Probabilistic constraints and syntactic ambiguity resolution

MacDonald, Maryellen C.

doi:10.1080/01690969408402115

Cited by 380Neurobiology of Language and BilingualismSyntax, Semantics, Linguistic VariationReading and Literacy Development

Probabilistic constraints and syntactic ambiguity resolution

MacDonald, Maryellen C.·1994·Language and Cognitive Processes

DOI 10.1080/01690969408402115

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Abstract

Natural languages contain probabilistic constraints that influence the resolution of ambiguities. Current models of sentence processing agree that probabilistic constraints affect syntactic ambiguity resolution, but there has been little investigation of the constraints themselves-what they are, how they differ in their effects on processing, and how they interact with one another. Three different types of probabilistic constraints were investigated: “pre-ambiguity” plausibility information, information about verb argument structure frequencies, and “post-ambiguity” constraints that arrive after the introduction of the ambiguity but prior to its disambiguation. Reading times for syntactically ambiguous sentences were compared to reading times for unambiguous controls in three self-paced reading experiments. All three kinds of constraints were found to be helpful, and when several constraints converged, ambiguity resolution was facilitated compared to when constraints conflicted. The importance of these constraint interactions for ambiguity resolution models is discussed.

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The ambiguity in sentences like 'The plane left for...' is strongly constrained by the frequency with which the ambiguous verb occurs in transitive and passive structures.
“Thus, the ambiguityis stronglyconstrained bythe frequencywith which the ambiguous verb occurs in transitive and passive structures, of which reduced relative clauses are a special type (MacDonald, 1994; MacDonald, Pearlmutter, & Seidenberg, 1994; Trueswell, 1996).”
From FREQUENCY EFFECTS IN LANGUAGE PROCESSING: A Review with Implications for Theories of Implicit and Explicit Language Acquisition (2002) · cites this paper as MacDonald, 1994

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Authors: MacDonald, M. C.
Affiliations: University of Southern California (US)
Corresponding author: MacDonald, Maryellen C.
ORCID: MacDonald, Maryellen C.
Venue: Language and Cognitive Processes
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Published: 1994-05
Volume: 9
Issue: 2
Pages: 157-201
ISSN: 0169-0965 (ISSN-L)
1464-0732
DOI: 10.1080/01690969408402115
OpenAlex: W2154590657
Cited by: 379
References: 46
Citations by year: 2026: 8 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 8
FWCI: 5.74
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Language and Cognitive Processes (publishedVersion)
Topics: Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
Keywords: syntactic ambiguity resolution, chance constraints, constraint interaction, reading time, self-paced reading, sentence processing, ambiguity disambiguation

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Probabilistic constraints and syntactic ambiguity resolution

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