A computational model of online parsing processes: Theory and Applications
Shravan Vasishth
Online sentence comprehension (parsing) involves the interaction of many different processes and sub-systems. Achieving a fuller understanding of the constraints operating on parsing is an important open problem for psycholinguistics, not least due to its practical implications for related scientific areas, such as the role of higher-level cognition in eye-movement control, and understanding the parsing processes of individuals with impaired language processing. I present a computational model of online parsing implemented in the ACT-R architecture that accounts for parsing difficulty in terms of independently motivated and language-independent constraints on working memory and cognition (Lewis & Vasishth, 2005; Vasishth & Lewis, 2006; Vasishth, Bruessow, Drenhaus, & Lewis, 2008). Using empirical evidence from different experimental methods and languages, I argue that the empirical coverage of this model is superior to alternative computational models of parsing such as the Dependency Locality Theory (Gibson 2000). Apart from working memory constraints, another important factor determining parsing difficulty is fluctuation in the comprehender's expectations about upcoming structure (Hale 2001, Levy 2008). Using an integrated and large-scale parsing architecture that incorporates both working memory constraints and probabilistically driven changes in expectation, I argue that expectation constitutes an independent source of explanation, in addition to working memory constraints (Boston, Hale, Vasishth, & Kliegl, 2010; Vasishth & Drenhaus, submitted). I close by briefly discussing ongoing research that explores how the above parsing models can be applied in ancillary areas of research. One example is integration with eye-movement control theories; here, we aim to deliver a unified theory of higher-level cognitive processes and eye-movement control in reading. A second example sketches how visual world data of unimpaired versus impaired (aphasic) individuals can be modeled as they listen to canonical and non-canonical word order sentences (Hanne et al, 2010).

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[9] Shravan Vasishth and Heiner Drenhaus. Locality in German. Submitted to Dialogue and Discourse, 2010. [ bib | .pdf ]
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