
• Pragmatics
• Pretty much everything else
• Example Context
• Example Gricean maxims
• Example Dialogues

5
Morphology

• Two types of languages
• Synthetic stick parts together to make words
• English has synthetic features Unbreakable,
  Antidisestablishmentarianism
• Turkish Avustralyalilastiramadiklarimizdanmissini
  z
• Analytic order of words is used to make up the
  meaning
• Chinese, many far-eastern languages
• Example tense is indicated by words around,
  rather than conjugation
• Morphemes are smallest bits of language that have
  meaning
• Example cat, dog, happy, un-, -ness, -s, break,
  -able, -ory, -ment
• Many ways to things
• Can compound words toothbrush
• Output of one can input to another
• Toothbrush-holder
• Unmicrowaveability
• Can use recursion
• Anti-missile missile
• Anti-anti-missile missile missile
• Anti-anti-anti-missile missile missile missile
• Need to keep track of antis and missiles

6
Phonology

• Phonology tells us how words (made of morphemes)
  get pronounced
• Examples
• Plural cat ? cats
• Plural dog ? dogs
• Pronounced dogz why?
• Plural glass ? glasses
• What about non-words
• Blort ? ?
• Blorb ? ?
• Blorch ? ?
• There seem to be some rules being applied

7
Phonology

• Example Do you want to?
• Do you wanto
• Do you wanna
• Dyu wanna
• Juwanna
• Is this simply what happens when you try to force
  your voice to go fast
• Or are there also rules?
• Another example
• Im going to leave (to is part of the verb)
• Im gonna leave
• Im going to New York (to is a preposition)
• Im gonna New York (sounds odd?)
• Im going to split
• Im going to Split (city in Croatia)
• Im gonna split
• Depends on grammar rules
• Interestingly principles of phonology also apply
  to sign language
• Something common underlying both grammars

8
Syntax

• Noam Chomsky
• A Review of BF Skinner's Verbal Behaviour
• Challenged the behaviourist approach (was
  dominant in the 1950s)
• Especially to the study of language
• Sparked the cognitive revolution in psychology
• Mind contains mental states, beliefs, desires,
  intentions
• Most properties of language and mind are
  innate(puts him at odds with Piaget)

9
Poverty of the stimulus

• Premises
• Patterns in grammar of natural language cannot be
  learned using positive evidence alone
• Children are only ever presented with positive
  evidence
• Children do learn the correct grammars for their
  native languages
• Conclusion
• Humans must have some innate knowledge of the
  rules for language
• Example of what is learned
• Statement You are happy.
• Question Are you happy?
• Statement Anyone who is interested can see me
  later.
• 1. Is anyone who interested can see me later?
• 2. Can anyone who is interested see me later?
• Some controversy some premises not accepted by
  some
• Example Maybe domain general learning theory
  adequate
• Example Some say positive evidence is enough

10
Universal Grammar

• A basic grammatical structure common to all human
  languages
• Humans are born with innate knowledge of this
• Principles and Parameters approach
• Grammatical principles underlying languages are
  innate and fixed
• Differences among world's languages are parameter
  settings in the brain
• Example pro-drop parameter
• Indicates if an explicit subject is always
  required
• Yes in English
• No in Spanish, Maltese
• Mar. Maltese sentence "he went/left" (verb)
• A child learning a language only needs to
• acquire lexical items (words, grammatical
  morphemes, and idioms)
• and determine the appropriate parameter settings
• can be done based on a few key examples

11
Universal Grammar

• Principles and Parameters approach
• Explains a lot
• Rate at which children learn languages is very
  fast
• Similar learning steps taken by children across
  the world
• Children make same characteristic errors on first
  language
• Some seemingly logical kinds of errors never occur

12
Some Limitations on Internal Buffers

• That many teachers are being laid off in a
  shortsighted attempt to balance this years
  budget at the same time that governor's cronies
  and bureaucratic hacks are lining their pockets
  is appalling.
• It is appalling that many teachers are being
  laid off in a shortsighted attempt to balance
  this years budget at the same time that
  governor's cronies and bureaucratic hacks are
  lining their pockets.
• Maybe grammar allows choice to ease buffer burden
• The rapidity that the motion has is remarkable.
• The motion that the wing has is remarkable.
• The rapidity that the motion that the wing has
  has is remarkable.
• The rapidity that the motion that the wing that
  the hummingbird has has has is remarkable.
• The dog bit the cat.
• The dog the stick beat bit the cat.
• The dog the stick the fire burned beat bit the
  cat.
• Not short term memory seems to be one part of
  the parser
• Special buffer for this type of incomplete
  phrase buffer size 1!

13
Ambiguity and Garden Paths

• Rumour had it that, for years, the government
  building had been plagued with problems. The man
  was not surprised when he found several spiders,
  roaches, and other bugs in the corner of his
  room.
• Human must make choices how long to entertain
  alternatives?
• The man who hunts ducks out on weekends.
• Fat people eat accumulates.
• The cotton clothing is usually made of grows in
  Mississippi.
• The horse raced past the barn fell.
• Conscious processing of grammar is necessary for
  difficult writing.

14
Language Acquisition

• Children learn very quickly
• 17 year old has about 60,000 words
• Must learn about 10 new words a day
• 6 year old has about 13,000 words
• Child learns a new word every two hours
• Learning a word is not easy
• Know what aspect of situation was referred to
• Without having to try the word in many situations
• Example gavagai
• Humans tend to chop upthe world into the
  samecategories

15
Language Acquisition

• Do children have a special device for language
  learning?
• Children learn very quickly and easily
• Children become perfect speakers
• adults usually learn second language imperfectly
• and with great difficulty
• Children make mistakes, but not the same ones
  adults make
• Example Children never misjudge appropriate
  position of question words
• Even on basis of sentences like "I know what John
  ate."

16
Language Acquisition

• Hawaiian sugar plantations
• Adults from many countries
• Communicated in pidgin
• Their children invented a creole
• Some controversy about the claims
• Sign language
• Nicaragua created new schools for the deaf
• Younger children invented a new sign language