Decades of reading research have led to sophisticated accounts of single-word recognition and, in parallel, accounts of eye-movement control in text reading. Although these two endeavors have ...strongly advanced the field, their relative independence has precluded an integrated account of the reading process. To bridge the gap, we here present a computational model of reading, OB1-reader, which integrates insights from both literatures. Key features of OB1 are as follows: (1) parallel processing of multiple words, modulated by an attentional window of adaptable size; (2) coding of input through a layer of open bigram nodes that represent pairs of letters and their relative position; (3) activation of word representations based on constituent bigram activity, competition with other word representations and contextual predictability; (4) mapping of activated words onto a spatiotopic sentence-level representation to keep track of word order; and (5) saccade planning, with the saccade goal being dependent on the length and activation of surrounding word units, and the saccade onset being influenced by word recognition. A comparison of simulation results with experimental data shows that the model provides a fruitful and parsimonious theoretical framework for understanding reading behavior.
This textbook is intended for courses in aphasia and other neurogenic communication disorders. The Coursebook offers a comprehensive description and critical review of basic and applied research on ...aphasia, right hemisphere disorder (RHD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and dementia--the four major language and communication disorders associated with neurological pathologies. The relationship between the brain and language, major features of aphasia and other disorders, their assessment, and treatment have been described in streamlined and clinician-friendly language. Critical review of theories, assessment, and treatment research helps speech-language pathologists distinguish valid from the questionable in the professional and scientific literature. All assessment and treatment chapters give an outline of comprehensive and practical procedures, integrating current practices that clinicians might readily use.
A detailed study of compound words in English, which analyses all aspects of their behaviour in the language
This book makes two major contributions to our understanding of the formal grammar of ...English. One is the topic of compounding in English, and in particular the long-standing but unresolved research question of the difference between English compounds and phrases. The other is the theory of Lexicalism, the only version of Generative Grammar to have taken a serious interest in words and their structure. Bringing the two topics together, Heinz Giegerich shows that it is impossible to draw a dividing line between compounds and phrases, and therefore between the lexicon and the syntax, the two grammatical modules of Lexicalism; and he proposes a new model of grammatical modularity whereby the lexicon and the syntax overlap 'like slates on a roof'. This book will be of interest to all researchers and students with an interest in English linguistics or in morphological, syntactic or phonological theory.
The main purpose of this study was to test the effects of word-problem (WP) intervention, with versus without embedded language comprehension (LC) instruction, on at-risk 1st graders' WP performance. ...We also isolated the need for a structured approach to WP intervention and tested the efficacy of schema-based instruction at 1st grade. Children (n = 391; Msubscript age = 6.53, SD = 0.32) were randomly assigned to 4 conditions: schema-based WP intervention with embedded language instruction, the same WP intervention but without LC instruction, structured number knowledge (NK) intervention without a structured WP component, and a control group. Each intervention included 45 sessions, each 30 min long. Multilevel models, accounting for classroom and school effects, revealed the efficacy of schema-based WP intervention at 1st grade, with both WP conditions outperforming the NK condition and the control group. Yet, WP performance was significantly stronger for the schema-based condition with embedded LC instruction compared to the schema-based condition without LC instruction. NK intervention conveyed no WP advantage over the control group, even though all 3 intervention conditions outperformed the control group on arithmetic. Results demonstrate the importance of a structured approach to WP intervention, the efficacy of schema-based instruction at 1st grade, and the added value of LC instruction within WP intervention. Results also provide causal evidence on the role of LC in WP solving.
How compound words are processed remains a central question in research on Chinese reading. The Chinese reading model assumes that all possible words sharing characters are activated during word ...processing and these activated words compete for a winner (Li & Pollatsek, 2020). The present studies aimed to examine whether embedded component words compete with whole compound words in Chinese reading. In Study 1, we analyzed two existing lexical decision databases and revealed inhibitory effects of component-word frequency and facilitative effects of character frequency on the first components. In Study 2, we conducted two factorial experiments to further examine the effects of first component-word frequency, with character frequencies controlled. The results consistently indicated significant inhibitory effects of component-word frequency. Collectively, these findings support the theoretical proposition that both component words and compound words are activated and engage in competition during word processing. This provides a new approach to compound word processing in Chinese reading and a possible solution to mixed results of character frequency effects reported in the literature.
Public Significance Statement
This study demonstrated that Chinese compound words were processed in a competitive way between whole word and embedded component words. In addition to robust whole-word frequency effects, the component words have inhibitory effects because of competition.
•The prefix palindromic length is k-regular for every k-automatic word containing only a finite number of palindromes.•We find this function precisely for the paperfolding word and the Rudin-Shapiro ...word.•But surprisingly, for the period-doubling word and the Fibonacci word, the considered sequence does not seem to be regular.
The prefix palindromic length PPLu(n) of an infinite word u is the minimal number of concatenated palindromes needed to express the prefix of length n of u. Since 2013, it is still unknown if PPLu(n) is unbounded for every aperiodic infinite word u, even though this has been proven for almost all aperiodic words. At the same time, the only well-known nontrivial infinite word for which the function PPLu(n) has been precisely computed is the Thue-Morse word t. This word is 2-automatic and, predictably, its function PPLt(n) is 2-regular, but is this the case for all automatic words?
In this paper, we prove that this function is k-regular for every k-automatic word containing only a finite number of palindromes. For two such words, namely the paperfolding word and the Rudin-Shapiro word, we derive a formula for this function. Our computational experiments suggest that generally this is not true: for the period-doubling word, the prefix palindromic length does not look 2-regular, and for the Fibonacci word, it does not look Fibonacci-regular. If proven, these results would give rare (if not first) examples of a natural function of an automatic word which is not regular.
In the Chinese writing system, there are no interword spaces to mark word boundaries. To understand how Chinese readers conquer this challenge, we constructed an integrated model of word processing ...and eye-movement control during Chinese reading (CRM). The model contains a word-processing module and an eye-movement control module. The word-processing module perceives new information within the perceptual span around a fixation. The model uses the interactive activation framework (McClelland & Rumelhart, 1981) to simulate word processing, but some new assumptions were made to address the word segmentation problem in Chinese reading. All the words supported by characters in the perceptual span are activated and they compete for a winner. When one word wins the competition, it is identified and it is simultaneously segmented from text. The eye-movement control module makes the decision regarding when and where to move the eyes using the activation information of word units and character units provided by the word-processing module. The model estimates how many characters can be processed during a fixation, and then makes a saccade to somewhere beyond this point. The model successfully simulated important findings on the relation between word processing and eye-movement control, how Chinese readers choose saccade targets, how Chinese readers segment words with ambiguous boundaries, and how Chinese readers process information with parafoveal vision during Chinese sentence reading. The current model thus provides insights on how Chinese readers address some important challenges, such as word segmentation and saccade-target selection.
Infants' sensitivity to transitional probabilities (TPs) supports language development by facilitating mapping high-TP (HTP) words to meaning, at least up to 18 months of age. Here we tested whether ...this HTP advantage holds as lexical development progresses, and infants become better at forming word-referent mappings. Two groups of 24-month-olds (N = 64 and all White, tested in the United States) first listened to Italian sentences containing HTP and low-TP (LTP) words. We then used HTP and LTP words, and sequences that violated these statistics, in a mapping task. Infants learned HTP and LTP words equally well. They also learned LTP violations as well as LTP words, but learned HTP words better than HTP violations. Thus, by 2 years of age sensitivity to TPs does not lead to an HTP advantage but rather to poor mapping of violations of HTP word forms.
Public Significance StatementLearning words is a fundamental aspect of early language development. This experiment sheds light on how the mechanisms that support word learning change across time, and suggests that experience with patterns in speech relevant to finding word forms play an important role in mapping word forms to meaning.
The word frequency effect refers to the observation that high-frequency words are processed more efficiently than low-frequency words. Although the effect was first described over 80 years ago, in ...recent years it has been investigated in more detail. It has become clear that considerable quality differences exist between frequency estimates and that we need a new standardized frequency measure that does not mislead users. Research also points to consistent individual differences in the word frequency effect, meaning that the effect will be present at different word frequency ranges for people with different degrees of language exposure. Finally, a few ongoing developments point to the importance of semantic diversity rather than mere differences in the number of times words have been encountered and to the importance of taking into account word prevalence in addition to word frequency.
This study investigates how the valence, channel, and social tie strength of a word-of-mouth (WOM) conversation about a brand relate to the purchase intentions and WOM retransmission intentions of ...WOM recipients. The analysis uses a nationally representative sample of 186,775 individual conversations about 804 different brands. The authors find insights linking WOM valence, WOM channel, and social tie strength that could not be revealed if the WOM conversations were analyzed in an aggregated form. The findings contribute to research that investigates differences between offline WOM and online WOM. The authors find that the relationship of WOM valence with purchase intentions is exacerbated when the conversation occurs offline, whereas offline conversations tend to be more strongly associated with WOM retransmission intentions regardless of the conversation's valence. The results also provide insights into how interpersonal characteristics influence WOM outcomes. Specifically, the authors find that the strength of the social tie relationship tends to influence a WOM receiver's intentions to purchase a brand; however, social tie strength has a much weaker association with a consumer's WOM retransmission intentions.
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