Journal

Volume 9, Issue 2 (July 31, 2008)

4 articles

• Rediscovering Symbols: The Role of Category Labels in Similarity Judgment
  by Na-Yung Yu, Takashi Yamauchi, & Jay Schumacher
  J. CS. 2008, 9(2), 89-109;
  Abstract Traditionally, category labels were treated as indices pointing to the content of categories, and the role of category labels in similarity judgment has been deemed secondary. This study focused on the symbolic property associated with category labels and investigated why category labels influence s... [Read more].
  Abstract Traditionally, category labels were treated as indices pointing to the content of categories, and the role of category labels in similarity judgment has been deemed secondary. This study focused on the symbolic property associated with category labels and investigated why category labels influence similarity judgment. In two experiments, the authors employed morphed pictures of animal tissues and contrasted the effect of indexical labels and symbolic labels on similarity judgments. The results from the experiments suggest that the influence of category labels on similarity judgment partly comes from their symbolic properties. Category labels evoke background knowledge and highlight interconnections with other labels. This symbolic property plays a critical role in the influence of category labels on similarity judgment. [Collapse]
• Assessment Battery for Communication - ABaCo: A new Instrument for the Evaluation of Pragmatic Abilities
  by Sacco K., Angeleri R., Bosco F.M., Colle L., Mate D., & Bara B.G.
  J. CS. 2008, 9(2), 111-157;
  Abstract The Assessment Battery for Communication (ABaCo) is a new clinical instrument for the evaluation of communicative abilities in patients with neuropsychological and psychiatric disorders, such as aphasia, right hemispheric damage, closed head injury, autism and schizophrenia. ABaCo consists of 5 scal... [Read more].
  Abstract The Assessment Battery for Communication (ABaCo) is a new clinical instrument for the evaluation of communicative abilities in patients with neuropsychological and psychiatric disorders, such as aphasia, right hemispheric damage, closed head injury, autism and schizophrenia. ABaCo consists of 5 scales, investigating comprehension and production of linguistic and extralinguistic acts, paralinguistic expressions, appropriateness with respect to discourse and social norms, and management of conversation. Validity measures (content and construct validity) and reliability measures (inter-rater reliability and internal consistency) were computed. The experts' content validity evaluations indicate an excellent match between test items and the measurement of pragmatic abilities, as well as the suitability of the battery for both children and adults. Regarding the other psychometric measures, computed on 390 normal children in different age groups, factor analysis shows the validity of the underlying theoretical construct. Reliability analyses show a high inter-rater agreement, suggesting that the battery can be administered and scored by any trained judge, and a good internal consistency, suggesting that the various items that make up each scale are coherent and contribute to the measurement of communicative abilities. [Collapse]
• Dependency Distance as a Metric of Language Comprehension Difficulty
  by Haitao Liu
  J. CS. 2008, 9(2), 159-191;
  Abstract Linguistic complexity is a measure of the cognitive difficulty of human language processing. The present paper proposes dependency distance, in the framework of dependency grammar, as an insightful metric of complexity. Three hypotheses are formulated: (1) The human language parser prefers linear or... [Read more].
  Abstract Linguistic complexity is a measure of the cognitive difficulty of human language processing. The present paper proposes dependency distance, in the framework of dependency grammar, as an insightful metric of complexity. Three hypotheses are formulated: (1) The human language parser prefers linear orders that minimize the average dependency distance of the recognized sentence (2) There is a threshold that the average dependency distance of most sentences or texts of human languages does not exceed (3) Grammar and cognition combine to keep dependency distance within the threshold. Twenty corpora from different languages with dependency syntactic annotation are used to test these hypotheses. The paper reports the average dependency distance in these corpora and analyzes the factors which influence dependency distance. The findings - that average dependency distance has a tendency to be minimized in human language and that there is a threshold of less than 3 words in average dependency distance and grammar plays an important role in constraining distance -support all three hypotheses, although some questions are still open for further research. [Collapse]
• On Idioms: Cornerstones for a Neurological Model of Language Processing
  by Dieter G. Hillert
  J. CS. 2008, 9(2), 193-233;
  Abstract The examination of the cognitive and neural correlates of idiom comprehension is an excellent test ground for a neurological model of language processing. Idioms are hybrid linguistic elements: They carry similar to metaphors figurative meanings, but employ also alternative parsing strategies. Here ... [Read more].
  Abstract The examination of the cognitive and neural correlates of idiom comprehension is an excellent test ground for a neurological model of language processing. Idioms are hybrid linguistic elements: They carry similar to metaphors figurative meanings, but employ also alternative parsing strategies. Here new evidence will be discussed that predicts comprehension of figurative meanings by means of temporal and spatial parameters. Accordingly, an account of the human language system is suggested that divides between a left-sided Core Language System (CLS) and a bilateral Pragmatic Language Network (PLN). Online comprehension of literal and idiomatic phrases seems to take place exclusively in the core language system. Moreover, the computational costs associated with idiom processing seem to be compatible with those costs related to syntactic ambiguity resolution or to syntactic movements. In contrast, creative figurative meanings such as metaphors may be primarily a domain of the bilateral pragmatic language network. Several conclusions will be drawn about the cognitive and neural correlates of language processing. [Collapse]