Nonliteral language processing as a constraint satisfaction problem

非文字语言处理作为约束满足问题

• 批准号: 7040-2006
• 负责人: Katz, Albert
• 金额: $ 1.66万
• 依托单位: University of Western Ontario
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2006-01-01 至 2007-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=333331
• 关键词: Nonliteral; language; processing; constraint; satisfaction

The research program examines how people comprehend, and the conditions under which they produce, language in which what one states differs from what one intends to convey. This language occurs with so-called non-literal language such as metaphor (e.g.. "My car is a lemon"), sarcasm ("boy you turned out to be my best friend"), proverbial speech (e.g ""the grass is greener on the other side of the fence"),  instances in which  one is intending to convey (but does not state)  that the car is unreliable, the friend is not a friend and that one is envious. Theoretical explanations and computational models alike are inadequate in their explanations of how we process such pervasive language, although there is a recognition that the context in which the statement is made aids in the recovery of the intended meaning. We have a programmatic approach to studying the processing of nonliteral language in discourse context that employs a converging set of methodologies, both those that measure the reaction to such language in various contexts and those that measure our understanding of the sentence during the act of reading it. Moreover, we separate context into those more tied to the discourse itself (such as the linguistic "hints" or constraints in the text forewarning  a person that an upcoming sentences is to be understood nonliterally) and those more tied to social-cultural constraints factors (such as stereotypes active when a sentence is said by a woman vs a man, or by a priest vs a busdriver). We observe that social-cultural constraints  play a role in comprehension at the earliest moments of processing, a finding with important implications on how we process nonliteral language and are extending these findings now by examining a range of discourse and social-cultural constraints with the aim of discriminating between different theoretical accounts of language processing. In addition to the theoretical import, the research is of practical importance because nonliteral langauge is especially impaired with brain injuries, follows a developmental course and is used in persuasive communication.  Consequently, the basic research should have direct implications not only theoretically but clinically and educationally as well.

该研究项目考察了人们如何理解语言，以及他们在何种条件下产生语言，其中一个人的状态与他想要传达的东西是不同的。这种语言与所谓的非字面语言一起出现，如隐喻(例如。“我的车是个柠檬”)、讽刺(“你原来是我最好的朋友”)、谚语(例如“栅栏另一边的草更绿”)，以及某人打算传达(但没有陈述)汽车不可靠、朋友不是朋友、嫉妒的例子。理论解释和计算模型在解释我们如何处理这种普遍存在的语言时都是不充分的，尽管人们认识到，陈述所处的语境有助于恢复预期的意义。我们有一种程序性的方法来研究语篇语境中非字面语言的加工，它采用了一套趋同的方法，既有测量在不同语境中对这种语言的反应的方法，也有测量我们在阅读过程中对句子的理解的方法。此外，我们将语境分为与语篇本身更紧密相关的语境(例如，文本中的语言暗示或限制，警告一个人即将到来的句子将被非字面理解)，以及那些更与社会文化制约因素相关的语境(例如，当一个句子由女性对男性，或由牧师对公共汽车司机说时，刻板印象是活跃的)。我们观察到，在加工的最早时刻，社会文化约束可能在理解中发挥作用，这一发现对我们如何处理非字面语言具有重要影响，并正在通过考察一系列语篇和社会文化约束来扩展这些发现，目的是区分语言处理的不同理论解释。除了理论意义外，这项研究还具有重要的实践意义，因为非文字语言在脑损伤时尤其受损，遵循一个发展过程，并用于说服性交流。因此，基础研究不仅在理论上具有直接意义，而且在临床和教育方面也具有直接意义。