Key Concepts in Cognitive Linguistics and Semantics
Icon, Index, and Symbol
Icon, index, and symbol: An icon establishes a relation of similarity between the sign and what it represents (e.g., a portrait of a person). An index establishes a cause-effect relationship or contiguity in space or time (e.g., smoke and fire). A symbol makes an arbitrary, conventional relationship between sign and meaning (e.g., a red flag and danger).
Syntactic Bootstrapping in Language Acquisition
Explain the notion of syntactic bootstrapping: This is a phenomenon by which
Read MoreLexicology Principles: Word Meaning, Structure & Change
1. Lexicology’s connections with other disciplines
Lexicology is the branch of linguistics that focuses on words, their structure, meanings, origins, and functions within the vocabulary system of a language. Its study is impossible without considering its deep connections with other linguistic disciplines, because words do not exist in isolation; they are simultaneously semantic, morphological, phonological, stylistic, social, and cultural units.
Semantics is central to lexicology because analyzing
Read MorePsycholinguistics: Language Processing, Speech Perception & Word Learning
1. Introduction to Psycholinguistics
Linguistics: structure of language
Psycholinguistics: how people use language
Competence vs. Performance: ideal knowledge vs. actual use
Descriptive vs. Prescriptive: what people do vs. what is prescribed
Metalinguistics: reflection on ones own language
Levels of Language:
Phonology (sounds), Morphology (word parts), Lexicon (words), Syntax (structure)
Structure-dependent rules: meaning depends on syntax, not only word order
Example: “The butcher’s brother cut himself”
English Tenses, Verbs, Conjunctions & Phonetics Explained
English Tenses — 12 Basic Forms
Tenses denote the time of an action (past, present, or future) and the aspect (simple, continuous, perfect, or perfect continuous) of that action, resulting in the 12 basic English tenses. They are formed by combining one of the three time periods with one of the four aspects.
12 English Tenses Chart
| Time Period | Simple | Continuous (Progressive) | Perfect | Perfect Continuous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present |
Formula: V or V + s/es Use: Habitual actions, facts. Example: I walk to work. | Formula: am / is |
Natural Language Processing Fundamentals and Applications
Understanding Ambiguity in NLP
Ambiguity occurs when a word, phrase, or sentence has more than one possible meaning. It is present at all levels of NLP (lexical, syntactic, semantic, discourse, and pragmatic).
- Example 1: “The chicken is ready to eat” – chicken (food) or chicken (bird).
- Example 2: “The man saw the girl with the telescope” – who has the telescope?
Types of Ambiguity
- Lexical Ambiguity – A word having multiple meanings (e.g., bat, bank).
- Syntactic (Structural) Ambiguity –
Fundamentals of Human Language Processing: Psycholinguistics
What is Psycholinguistics?
Psycholinguistics studies how language is acquired, represented, processed, and used in the human mind/brain. It focuses on language production, comprehension, and acquisition.
Creativity of Human Language
- Human language is infinitely creative.
- Speakers can produce and understand novel sentences they have never heard before.
- This is possible because language uses rules plus a finite vocabulary results in infinite sentences.
Language vs. Speech vs. Thought vs. Communication
Language
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