Chapter 8 discourse

Reading Span Test

*-A behavioral test intended to measure an individual's verbal working memory. * -The test involves having the individual read a sequence of sentences while holding the *last* *word of each sentence in memory*. --First trial is sequence of 2 sentences --Subsequent trials increase by 1 -The number of words successfully remembered corresponds to that individual's memory span. (more words u can recall= have a higher WMSpan)

Examples how discourse domain: will *indicate how to express certain elements within a discourse that might not be domain specific*

*-BOTH text and business letters expected to Indicate when the discourse is ending* (have elements to Indicate when discourse is coming to an end) *ending a text message with "Sincerely"* *ending a business letter with "TTYL"*

What are the different ways/test you can measure Working Memory Span?

*-Digit Span* *-Reading Span* *-Operation Span*

operation span task (Operation word span or OSPAN)

*-Measures predict verbal abilities and reading comprehension* [holds words and #'s separately and recalls them at the same time] -Subject asked to read and verify a simple math problem is : (4/2)-1=1? -then reads a word after the operation:(snow) -After a series of problems and words, subject recalls the word that followed Each operation -Number of operation-words-strings increased and decreased to measure participants operation span

*Digit Span Task* (Measures Working Memory Span)

*-Simple behavioral measure of working memory capacity* -Exists with two variants: *Foward Span & Backward Span* (given: 2-4-6) (given: 2-4-6) (recall 2-4-6) (recall: 6-4-2) -After each successful completed trial, the number of digits presented increases by one for the next -after failed trial the # of digits given will be the same -Concludes after person makes error for two trials in a row for a given digit span (given 6#'s- Failed it 2x's-- you did well in last round w/ 5#'s -- Result: u can hold up to 5 digits)

an example of using non literal language is

*-indirect request* -usually declarative sentence: "gee, its getting cold in here" (means to close the window) "Would u mind passing the salt" (no need to answer-its a request) -*sarcasm* -relies on Prosody as a valuable signal -and shared knowledge between participants -processing sarcastic/ironic statements facilitated by remarks that had been alluded to (when ur process these comments u have to know where convo is going and where started from) (between u and co-worker) did you have fun at work? ~yeeea it was a blaaast!

PN are anaphors b/c...

*-they cannot be interpreted without an antecedent for them.* *-they have no independent meaning(except as indicated by gender, number case-which is given by the grammatical form)* [There are grammatical principles that restrict referents for pronouns] *-understanding pronouns correctly requires locating intended referent from all possibilities

The goal is to: understand discourse. How we achieve goal of understanding discourse requires an intricate orchestration of *different processes*-which include....

*1. Committing elements of preceding sentences to memory* (WM & sentence processing & Long/short term) 2.Finding references for Anaphoric elements in current or upcoming sentences and.. 3. Building inferences

Backward inferences

*Bridging Inferences* 'We checked the picnic supplies. The seltzer was warm" (infer seltzer was part of picnic supplies) **-made immediately after statement is processed** *-require hearer to review previous info in discourse to provide coherence with current sentence* (to connect sentences in discourse)

Forward inferences

*Elaborative inference* [Alex dropped his wine glass on the carpet] (more of a cliff hanger/predicting) -Hearing a sent. and figuring out what might happen next *-ONLY MADE when stored memory representation is probed for verification is probed for verification* -* Made immediately after a piece of text is encounter, Whether or not its needed for coherence. *not necessary for discourse coherence- they are not as vital to text comprehensions*

*Definite NP's are anaphors* for different reason than how PN's are because....

*They use Definite article 'The' 'THE' assumes that the referent of that noun phrase is already in the discourse -if its first introduced: with an indefinite article (*A* new puppy) -If its referenced late: required use to Definite article Signal for hearer: NP with definite article--refers to an earlier intro of same referent

how do we hold on to *stretches of discourse?*

*We are usually involved in processing long stretches of discourse which means we are. constantly building a representation of the meaning of the entire discourse* *-each new sentence integrated into growing mental representation* *-ease depends on Relatedness of sentences to discourse content.* *-if its less related more processing effort is required* (hard to know where convo is going) *-easier to build semantic representation of Familiar discourse topic* -easier to make bridging inferences

Role of working memory in language processing uses _____ to understand *how* working memory supports or limits processing

*Working Memory Span* Strong WM: supports lang processing Weak WM: limits amount of info ur able to take in

Different way WM works in: sentence processing VS discourse processing *In Sentence Processing*

*Working memory is associated with obtaining the basic building blocks of sentence meanings* -pre-lexical recognition -lexical access -integration of lexical elements into syntactic frame

In order for chunks to be stored in WM they are first recoded (words & sentence) *Then- What does working memory provides....?*

*a finite amount of storage space, that can get used up if:* -processing system is being asked to do too much at once -processing system is performing one task that is very resource demanding

elaborative or bridging inference ? The tooth was pulled painlessly. The dentist used a new method.

*bridging* b/c inference was immediately made in order to connect the two sentences in a semantically coherent way

elaborative or bridging inference ? The tooth was pulled painlessly. The patient like the new method.

*elaborative* b/c its not necessary to create the bridging inference that a dentist pulled the tooth

Scripts is/are:

*general scenarios about common sequences of activities.* *The closer pple are socially and culturally the more shared ___ they'll have* (restaurant script) *part of learning-acquiring new scripts* (get a new job/how to function in new institution involves acquiring scripts for how things are done there)

pragmatics

*studies the principles that governs the use of lang in creation of discourse* -*relates to 'appropriateness" use of sentences in discourse* -How people use lang to convey more &different info than the basic meaning

when it comes to convo repair.. speaker must

*successfully repair message* *identify cause of breakdown/difficulty* (ambiguous anaphor) *fix exactly that part of the message that was unclear* (dont have to start over-can just fix whatever was unclear) *be consciously aware of hearers state of knowledge* (must have awareness of hears knowledge)

what are the important things that happen to sentences when *they get stored in**long term memory*?

- Info about structure and individual lexical items are lost while meaning is retained - Meanings of many sentences are combined-individual sentences no longer have independent representations. - Inferences are added to representations of meaning (RWK & makes inferences-all stored along with the info it actually received)

(Long term Representations) When you have a few individual sentences , how are they processed as long term representation?

- sentences are not stored individually in memory The info from related sentences combine to form a single coherent representation

The use of an anaphor in discourse has two purposes

-*Anchors a sentence to prior representations in the discourse* -*Anaphor creates a semantically Coherent text, promoting resolution for its referent [*semantics and RWK& inference skills help to determine the referent*]

The effect a sentence might have on a listener or reader depends on:

-*Context the sentence occurs in* -*State of mind of perceiver or producer* -*Purpose of interaction* -*Mode of interaction*(oral/writen)

How to achieve *discourse focus* to helps make a referent more available?

-*Recency: a near referent is located more quickly than distant one.* -*Main characters in novels more likely to be in focus than minor characters* (main characters more available for anaphoric references ) -*Characters introduced by proper names (more likely to be main character)versus less specific role descriptions.* -*Position in a prior sentence, with the subject being in focus position* (Antecedent location facilitated if pronoun refers to subject of previous sentence)

During discourse processing, how does WM play a key role?

-*WM gives ability to perform all Hearer's Task* [pre-lexical recognition, lexical access, integration of lexical elements into syntactic frame] *as your are processing those sentences* (its provides platform for all ongoing computations that perform all of hearers tasks) -The resources required- stored in long term memory(prior knowledge)real world knowledge, experience, prior knowledge] -which is crucial for putting individual sentence meanings to use (It is how you are able to add to convos)

*In terms of discourse:* Reading a passage successfully will require much more than the: Ability, to decode the letters and Grammatical competence in the language of the passage to reconstruct the meaning of individual sentences. *Instead reading the passages will also require:* ...*In order to participate in discourse you must have..*

-Familiarity/Experience with the way experts in the field talk and think about the subject matter

What happens to sentences when they are stored in long-term memory?

-Information about structure and individual lexical items is lost *meaning is retained* -Meaning of many sentences are combined *individual sentences no longer have independent representations* -Inferences are added to representations of meaning

*Memory processing system* is different from the *The sentence system processing system* because/how?

-Memory system uses wide range of different types of info: -recruits RWK & makes inferences, it stores it along with info received ex: 'he was pounding the nail when...' infer: he used a hammer rwk: we know hammers are usually used to pound nails

What must happen first before chunks get stored in WM...? (hint: its the primary task of sentence comprehension)

-Must be recoded into analyzed units (words, and sent structure analyzed &reconstructed)

discourse : Series of speech acts that have:

-Particular linguistic form -Intended function -An effect on interlocutor

Discourse domain: *Bilinguals:* will have a good sense about which language is best to use depending on :

-The person you are talking to -The topic of conversation -The reason for your interaction

(Long term Representations) *Integrated* *it also recruits RWK and makes ___ that it stores along with the info it actually received*

-difficult to remember exactly what was said so the -Individual sentence meanings are _____ which creates more global representations of meaning [the mind processes info -which is how u learn to make inferences]

info we extract from words becomes mentally represented in an elaborate mix of:

-existing knowledge -attitudes -emotional bias we may have about topic, writer, speaker -the reason for reading/convo etc

how does locating the referents for anaphors affect discourse?

-its essential to building connected semantically coherent & pragmatically felicitous mental representations of a sequence of sentences that make up discourse (easier to follow if u intro subject first vs later.)

both forward and backward inferenceing are based on:

-logic or rwk *an important ingredient for successful communication exchanges is ensuring that the interlocutors share enough knowledge to make appropriate inferences

what is discourse? (text/narrative)

-refers to sets of sentences that have some sort of connection to each other -When people engage in sustained linguistic interaction they are creating ___.

*-Referent*

-required to understand anaphors -anaphors must match ___ ex: I bought *a new puppy*. Shes so sweet.

How we understand discourse: (whether its written or spoken)

-take basic meanings of individual sentences and -integrate them into coherent framework by -discovering links between and among meaning of the sentences that make up the discourse *(entire sentence word or word is not stored, we take the Meaning out of sentence, drop the syntax)*

understanding discourse involves.. (must have WM & be able to manipulate where its going)

-taking basic meanings of individual sentences and -integrate them into semantically and pragmatically coherent framework

Examples of WM's -processing system is being asked to do too much at once -processing system is performing one task that is very resource demanding

-texting someone while someone is having a convo with u -polinas test (cant procss complex sentence if u have poor WM skills)

The goal of discourse integration requires:

2 major process -Anaphoric reference -Inference

*-Anaphoric reference*

A word or expression in a text that refers back to another part of the text. **structure of sent affects how quickly antecedents can be located**

When people are asked to recall a sentence heard jus a few moments before ... 1. The sentence is regenerated rather than recalled by verbatim b/c sentences are not stored that way 2. People use _____ & _____ to re construct the syntax just heard.

Active lexical representations & Sentence production

Discourse topics: Example of domain specific terms, and domain-specific extra linguistic symbols:

Biology: Homeostasis- diagram of pattern Baseball: short stop-umpire hand gestures Phonology:phonemes-tree structures

People remember (bits of) information in:

Chunks

An important factor in the assignment of anaphoric reference is :

Discourse focus (referent is more available if its focused)

when is the only time a sentence is stored word by word? 'Cant u do anything right?" 'do you always put ur foot in ur mouth?

High interactive content- when the exact form of sentence is with great interpersonal importance

*-Anaphor* (how we link sent meaning together)

I bought a new puppy. *Shes* so sweet. -linguistic device that refers to Someone/Something mentioned in the previous context *Can be either a PN or a Definite NP* (NP introduced by as definite article)

examples of different modes of discourse

Letters, emails, stories, lectures, meeting, debates, instant messaging, face-to-face conversations

When processing a sentence in SOV form, how is WM related?

Must apply Active Gap Filling strategy. Must hold on to [S] to fill gap between [V] The stronger WM is/greater the Span- the more availbe the filler will be.

are inferences part of the basic meaning constructed by the sentence processor? why/how do we know this? **Spatial references/inferences* (turtle & log example)

Not only do people integrate a wide variety of meanings, they also add all the inference they've made at the time they originally heard the speech to their memory. -Information that you infer is not available as quickly as information that was actually contained in the basic meaning of the sentence. *inference info is not as quickly available* **Inferences are not part of the basic meaning constructed by the sentence processor**

what is kept when recalling a sentence what happens ?

People will *only retain a representation of the meaning of sent. structure-* *-sent. structure only exist to determine the basic meaning of a sentence* once the task is done sent. structure is useless, doesnt need to be stored in memory *People will only recall the gist of what they've heard not the surface form* [Memory system is great at integrating & synthesizing info but not good at keeping individual bits of info separate/distinct from others]

Human memory is not a simple recording device. It's complex and dynamic system that constructs memories based on many factors-only one of which is what was actually experienced. This tells us that memories can be manipulated --How?

Sentence can be used to manipulate memories. Because of word used to ask a question can influence/construct a different memory. *memories are influence by what we associate with certain words with* example: 2 groups-one heard "smash" other heard 'hit' -smash group recalled false memory- broken glass, faster mph -hit group recalled diff. memory-no broken glass, lower mph

example of how multiple variables will affect what a set of words intended to carry beyond its literal meaning. Variables will effect: -*what the set of words intended to convey* & -*what effect the utterance will have on both speaker and listener

Thanks a lot! grateful/sincere vs resentful/sarcastic

what is the structure does a conversation have?

They have a beginning, middle, and end

Discourse *topics, its Participants, context, and function* will all determine the...

amount of knowledge necessary for successful engagement.

in order to understand brief discourse the ___ must be matched with their ___

anaphor referent

conversational structure rules are..

applied unconsciously. We only notice them when they are broken.. Most basic rule is to take turns *(if u no take turns = monologue)

what is the primary objective of discourse?

communicate, transmit information, socialize, bond

if the comprehension fails in a convo...

conversational partner must indicate that understanding has broken down *the one with confusion must say, 'wait i dont understand' so that speaker can repair.

What effects your ability to extract more or less information from passage?

depends on your own expertise/ familiarity with the topic

inferences can do more than locate referents for definite noun phrases they can also..

enhance their meaning

Working Memory Span test allows us to ..?

estimate the temporary storage space (WM)

signals of when *turn in convo* is coming to an end

fall in pitch drop in loudness hand gestures completion of grammatical constituent (phrase,short clause, sentence)

as a listener its is key to inform speaker of ...

how discourse is going

____*is the core of the understanding process* *____ is stored in memory alongside information extracted directly from sentences* *the formation and storage of ___ is a central feature of discourse processing* even the shortest discourse require ___ making in order to connect sentences into a coherent structure Processing is facilitated (can make novel interesting if using a few) or Impair processing (if using too many, also discourse will sound odd)

inferences

in order to understand discourse..

must: -Discover links between and among sentences *(Semantic & referential)* -integrate new info into existing knowledge *[sought out by using logical and consulting RWK] the best comedians link intro, mid, end (important for narrative)

WM Span will differ depending...?

on type of chunks they measure (numbers, words..etc)

Beginning a Conversation

one gets the others attention, exchange remarks (useless opening remarks)

*Spatial references/inferences*

people add ___ to their memories of sentences

when you use lang you are... what are examples?

producing discourse ex:letters, stories, lectures, meetings, debates..

When people are asked to recall a sentence heard jus a few moments before ... 1. The sentence is _______ rather than recalled by verbatim b/c sentences are not stored that way 2.People use active lexical representations & sentence production to re construct the syntax just heard.

regenerated

Different way WM works in: sentence processing VS discourse processing In *Discourse Processing*:

requires access to other resources so that individual sentences can be retained and integrated with other info (Then that info is stored in long term memory which is crucial for actually putting individual sentence meanings to use) *It needs to keep up with convo interaction it keeps the meaning of sentence then drops the syntax*

As a conversation progresses each contributor is...

responsible for holding same message

if u violate grammatical rules, you'll produce an ungrammatical sentence.. if you violate pragmatic principles you..

result in an "appropriate' use of sent discourse b/c different usages of phrases carry a different weight-u should use an appropriate phrase for communicative competence

many inferences are made based off ___

scripts

what are some signs a convo needs repairing

see subtle signals (confused look) or get a response that doesnt match

end of a conversation

signaled by preclosing devices, summarize points, allude to timing (its getting late..)

successful repair depends on..

speakers ability to identify the hearers difficulty and reformulate message appropriately.

what is working memory?

storage system where info is retained for very brief periods of time before its sent(in a recoded form) to long term memory. -short term memory

if someone your having a convo with takes too long to get to the point, adding excessive details...is an example of how does it related to WM?

stretches of discourse-ease comes from relatedness to discourse content and we are constantly building representation of the meaning of the entire discourse...it's hard to keep track of discourse in convo b/c WM is limited .

example of how: *different discourse domains call for domain specific linguistic behaviors*

talking to your friends differently than the way you talk to your professor

discourse is also known as

text/narrative

*communicative competence* is

the compliance with principles)

in middle of convo- *code-switching/code-choice*[adds structure to covo] is affected by (other variables and.. )

the discourse domain

Non-literal language is used when

the intended meaning is different from the basic meaning based on the words and their structural organization

true or false no matter the domain of discourse, *The Principles that are at play in the Organizing Of Discourse* are vastly similar whether the discourse is written or oral.

true

in the middle of a conversation

varying in length and has internal structure

While a sentence is being processed, words are held in ....?

working memory